Meditating to Heal

Jesus says, “Feed my Sheep;” I take this to be both spiritually and physically. He also says that the preeminent standard of genuine love is how well you treat the person who is your enemy. And then there is the one we learn as children, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” I’m sure you can find many more references in the New Testament calls upon us to love our neighbor.

We are one flock; we are all born as children of God. We are all born to mothers whose bodies have nurtured us through nine months of pre-birth, Just as Mary did when pregnant with Jesus. Regardless of the circumstances, from the time the seed begins to grow, God loves us. And when it is time for our mortal bodies to be shed, God welcomes us home. I include in this miscarriage, abortion, fatal childhood diseases, war, auto accidents, or just simple old age. God loves his flock.

And we are one member of this eternal flock. And when we take in the meaning of Jesus on the cross, we recognize that all groups, living mortally or just spiritually are reconciled as one loving flock.

To be honest, there are times when I do not feel part of the loving flock. Then I tread passages in the Bible and realize that I am. I look at the lust of David whom God loved. If God can love someone who had a man killed in combat so that he could marry his widow, God can love me with my minor sins. When I read the Psalms, I understand that they are written praises to God, written by this murderer. We revere him as a great moral and spiritual leader.

I also understand the terror that Mary must have felt. She is maybe fifteen years of age when the angel told her of God’s plans for her. As an unmarried pregnant teen, she could have been an outcast and possibly stoned to death for her misdeeds. I say misdeeds because mankind has no sympathy for the mistakes we make. And, I am not saying Mary made a mistal, but others may accuse her of such. Mankind is so intolerant.

When I feel distraught, I think of David and Mary. Both children of God; both loved by God. Both members of God’s beloved flock.

So, brothers and sisters, I pray for your health; I pray for your love. Let us all be loving and tolerant members of God’s beloved flock.

© Russell Kendall Carter

From the Psalms: “O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.” It is not as simple as that in our exciting news-filled, noise-filled world. We try to make everything easy to do because we are so busy trying to make everything easy to do. Since it is the time of Advent, let us use Christmas as an example. As John Gering writes, “It’s tempting to turn Christmas into a safe holiday that asks little of us. But that would ignore the prophetic, subversive life of Jesus.” We exchange our gifts, eat our Christmas feasts with maybe a prayer first, drink our wine, and then move on preparing for the new year celebration.

I think back to my study of the Desert Christians of the first through fourth centuries. First were the desert monastics who escaped to the desert persecuted by Rome before and after Christianity became the state religion of Rome. When Rome adopt Christianity as a state religion, all Roman citizens were declared Christians. I sometimes think that we still serve this Christianity. Then there were those who migrated back to the deserts for a life of meditation, a life of prayer. These Christians emulating the teachings of Jesus had no church built for them; they lived a true prayerful and meditative life.

This is the Christianity we need to magnify; this is the type of Christian I yearn to be. Jesus spent forty days in the desert just prior to his three-year ministry which we love and cherish. We also retreat to the desert to learn, to meditate, to study, to pray. This desert is the darkness within us. It is the spiritual darkness where we meet God, where we meet the light that Jesus brought. This is the desert where we try to better ourselves, living and walking the path to God. This is the desert that as we emerge from it, we gain the spiritual gift of life, eternal life that we live with God. We magnify this life, not be closed to others, but to open ourselves, greeting all as equal brothers and sisters searching. . . searching. This is the life that when found magnifies the living God within us. This is the life of the children of God in all its magnificence.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Generations. . . how do we define a generation? According to our society, a generation is about twenty to thirty years. In that time children are born, mature, marry, and have children of their own. But when we think about generations in a spiritual sense, generations takes on a whole different configuration.

I must return to Genesis for my initial meditation! After God finished his holy creation in seven days, Genesis 2:4 tells us, “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.” This is the King James Version; some newer translations replace the word generations with aeons and aeons. This gives a whole new consideration to how long a generation is. Later in Genesis, God makes a promise to Noah, “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations” (9:12).

This is the generations that I meditate on every day. Our Supreme Being, whom we call God, and the Israelites called YHWH, created us, love us, and cares for us. Regardless of what generation we are in (I was born in the middle of World War 2), we are God’s people; we are His chosen; we are His cherished beings. WE ARE LOVED!

Mosaic law gives us ten commandments; these are detailed in both Genesis and Exodus. Jesus’s law, which is what we as Christians follow, gives us two commandments: love God and love each other. These are the commandments we have followed for generations. At least we pretend to!

But generations in the time of Advent means so much more. As we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we fall on our knees in prayer; we sing hallelujah to the newborn king; we wash each other’s feet and then receive the Eucharist, rejoicing in the blessings we receive from God.

My life, my generation is nearing its end. I have maybe one, maybe twenty more years walking on Earth, enjoying the blessings and grace of Jesus’s true lighted path. God has given me more than I ever asked. God loves me as I love Him. My mortal existence may end, but my soul, my spiritual existence has lived for generations and will continue living for generations. This is the gift of God; this is the gift of the One who loves and cares. This is the God that made the covenant with Moses many generations ago.

This is my generation!

© Russell Kendall Carter

For several years, my wife and I always discussed who was tending better to the flock of Jesus’s sheep. At our church she and two other sixty-plus women began what was ultimately called The Table. This brought not only non-perishable food to those in need, but it also supplied them with fresh vegetables and fruit. And when the pandemic hit, they took The Table our into the world and delivered food to both food deserts and senior communities. Our community was truly blessed by their feeding the sheep.

In doing this, they definitely emulated Jesus feeding the five thousand. With the help of great monetary contributions, The Table was and still is, although under new management, a vital new management, a vital new management, a vital new management, a vital new management, a vital ministry serving the community. The heart The Table and the heart of our church is the heart of Jesus, sharing His passionate, loving care for the security and safety of mankind. At one time, Saint Francis proclaimed that on Christmas as day, even the walls should eat meat. This is truly the call to feed all people substantial food. Nobody should be hungry.

Our discussion begins with this ministry! The other side of the coin is my contribution. This is the spiritual side and the prayer for, by, and of all mankind. I am a prayer minister at our church, and I also write prayers and meditations that I share. People also are hungry for spiritual ministries of prayer; they long to be closer to God and to walk with Jesus on His lighted path. All people need prayer ministers that will listen to their needs and not offer advice. Prayer ministers pray to God, not asking for God to perform miracles, but to bring comfort and quiet to our own lives, enabling us to bring these same blessings and graces from God to all.

Through prayer and meditation, I open my mind to the unity of God and man in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. His teachings are vital to our lives today. Being able to bring spiritual food to the masses is one of the great deeds of Jesus. I to emulate Him to bring this same comfort to people of my generation. With God’s blessings of course.

© Russell Kendall Carter

From Matthew and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Jesus is the perfect example of being meek; however, meekness does not mean weakness. Jesus had a power unequaled before or since. Meekness does not mean weakness. Jesus loved us and taught us that God loves us; therefore, we should love one another. What greater blessing can we have?

From Luke we learn “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Speaking of Mary, the message is not only for her. It is for all women who lovingly bring a child of God to birth. We all are children of God, which is our blessing through our mother’s womb from God. We love our mothers, and we love God; this is the step that begins our journey of loving all beings that are created by God, which means we love all of God’s blessed creation. I live in God’s creation; I know; I live; I am blessed.

I love the Greek word agape; the Greeks blessed us with this all-encompassing word, this all-encompassing love of the world and its people. This is the love that does not just happen; it is the choice we make, fulfilling Jesus’s second great commandment, acting in the fashion that brings well-being and God’s blessing to others.

We remember that Jesus begins all of his endearments in the Beatitudes with the words “blessed are the. . .). As we re-read and restudy these blessings, we are deep in the hands of God’s blessings for all of His creation. I am blessed, you are blessed, we all are blessed by God’s loving presence in our lives, in our communities, and in our world.

May God’s blessings shine within your hearts and soul.

© Russell Kendall Carter

December 18 Sing

Sing, song – thankfully, these are all around us. We sing the psalms in church; “of thee I sing.” We sing songs in popular culture. I go back to Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.” Unfortunately, I can no longer jitterbug. One of my favorite songs is, “With a Song in my Heart,” the biopic of Jane Froman and from the musical Spring by Rodgers and Hart. But my favorite song is simply “Sing.” Whether you like the version from the Muppets or from the Carpenters doesn’t matter, although I prefer Karen Carpenter singing it.

When I hear Karen signing this, it brings me comfort; it brings me closer to God and His Holy Creation.

I love when we sing the Lord’s Prayer in church. It is so beautiful even when sung by my gruff base voice. God and Lord Jesus hears us praying in song, and this is a blessing for all mankind.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Buzz feeds – all around us, filling our day with noise, incessant noise. All day long we get questions on our cell phones, from Facebook, asking our opinions and wants on a myriad of topics not related to anything. We are bombarded by this circumforaneous noise, these inconsequential questions. We are part of a society that has developed a revolving showcase of trivialities. It is impossible to know where our attention is now, in this moment.

When we take the time to end this bombardment in our minds, turning off the radio, the music stations, the news, and our cellphones, we can be in the moment. We can bring ourselves into our true beings as children of God. We can accept His Bounty, His Word, His Truth. And we will discover that inner force of solitude and attention to our true beings. We enter silence; we empty our minds; we pray for God’s Words to fill us.

In this silence, this desert, our attentiveness is filled with our reservoir of love, hope, and peace within. This is why Jesus entered the desert; this is why when we meditate, we enter our own desert, our own seclusion from the too many questions. We enter God’s reality. John writes, “in the beginning was the Word. . . and the Word was God.” Where is my attention? My attention is with the Word – the bountiful Word of God. When we leave our deserts, we turn our attention to God’s wishes for the world.

Our lives are bountiful due to the Grace of God. We cherish this bounty given by the ethics and teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We pray with thanksgiving for the light of God that Jesus shows us. We cast aside the incessant buss feeds that pester us. By sharing God’s bountiful Love, we journey together as a powerful force, sustaining faith, hope, love, and charity. We invite God to walk with us in His bountiful Grace of Love, Truth, Life, and Hope. . . but only when we walk together in God’s bountiful creation.

© Russell Kendall Carter

 

We await God’s presence, alert, watching for the shining light shining on the lighted path of Truth and Love. We are blessed by the presence of Jesus in our learning and the Holy Spirit in our lives. The wisdom and ethics that Jesus taught is graciously given because we are God’s children. I have read so much about using God’s blessing to seek justice for all of our friends and neighbors. I pray each day for guidance to bring my prayers into being as I open my heart with God’s love and caring.

We need to hear God’s voice; we need to feel God’s presence to conduct this challenging task. Sometimes, however, we cannot hear, we cannot feel. We lose hope, especially reading about the possibility of wars all around the globe and even in our own country. We are scared! We fear going to a popular place or to a mall for shopping because there might be a crazed gunman angry at himself or the world. But I think back to the times described in the Bible, Israel being overrun by neighbors, religious leaders determined to kill Jesus, and two or three hundred years later, people with ideas that did not agree with church leaders being excommunicated or even burned at the stake. I ask if anything is really any more dangerous today.

I apologize in advance to philosophizing. I look at my life and the lives of my children and grandchildren. We are all blessed by God’s goodness and Love. You and I are not different. God blesses us. Knowing that I live the life that pleases God, I have very little fear of external events. I know that God is with me and my family. I know that God is with you and your family. We suffer pain, we suffer loss, but we are comforted by God’s presence. This is just as true in times of quiet as it is in times of trial.

I memorized this line when I was in grammar school and Sunday school: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” We recognize this from Psalm 23. A former shepherd boy wrote these words. We revere in God’s Love and protection. As we approach Christmas in this Advent season, let us share our gladness of God’s Love and fear no evil.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

 

Stay Awake! Be quiet! God will come to you. As we sit in meditation, we sometimes feel abandoned. We are in too much of a hurry to really empty our minds of the mundane demands of our decadent society. We must practice being quiet. As with our television boxes, we must push the reset button to get the program we crave. With our minds, we may have to hit this reset button over and over again before we are able to experience true quiet and solitude in our active brains.

We leave our self-imposed wildernesses to prepare a way for God to enter our consciousness; the ritual and practice we follow to prepare us to be a true contemplative are necessary for deep understanding of the teachings and ethics of Jesus. During Advent, we are in a time of exalted expectation; we open our hearts to receive the shining light that Jesus brings and find strength in His Glory.

Personally, I devote ample time to experience the intensity and awareness of being alive in Christ’s light. I possess no knowledge that was not given me by our God. Jesus reminds us about material wealth when he invites us to possess nothing materially for those who possess nothing, possesses all. With practice, I have been able to rid myself of the unease of silence. With God’s help, I can possess conscious attentiveness of the mission of my life.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

 To exult. . . to rejoice; to celebrate. Another definition is to boast. The word boast is often substituted for the word brag; but boast can also mean to revel, as in revelation. Let us exult in the grand expectations of this divine word. It is Advent, the season of exultation. We await the spiritual rebirth of our Rabbi, Jesus. This is truly of time of celebration and revelation. We are sanctified by the life of Jesus; Jesus. . . whose wisdom was true 2100 years ago, is true today, and will be true for ever.

One of the Beatitudes offers a blessing to the pure in heart. We are these for we do not walk in darkness; we walk on the lighted path Jesus paved for us. God never asks us to walk alone. We have the Holy Spirit as our travelling companion always. We are God’s children and through Jesus our sins are forgiven.

Heavenly Father, we are blessed by your bringing us together, opening the door of righteousness, and inviting us to bring Your wishes to our world, protecting us from the ruin surrounding us. Our lives are sacred by Your Grace. We celebrate and exult the teachings of Your Son and our eternal Rabbi, Jesus.

 © Russell Kendall Carter