Author: rkcdlitt

Promise

Promise is a very powerful word. It is a word that can mean everything in the world, but to many, it can mean very little. I am attending our annual vestry retreat weekend at the Roslyn Retreat Center in Richmond, Virginia. It is the first night, so one would imagine little being accomplished. This is not so. Our first evening session has ended, and I am enjoying the peace of quiet of my room, meditating; thinking of how God continues to play a part in my life. These first few hours were decidedly uplifting. After our first session, I can feel how close this group has already grown. From the leadership of Father Joe and Senior Warden Ethyl, we have come together spiritually in a way that is unusual, at best. In our world of mistrust, one would think that it would take several meetings to form close spiritual bonds we have already.

God promises that She will always be within me, regardless of how imperiled I may be. This is a very comfortable thought. This means that no matter how much pain I am in, no matter how depressed I become because I cannot bounce back as I did 50 years ago, I am not suffering alone. God has taken the most painful part of my worries and relieved me of the nagging pain and discomfort. I digress to this because when I awakened this morning, I was very reluctant to join the retreat. I had a very difficult night with very little sleep . . . my second in two nights. However, being driven by emotions, duties, and my background, I am unable to succumb willingly to failure. And, not showing up would be failure. In a word, I was prepared to spend a weekend in extreme discomfort, ruing my decision to spend three days, not in my own home or bed.

I don’t know what tonight will bring, but the fact that the group felt God’s presence with us throughout this first evening has completely eradicated my hesitant foreshadowing. I never ceased to be amazed how God’s presence in my life can be so transformative. Tonight, I experienced this transformation, feeling that God was in the room with us as we spoke of serious things, serious plans, and spiritual renewal. He was also in the room as we lovingly joked and shared embarrassing moments, or shared the fact that only one of us has a tattoo. God loves tattoos.

It is now 4:30 AM, I stopped writing this last evening because I could not concentrate. I finally turned out lights at midnight, and I awoke at 3:30 AM . . . fully refreshed. When I first got into bed, my feeling was one of trepidation; strange beds and bad backs do not comfort make. I propped my self up, and meditated, expelling all issues of the day from my cognition. Zonk!!! The next thing I was aware of was awakening at 3:30 . . . again, fully refreshed.

I am so blessed to be where I am. I am comforted by God wherever and whenever I allow him to enter my being (although I know He is always within me). I am also strengthened, knowing His comfort and knowing that his angel on earth, my wonderful Linda, is with me forever and forevermore.

Isaiah writes: “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Yes, I am joyfully blessed.

Hope

Hope was and still is a major theme in the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember some of his speeches in the 1960s, but the true involvement was my sister, Judy, who spent most of her life working to help others get free from the bonds of poverty, and yes, modern slavery – human trafficking. I remember the 1960s all too well; I was in the USMC and the USMC Reserves from 1963 to 1967. The number of times I was exposed to being posted to Vietnam were many, frightening, and very bothersome. Due to injuries while on active duty, I never did go. I recall Dr. King preaching hope.

But, I do remember the frustration, the anger, the loss of all hope, as I saw my brothers in arms going to and returning from war, sometimes in pieces. I also remember the race riots in Detroit, Newark, Los Angeles. Due to my age, I cannot recall what exact years, but with a little research, I could rediscover this time. And, King preached hope.

The other thing that I remember so well, and can never forget was the violence. Beginning with the assassinations, I enlisted on the day JKF died; my sister, a follower of MLK, and I shared tears when King was murdered in Tennessee. And I was watching on TV when RFK was killed after a rally, while running for president. The hope of MLK was lessened, but it did not die.

These were dark times in the life of the country; they were also dark times around the world with wars, cultural upheavals, and struggles for freedom, be they racial or gender equality. I remember well the violence at the Democratic President Convention, when Chicago police brutally beat protestors, demonstrators, and newsmen equally with little regard for humanity. Through it all, the message of MLK continued as hope, not just for the black man, but for humanity. It is what we had to fall back on in our frustration and anger. Hope cannot die!

That was fifty years ago. We are now living in another dark age, both at home and abroad. The culture of America has been lessened due to the seeming lack of caring by all our political leaders. I will not just pick on one person or one party; they all are to blame. The lack of cooperation in Washington has affected the entire world; hope is not a message that is transforming human culture; but, perhaps the lack of hope is.

During my times of spiritual reflection and prayer, I reaffirm my belief, my understanding, and my faith that all will return to normal. But how many will sacrifice, how many will lose lives, lose status, lose families?

I find it difficult to accept that we, as a country, are allowing our government to deport men who have families, who were brought to the United States when infants. The message from government is go home, ignoring the fact that this is the only home they have ever known. They are being sent to a strange country, and in some cases, do not even speak the language.

How evil our government has become, how uncaring, how insensitive, and how greedy. On this day, after the celebrations of MLK’s birthday, I am rereading his speeches, remembering the impact he had on our society. We met his message with violence. Will we continue to meet all messages of hope and equality with more violence. I hope not; but I do remember that violence was used 2000 years ago. We do like to murder hope and good news; don’t we?

I pray for Hope!!!

Intimacy is the goal of our spiritual journeys. This communion is not only with God, but with our fellow humans. Our prayers are gifts from God to help us attain this intimacy, She so desires for our mutual connectedness. Unfortunately, we are limited in our ability to attain this intimacy; we can only attain it by being present in our minds, which is almost impossible for us. Most often, we are rehashing past deeds, or planning for future responsibilities. We ignore what is with us at any given moment, and this is what prevents us from attaining the communion God desires. How can we have relations with others, when we cannot even relate to ourselves?

Each Sunday, and for some, several times each week, we gather at our altars to celebrate Communion, Communion with Christ and God. Then, we go on our separate ways, ignoring the closeness that comes with this sacred ritual. I use the term ritual, because, for many, that is all it is. When we break bread, and share the cup of wine, we get a feeling of closeness. I can see it in the faces of my fellow members as they pass by my healing prayer station every Sunday morning. Twenty minutes later, in the meeting hall, all I hear are conversations of work, school, the stock market, or how our president is doing; nothing on the sermon or the spiritual experience of intimacy with God. That feeling of community has dissipated into the subconscious, only to be re-called the next Sunday.

I find this to be very disappointing. Disappointing, because all too often, I am guilty of the same frivolity. We are not taught to do otherwise. Every Sunday, we leave church with the promise to walk in the way that Jesus wants. Going with God! My question is: why? Why not take what we have just experienced, let the feeling of one-ness stay with us, letting it grow into a true communion with each other and with God? We are only limited by our abilities to live in the present time.

As I write this, I am very much staying in the present; but, subconsciously, I am also thinking about what prayers I will offer at the upcoming vestry retreat this weekend. I am presently involved in writing these thoughts, while thinking about this weekend. I practice contemplative prayer, trying to focus on my present relationship with God. My mind wanders, and I am constantly refocusing on what I want to accomplish. What I want to accomplish! Why is it necessary to accomplish anything? Why isn’t the prayer enough? I think that we limit ourselves in this manner, because from an early age, our parents are preparing us to succeed, to be successful in our line of work, in our family relations, in our community.

This is ignoring where success is truly needed. Our success, if it has any importance at all, should be directed towards how we will prepare and live our eternal lives. Money and stature have no place in eternity. I try my best to treat all whom I meet as I want to be treated. I try my best to be a good person. I try my best to try to make it easier for others. Aren’t you impressed by my trying to be? I’m not.

I am reminded of the t-shirt with the words I’m with Stupid emblazoned on the front. There are times that this arrow should be pointing inward. No matter how much I meditate, learn, study, think, I fall back unsure of how to think, react, follow what I know is correct.

I included the following in a praise prayer I recently wrote:

I pray that You continue to allow me to walk in Your footsteps, to follow Your way, to recognize the need for You in others. For when I walk with You, fear is no longer my companion. Indecision no longer manifests my soul. I rejoice in Your Love.

I know, as we all do, that what I should be doing is working to be what God wants. No matter how others try to prevent our doing this, we must be on the path to attain intimacy with ourselves, with others, and with God. Our lives depend on it.

Companionship: Love in a world of Hate 

We are in the midst of a self-made crisis in the United States. Some of our leaders have little respect for people who do not look as they do. In a word, we are experiencing a form of racism that we all thought was long dead. But then again, I am not a person of color, so, I am only speaking from a 75-year-old white viewpoint.

We should be led by the laws of Love set down by Jesus. We should not be judging people for what they look like or where they come from. I think He makes this very clear in his statement that we must love each other as we love ourselves. Practicing this will lead us to a freedom guaranteed by God.

We need His faith to survive this period in our lives. If we do not live this faith, we suffer a lack of freedom that will change our world. This loss of freedom comes as a loss of faith in what is good. The Good that God offers is the only true Love available to us. We need the means to believe that God is in our lives and what others tell us is false. We need dauntlessness, because without this we will fail.

Through our faith, we continue to trust in the divine hand of friendship, forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption, offered so freely by God. We have the strength to speak against those who want to reverse what Jesus taught us. Madelyn Albright said that it took her a long time to develop a voice, and once she had it, she would not remain silent. We must do the same. If we allow others to speak for us, we will cede the ability, and the right, to deny how others view us.

All of us have the unity of spirit and of the Spirit; we must demonstrate our unity of Love for each other, the sympathy for others’ plights, and open our hearts to suffer with those affect by harsh words. I try to express my Love of others, not by saying that I love them; but by the way I treat all whom I meet, directed by the  Love that Jesus asked us to live by; the Love to Live by. This is not easy, and I am not perfect; but I do my best to treat all those I meet as if they are part of my family. And, in reality, all are.

I believe that God created each of us with a definite purpose in mind; but, it is up to us to first recognize, then live up to this purpose. His plan of Love is for all; unfortunately, some of us think we know better and try to change the plan, wanting to shape others’ views to match as we deem prudent; but, prudent by our means, not God’s. Those who do this get offended when we do not conform to their views; we are the ones who should be offended.

God wants our companionship; I think She would be very happy if we desired the same from our fellow human beings. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget this.

                      Early Morning Meditation

Is Jesus alive in us? A difficult question for those who care and for those who do not care. He lived and died over two thousand years ago. Or, did he? A multitude of words have been spoken, written, or just meditated on his existence, purpose, and, above all, reality.

Well, here goes. It doesn’t matter. Much of what comes to us in the Bible is from oral history, inaccurate translations from long-dead languages, and twisted interpretations made by some long-dead people with their own agendas. Do we really think that the words of the Bible and the interpretations come to us without the personal slant of those who wrote it or even preach it today? It would be naïve of us to think that every word written or spoken about the life of Jesus is 100% valid. It can’t be. Just look at the varied interpretations in the four gospels. And, if you really want to be confused, read some of the lost or forbidden gospels in print today, gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas, or the Gospel of Mary. Much of what is written in these is included in the synoptic gospels, but not all, and not with the same emphasis.

So, what does matter. Whether we take the body of the work in its total, or just a sliver of it, let’s say from the Gospel of Matthew, we can learn from it. One of my favorite lessons from Matthew is the Sermon on the Mount. There are two things that are very obvious to those of us who ponder meditatively on it. There was nobody their recording and transcribing the sermon. There were no teleprompters; the words came directly from the lips of Jesus to those in attendance. In addition, Jesus gave this sermon many times, not just once. He gave it so many times that one of his apostles, maybe Matthew, had memorized it, and later wrote it down. But I doubt that Matthew could write more than his name.

So, what can we take from this all-important sermon? What can we not take from it? I will not go down the list of blessed mentioned by Jesus. I have already raised too many hackles on the back of your necks by what I have already written. What we can take from it is the message. God loves all of us. We may be oppressed by those in power, but God comforts us and protects us and Loves us. All who suffer at the hands of the ignorant oppressors, are comforted and blessed by God. God welcomes us with open arms and asks nothing in return. How unselfish is that?

Jesus says toward the end of Matthew 5: Let your light shine before men to allow them to see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. I have meditated much on this simple sentence and have come away with a strong belief that if I, myself, treat people with respect, accept them as equals to myself, live them as I love myself; if I do this toward others, I am glorifying all that is good in this world. I am surpassing those greedy oppressors whose only existence to attain more, more riches on this earth. Only to lose them all upon their passing from this life into the next.

Jesus did not travel with the rich, the connected, the powerful; He traveled with the poor, the sick, the outcasts. His sermon was to introduce a better life, not a life of material wealth, because that life is short-lived at best. He offered a life that mattered.

I was (at times) a moderately successful businessman with good years and bad years; I was well-respected in my business community. I did not steal or abuse those around me and all who entered my business were treated with respect. I was miserable. Then tragedy struck. I was in a very serious, almost life-ending traffic accident and lost my business. After recovery, I returned to college and then began teaching. I began sharing myself with others who needed my talents. I was looking beyond my needs to the needs of my students. As I did with my customers, I treated all my students equally and with respect. I accepted them or who they were; I accepted them for how crude some of the young men were; I accepted them for how much sex was exuded from some of the young women. They were all in my care; in a word, they were all my children to be loved and respected and given the same opportunity.

In effect, without really thinking about it, or for that matter, without the in-depth meditative knowledge that I now possess, I was offering them the true message of the Sermon on the Mount. I was also letting my light shine on them to allow others to see the good works of God and glorifying His name. what I then called treating them fairly, I now see as following my interpretation of The Sermon.

So, let me return to my original question. It does not matter whether Jesus lived two thousand years ago. Although, I believe He did. What does matter is the lessons of his life. I don’t care what lens you view this lesson, whether it is from a Christian, Muslim, or Jewish viewpoint. The message is the same. I believe that by living the life I now live, treating others with love and respect, I am living the life that God wants.

Insufferable Times:

We are on the brink of a different world. One that has been approaching and may now be imminent. In one respect, this is both exciting and challenging, above all challenging. However, it is also fraught with indecision and trepidation. Ignorance and prejudice are invading our everyday lives to the point that for many seem to be acceptable and threateningly normal. These two elements are the midwives of disinformation. We must confront ignorance with knowledge and bigotry with tolerance and persistence. If not, control leaves our hands and is placed in the hands of those who are led by the vices of greed and self-worship. Racism and gender oppression can, will, and must be defeated. 

Compassion must lead the way, because it proclaims that the pain suffered by the oppressed is to be taken seriously and is not to be accepted as the norm. this oppression is not natural; it is perverted and unacceptable for humanity. We must open our ears, our hearts, listening for the word of God, following the voices that beckon us. May we rediscover our grace, preparing the way for all of God’s creatures to return to compassion and tenderness. Our world may not become Edenic, but we can produce a more tenderhearted world.

Let us be the light in the darkness that surrounds us. We must set aside logic, stop just thinking about it; just be God’s children; just imagine and recreate this old/new world. We might be surprised at what comes. Instead of searching for the light, let us be the light. The first president Bush restated Jesus’ words that we should be the city upon the hill, the light of the world. I believe that we can return to this vision.

We should pray for the grace to see this present world as it is, rather than as God originally created it. We should take up God’s words, accept his invitation to be true disciples, praying, trusting that God is making all things right . . . praying for God’s leadership and assistance.

Optimism is with us . . . if we allow it

If we agree that there is an instinct for freedom and progress, that there are opportunities for change, then there is a possibility that we can collectively contribute to making our world better. Our world seems to be coming apart at the seams. People are upset and in the streets demonstrating; masses of our population have no idea what is true and what is false. These two diverse views come together when we see that people are waiting for what will eventually come; and it shall come, but maybe not the way we expect.

Talking with people, I find there is an optimism that seems to be contradictory to current events. This optimism will keep us on the path to progress, the path to true freedom. When Christians and other people of faith get back to the foundations and the One we follow, we see that rebirth of these concepts is not only possible, but key to this journey, this pathway. Our faith is especially important and helpful at this critical moment when the health of the very existence of life forms are seriously at risk.

We can see so little. Life unfolds slowly and in stages. When we look at today, at the now, we should practice a posture of compassion: we’re not seeing everything there is to see and understand. There’s always more; there is always something hidden from view that we must allow room to grow, room to mature, developing into something we can grasp and mold to the greater needs. We cannot be selfish; we must be humble enough to accept that others are involved and others need care.

We were created for union, for working together; but this can present a feeling of emptiness. We spend most of our lives projecting and protecting our own small ideas, thinking in a mode of separate self-image. In a world based on ideology, it seems impractical to talk of unit and compromise; but isn’t this what makes us and has made us as the most prosperous and progressive civilization in history. We have lost these concepts.

I pray that our leaders, political, educational, and spiritual can offer a unified message that working together is what works. Then, we might regain the instinct for freedom and progress, regain the objective of making the world, the whole world, a better place to live.

^{Miscellaneous thoughts on New Year’s day:}

^{One of the practices that we as humans have is to make a superabundance of resolutions that we have no real design in keeping. I am only making one this year. With only one, I might have a better chance of working to change my little corner of the world. I will try my best to be much more aware of my surroundings, and how I usually disrespect them. I am not going to become an eco-freak, but I am going to take care on what and how I waste.}

^{From the book of Genesis, God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” The earth feeds us, all 6 billion of us. We have to stop abusing our home. Towards the end of the first chapter of Genesis, God stepped back, looked at his creation, and declared that it was very good.}

^{I wonder how good it is today.}

^{One of my abuses is the use of my car; I am guilty of over using it. I have an eco-friendly car, if there is such a thing. I-95 is a parking lot most hours of most days. I can’t open the window without breathing all the exhaust fumes.}

^{Rather than convince our political leaders that we must increase mass transit, we allow and encourage them to pave over more of the Earth to allow us to drive even more.}

^{Keeping with the idea of driving everywhere, I look on the shoulders of I-95 and see a garbage dump. It seems that many people don’t know that they can keep their garbage in their car and then put in receptacles at rest stops. Or, they may just not care. Our highways are garbage cans for the uncaring; but our city streets are even worse. The trash I see in the gutters characterize a barbaric society.}

^{If we cannot place our garbage in proper waste baskets, it is highly unlikely that we can begin respect the Earth God gave us.}

^{If I take this one step further, if we cannot respect the Earth, how can we respect each other. We are so consumed by our own needs that we place our desires, our comfort ahead of all else. This includes people, animals, and plants; everything that God declared very good.}

^{My prayer this first day of 2018 is that all people take the time to think of others before themselves to allow others to enjoy the life that God has given us.}

Not too Simple!

I believe that we are caught up in the throes of a renewed awakening, a period of sustained cultural and political transformation during which our ways of seeing the world, understanding ourselves, and expressing faith are on the cusp of change.

Intense change will end what most of us believe or assume to be true. The monumental transformation in our society has created a creates the double-edged monster of decline, what must follow is renewal. God did not promise that nothing would harm us; She promised to be with us and guide us regardless of the perils we face. And we do face immense perils in our society and the world today.

I do not agree with what our leaders are doing in Washington; this includes members of both political parties. I want to be fair to all people and their beliefs. My father was a staunch Republican, absolutely have no use for the Democrats. As a youth, I agreed with him. Then came reality. I am what some would call an independent, having voted for people on both sides of the aisle. I matured in the 1960s with the political and social unrest brought on by the Vietnam War, the fight for civil rights for all people, and the ERA for women. The 1960s was a period of intense and hateful divisions in our country.

We then went into a period of relative calm. Our leaders joined forces to enact true improvements for the citizens of this country. Then, as in all history, we as a people became complacent, just as did the ancient Israelis 2500 years ago. The 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and now the 2010s brought chaos in the cultural and political lives of the country.  We, the people, have forgotten that we are the government; we have allowed special interest groups to rule us.

We must return to what our values based on our faith, not money; and, I am not centering on any one religion. I have read the holy books of most religions in the world and as a general rule, I have found that all teach the same basic message: Love God, Love our neighbors (including strangers), and Love ourselves. Welcome those who are in need or need a place to eat and sleep.

This seems to be such a simple message; but it is a message that we have long forgotten. It is critical that we reverse the downward slope we are traversing, before it is too late. We shirk our responsibilities to others and care only for ourselves. I heard a religious person from Detroit say that we cannot blame the politicians for our woes. They are only doing what they know how to do . . . protect themselves. This is a perfect example of how we act and react towards each other. We voted for these politicians; well, not really; only 51% of us voted; the rest of us did not care to vote.

I know I have gone way off the title of this, but I will return to it. Our lives depend on us following very simple rules that can be extremely difficult if we allow them to be. We must Love God, Love ourselves, and love our fellow man. We must also demonstrate this Love daily. If we do not, we will find it almost impossible to experience the profound transformation needed.

I have always believed in the KISS principle. Keep it simple, stupid. I despise the word stupid; after all, I am an educator and do not believe that people are stupid. However, in this case, I will overrule my own unofficial conduct and us this term, because I believe that unless we recognize what we must do, the minimum we must do, we will fail as a society, as a world society.

There are merely three days before we greet a new year and face new problems, or maybe old problems that seem to have magnified. It is time to take a step backwards and seek patience, guidance, and the freedom to release our tainted minds, loosen our controls over those things we view to be certitudes. A time for change should begin with a time to seek greater guidance in our lives. When we pray for this guidance, we are already being guided by God; the desire for guidance is this first step to easing our pre-determined controls that have made us edgy in the old year. When we seek guidance, God is with us, helping us to find the correct way.

As we face this change, this new beginning, let us pause to receive the Joy of this past Advent season, remembering what brought us to this time of year. Look at our families; be thankful for all the blessing received by and for those closest to us. Look around for any words of kindness, any generosity, any acts of charity.

Linda and I had the occasion to join others in a celebration of communal loving kindness. The Table at St. George’s Episcopal Church is a vital ministry for those in need in the Fredericksburg area. There are many congregational and client volunteers who work unselfishly to bring much needed food to our neighbors. The celebration last night was to thank those who diligently work behind the scenes to bring this ministry to life. A handful of people give their time to individually bag food donations from such businesses and Panera, and Wawa. These donations fill a gap in what we can purchase; they come to us in bulk and must be separated, discarding any spoiled food, and then individually wrapped for presentation at The Table. Hours of tedious work are required each week. This handful of volunteers are a blessing, and a joy to be with.

We also have another group of volunteers that rises very early on Christmas morning, congregate at St. George’s, and prepare Christmas packages for the homeless families who must live in one-room motels to keep their children off the streets. This year, these volunteers delivered over 200 food packages to our neighbors living in motels in Fredericksburg.

Little things such as this may go unnoticed by the masses, but they are the vital tasks that need requires. These volunteers are gifts from God.

Our challenges for the new year will still be present; however, with our recognition that we must be diligent in our efforts, be thankful for our volunteers, and by all means take the time to thank God for his blessings, and his support in our efforts to bring love and kindness to our neighbors. We celebrate this relationship.