Comfort in the time of Trial
speak kindly to one another
do not retire angry
share with the needy
tender hearts rule the day
forgive
as we are forgiven
obey the voice
of God
within you
within us all
open hearts to
all humanity
do not turn away
from those who displease
make our hearts
be filled with calm waters
comfort
as we are comforted
speak kindly to one another
tender hearts rule the day
Six Feet Apart, but Still Hugging and Holding Hands
In these days of being sequestered from friends and family, we do a lot of things differently to fill the time. Although I read the Bible every day, I have taken to meditating more on what I read. Looking at what the Episcopal lectionary asks us to read for Sunday, March 22nd, I am reflecting something that Jeremiah said thousands of years ago, “ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
When we walk in the truth of God’s love, our spiritual selves overcome the brokenness of our physical bodies. When we are in trouble, and seek comfort, God answers. Although I cannot be with my children and their families, we touch each other over the phone. I miss the physical hugs but am warmed by the love that comes through the airways.
In this period of Lent, we are meant to join together in celebration of God’s love as brought to us through the teachings of Jesus. This period is a time of relationship, the relationship of all of us to each other and the relationship of all of us with God. Each night, as I retire to bed, I try to bring the faces of the people I worked with or met over my 77 years. I may not always remember their names, but by bringing them into my consciousness, I am both praying for them and remembering the great times we had together.
I also enjoy meeting and talking with new friends that I meet in my daily chores. I miss this part of my life, but I know that when this present hardship is over, these new friends will be there to share God’s love. As I spiritually walk and meet my fellow brothers and sisters, I know that the light of God’s love and compassion protects us from all evils. We rejoice over the realization that God is a loving God, walking side by side with us or carrying us when we stumble. When we stumble, God delivers love and comfort to us. All we need to do is close our eyes and open our hearts to feel the warmth and glow of true compassion and caring. God rejoices with us when we walk in His Truth. Let us hold hands from a distance, give ourselves air hugs, and enjoy warm hearts in God’s love.
Why?
When God instructed Moses to take his staff and strike the rock, allowing water to gush forth, God was providing humanity with the life-giving spring water of eternal life. All God asks is that we be faithful to Him and love Him. This is when the Jews in the desert began to believe in one God, even though their abstinence did not allow them to enter the promised land, only their children could.
This Exodus passage teaches us that God will provide for all our needs; we only have to love Him, but our own obstinance clouds our ability to recognize His life-giving presence in our lives. All our lives we are His children, the sheep of His pasture, and its caretakers. We are gifted with this and responsible for this. But first, we must learn how to be God’s children. We must learn how to be loved. We must learn how to receive love. We must learn how to pass this love to others.
This may cause us great suffering, but as Paul says, suffering blesses us with endurance, which blesses us with character and hope. Hope for our futures, living in His pastures. Hope permits us God’s love which passes into our hearts through the ever-present Holy Spirit. We are truly blessed.
The meeting of the woman at Jacob’s well tells us of the water that Jesus gives us, the water of everlasting life. Jesus promises that this fresh spring water gives us everlasting life. How enriching this is to experience the love that Jesus has for this unknown and unnamed woman. We recognize the specialness of Jesus because he was able to humble himself and love everyone. If we are also children of God, how is it possible that we cannot do the same? Is it impossible for us to humble ourselves as Jesus did? He has shown us the way; now we must learn to follow.
God chose people from the lowest ranks of society to lead. Moses was a slave; Jesus was a poor carpenter. Why? Why does God live with the forgotten ones? Why? Perhaps if we humble ourselves, perhaps if we trust in God, we will learn why.
Pain
My family surrounds me with love
they cannot stop the pain.
My neighbors bring in food and love
and stay to visit for a while
they also cannot stop the pain.
My minister comes and blesses me
and prays with me
he cannot stop the pain.
I know that God is with me,
always
but the pain persists.
Friends call, offer prayers
they cannot stop the pain.
I walk a road that one
can only walk alone
abandonment follows pain.
I look around
see many friends
many relatives
but I am alone.
I feel forgotten
in the bane of pain.
We walk this path alone
except for God
who eases our heart
though still in pain.
God gives us the strength
to move forward
face our pain
We follow the path
travelled by Jesus.
He also walked into pain
showing us the way
to trust God
to relieve our loneliness
our abandonment.
In pain,
I rest in God’s arms,
comforted by is love,
as shown through our family
and friends
and ministers
The Least of These
Throughout my life, I have been many things, but at the age of 50, I began a new career in teaching. I taught at both the high school and college level for about 25 years. One of the first untruths I learned was that being a teacher is powerful position; once I closed the door of the classroom, I was the tsar; I could do anything (within acceptable reason) that I desired.
The first truth I learned was that even though I had all the power, of the 25 beings in the classroom, on a scale of one to twenty-five, I was number 25. The students always came first in my classes. As most of my peers did, I spent hours after school grading and lesson prepping; but the thing I enjoyed most was working with the students for their success.
During my first year, a few of my male students asked if it was possible to form a military history club. I said yes; without asking permission to do so, we began this club meeting at 6:30 AM once a week. We looked at historic battles, studied the tactics, and then watch Hollywood films about it. By year two, there were so many involved, we began two mornings a week. By year three, there were boys and girls, and the days became three.
The club ran for over fourteen years; five students, including one girl, were accepted at one of the four military colleges; the girls was accepted at Annapolis and graduated third in her class. Another seven students received full ROTC scholarships. One male and one female, became combat Marine leaders.
Although this had to do with war, most of these students now have left the military and begun their own families.
I was also the debate team coordinator. During my third year of this, a parent came to me asking if their son could join the debate team. I said that I would welcome him; she then explained that he had a mild Asperger’s and found it difficult to speak. I learned from Charles for three years; he became the president of the club, and under his leadership, we got to the state finals in the Lincoln-Douglas competition. Upon graduating from college, he joined the IMF as a finance specialist.
The lesson I learned that first year was that as a teacher, I was the least among many. My students were my symphony. By submitting my abilities to their needs, my students were much more important than me in my classes.
This is why, when I think of the basics, to me the most important and the most fulfilling is being the least of these. By being the least of these, I was able to let my students shine. Being the least of these, I found my Love of God.
Jesus said “Eat,” “Drink.”
Eat, drink, simple invitations Jesus asks of us. He doesn’t say we have to; he invites us to share in his love and God’s love. We don’t need to think about this; the invites are clear. There are no preconditions, as some demand. Jesus didn’t come to bless the priests; he came to bless the sinners. He came to bless us.
Through Jesus, we understand that God loves all of his creation. He doesn’t take sides; he doesn’t punish; He is a loving parent of us all, no matter where we live or what we look like. All faces show the beauty of God. God looks into our hearts and sees love; all we have to do is turn that love into action. That’s why I begin dialogues with strangers. I want all to be happy and friendly. Everybody wants kind words and friendly greetings.
If God accepts all of humanity, can we do any less. None of us are perfect. None of us know all there is to know. God wants us to take our imperfections, overcome them, and try to bring the most good to everyone and everything.
We are now immersed into a very caustic political battle over who will be our next president. We all take sides; this is natural. What we have to realize is that both sides of the issues are right; and, both sides of the issues are wrong. Both sides have good points; both sides have bad points. Some we agree with; some we don’t. Neither side is evil.
If both sides are imperfect, that doesn’t mean that those we disagree with are bad; they just do not agree with us. We have to respect them, because God loves them just as much as God loves us. We are all his children. We all drink from the same holy cup and share the same holy bread.
God blesses all! We don’t need to think; just eat . . . and drink! As Jesus asks.
Faith
Look to heaven;
blue skies bring the sun;
white clouds add beauty
to God’s wonders.
Dark clouds bring
life-giving rain,
feeding our soil,
feeding our flocks,
feeding ourselves.
Look to the earth;
rich soil brings us
the food we eat.
Soil brings us trees for shade
And beauty.
The soil accepts our bodies when
we are called to God.
The heavens and earth
are full of God’s grace.
We are its shepherds.
We must preserve it
for our children;
we must preserve it
as God preserves us.
We must preserve it
as a lustrous gift of God.
As I look to the heavens
and the earth,
I realize that I am
but a grain of sand on the beach,
a grain of sand
preserved in God’s Love
preserved and caressed
by God
God is my past!
God is my future!
God is within me . . .
always!
The Wind
He passes through me like the gale winds on a stormy beach,
but always leaves something behind.
I do a great deal of reading and studying in the Bible. Although I take nothing literally, I do understand the messages that it offers. Today, I read from John about the wind; where it comes from and where it goes, we do not know. We hear it; we feel it; but we do not see it. We only see the effects of it.
John continues by saying that everyone who is born of the Spirit is like the wind. Jesus is the wind; we don’t know where he comes from or where he goes. But we do know that he is always within us. Inside, rustling our inner beings
with love, kindness, and concern for other, blessing us for walking in his light.
When his disciples saw the change in Jesus, when his transfiguration occurred, I wonder of the misconception here in my own mind. I do not believe that Jesus was transfigured at this moment in time. Jesus was and is always the Son of God. what I believe is that his disciples’ eyes were opened, and they experienced the true Jesus, as God. When God spoke, they heard Jesus for the first time.
We also need to experience this transformation; then we too can hear God for all times. When we do, we can know for the first time what the Song of Songs says: “for now, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.” The dark times of our life are truly taken up by Jesus, and like the disciples, we see Jesus as God desires.
He passes through me like the gale winds on a stormy beach,
but always leaves love behind.
Temptation
In this week’s lectionary, much is discussed about sin. I do not believe in original sin; therefore, I cannot accept that we are condemned because of one story in the Bible about how one man defied the will of God and attained the knowledge (of good and evil). If we read the story of Adam, the devil in the disguise of a snake, convinced Eve that man should eat from the tree of life. Mankind in the form of Eve was unable to resist the temptation of evil.
We are tempted every day, and yet, most of us can resist the temptation to leave the paths of our lives and do wrong, in the church’s words, sin. According to the church, most things that man does are sins. How can that be, if we indeed are made in the image and likeness of God, as it says in the Bible.
I will make one example. According to the story, when Adam and Eve were both created, they were naked, and they were not ashamed. They ate of the tree and then were ashamed, ashamed, not sinned. According to the church, nudity is a sin. But God made man naked in His original design. In God’s eyes, being naked cannot be a sin, only in the limited outlook of church leaders. I may be uncomfortable without clothing, but I am not sinning.
God asks only one thing, and that is for us to say yes to Him. By saying yes to God, we are in fact worshiping and serving only Him. If we say yes to God, we cannot be tempted by evil; we cannot be tempted to leave our righteous paths to seek something God does not want for us. When we pray, we are listening for God to show us the way we are meant to follow. When we listen and say yes, we do not sin. Say yes to God.
Golden Morning of Created Bliss
Rising with the morning sun,
alive with renewed life,
God’s creation around us,
paradisiac,
abounding with glorious life.
Morning’s aura surrounds us,
feeling nothing but impotence,
as we awaken to each new reality
of each newly created morning.
But whose reality?
As the sun grows in brilliance,
rising above the horizon,
we thrust forward
to feel the glory
of a new day, a new life.
Every day created anew
offers a newly created life,
shining in creative solemnitude,
or tottering on the edge of pettiness?
Ours is the choice;
the day is ours to embrace,
but always,
we are God’s images on earth,
newly formed each
golden morning of created bliss.
Meditating to Heal 