Monday, September 2, 2019

See Me



"On a Sabbath, Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He told a parable to those who had been invited . . . 'When you hold a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.  Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability repay you.' "- [Luke 14: 1, 7-14].


I once knew an important man, who went about boasting that he attended all the big charity dinners and concerts. He regaled all, with stories of those glittering evenings. He showed around photos of banquets laden with gourmet food, photos of the stellar guests dressed in their finest designer clothing. 'Oh, ' he would say, ' By the way, this was all for charity.'

It seemed like he was more motivated by the fine accoutrements offered, or by the personal pleasure enjoyed in such luxurious trappings. The people whom he was meant to serve were an afterthought. They were strangers to him, or mere props in his pursuit of pleasure.

He seemed more interested in toting up the value of what he had received, as against the charitable donation that he had made. The charity banquet became a financial transaction - "I gave $100 but received things worth far more than that in the course of an evening."

In this Scripture, Jesus advises us to invite "the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind".  These are neighbors or acquaintances who cannot possibly pay us back for our generosity. This kind of banquet is not designed to make our guests feel guilty.

This kind of banquet is designed to make us feel a whole lot less entitled. When we do not feel "owed" something, we suddenly become a whole lot more humble.

Love is the great leveler, is it not? Love asks us to give generously, from the heart. Love requires true sacrifice. Not forking over a few bucks, to get a guaranteed pay-off, now or in the future.

Love does not mean keeping score - 'I did this for you, now you owe me this.'

Love also requires us to meet ALL people, where they are.

Love requires me to accept that you are a "mere carpenter", and to find the value, the humanity and the Soul in that.

Love does not put certain people on a pedestal, and place others beneath us in status. Love is not a constant measuring up.

Jesus treated the dreaded tax collector, the woman of ill-repute, the Pharisee and the blind man, all with Love and respect. He truly saw them, but from the inside.

When I was a little girl, I was bullied. People "accused me" of coming from a rich family, as if that necessarily meant that I was a snob. They "accused me" of being intelligent, as if that necessarily meant that I was a know-it-all. They mocked my strong aquiline nose, they criticized my ethnicity, as if that meant that I did not belong in the place where I lived.

After awhile, even as a child, I realized that people were rejecting me because of things I could not control. Things I was born to be.

It was then that I vowed to never reject or criticize someone for who they were. I could wish that someone could change a bit - learn to be kinder, to work harder, to be more patient.

But I would never reject someone for being blind, poor, lame, a stranger from a foreign land, etc. These are characteristics that simply ARE, that say nothing about the person's talents, or their capacity to love, or to be of value in our world.

As a little girl, I longed for someone to see me for who I really was, from the inside. I longed for people to see past the superficialities, and to understand me to the core.

I cannot fix all the bullying from the past. But I can try to be more like Jesus, meeting people where they are.

I approach people where they are, with Love.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.

[Related Postings: "The Banquet", 10/12/14.]






Monday, August 26, 2019

God's Sandpaper



"Brothers and sisters, You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children: 'My child, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reported by Him; for whom the lord loves, He disciplines; He scourges every child [whom] He acknowledges.'   Endure your trials as 'discipline'; God treats you as sons and daughters. For what "child" is there whom his father does to discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed." -[Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13].

A Christian friend has explained the phrase, "God's Sandpaper" to me. It means that oftentimes in life, the same difficult personal issue will keep coming up. If we take the time to reflect upon some of the tough times in our life, and upon our attitudes and beliefs, we may see a pattern.

This friend explains that the same kind of trials may keep coming up over the years; and what ensues may be harsh consequences, or may be our own blindness to the patterns, or may ultimately become deeply healing lessons.

In my friend's case, she endured a childhood of poverty and abuse. God did not cause these circumstances in her life! God certainly does not believe that she ever deserved these experiences. But, my friend admits that she often reacts to completely unrelated events in her life with anger. She has had to apologize countless times, she has suffered impaired relationships because of it.

From a dysfunctional marriage, to bosses who took advantage of her extreme work ethic, to friends or family who took their own dysfunctions out on her - it took my friend a lot of prayer and trials and reflection to see that what God wants her to learn in all of this is that anger so often comes from the fear of being diminished or even lost.

And God wants her to learn that He has her back, and she does not need to live in fear or believe that she is marginalized. It took my friend a lot of pain and feelings of abandonment to begin to see that she IS a daughter of God and she does have value.

In my own case, my reaction to childhood abuse and trauma was to "go invisible". Over only a few years, I ate little, I slept little, I hid in my room, I numbed my emotions, and finally by age ten, I stopped speaking.

I have this belief that I matter to no one, and no one matters to me. I still half believe I am invisible. I still have a horror of being noticed or acknowledged. At times, the pain I bear from what I went through is so intense, I feel as if absolutely no one could have had it worse than I have had.

The first thing I did to heal, was to join a church. I was astonished that one of the pastors noticed that I never went up the aisle for Communion. What astonished me is that anyone would notice me at all! When I told him "Oh! I thought I was invisible!", he laughed out loud and assured me that I am NOT invisible.

The next thing I noticed is that the people at church learned my name and said hello. I was astonished at that, too. For a time I would actually look behind me to see if the greeter was talking to someone else, because she could not be addressing ME.

Soon I was invited to participate in church ministries. I was astonished at that, too. This meant that people really saw me, and wanted me to be actively involved. Even more, they wanted to hear my voice.

Finally, through church, I met two young men, who were former Lost Boys of South Sudan. I found myself unable to quell my curiosity about them and their stories. What I learned is that they went through far, far worse than I ever did. Where I was hungry and neighbors fed me, so often they went without food for days. Where I lived in fear, they forged ahead despite drought, monsoons, swollen rivers, rapacious lions, goring antelope; they braved the impossible, because they did not have the luxury of merely existing, they had to survive.

I asked one of the young men how he could possibly be so calm and at peace today? He replied, "What I went through made me into the man I am today."

My attitude has transformed totally. Yes, I still struggle to accept what happened to me. But I now have a much more finely-honed sense of compassion for others. All around me, I see others who have had it just as bad, and even much, much worse.

And then, in His final act of discipline and Healing, God called me to help these Lost Boys and their village. Suddenly, I am caring deeply for these men and their village. They truly matter to me, like the family I never had.

Ultimately, they have told me that I matter to them. In fact, they call me "Mom" because of my protective Love and counsel. I grew up never feeling that I belonged to anyone, or that anyone belonged to me. "God's Sandpaper" - all those times that someone has called me by name and gathered me close-  has made me visible and possessing of value.

I have had to be very brave to learn to feel and speak and sleep peacefully again. But the rewards of God's healing hand are great. I will never be invisible again.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.















 

Friday, August 9, 2019

The Rich Man

 “Jesus said to the crowd, ‘ Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.’  Then He told them a parable. ‘There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest? I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, ‘Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink and be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus it will be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.’ “
-[Luke 12: 13-21.]


In times gone by, we used to admire a person who had amassed wealth. People would say, ‘THAT man must be smart and hard-working and gifted, look at how successful he is!’

Today, we see a person who has amassed wealth and we see a person who must be, by definition, Evil. The wealthy person must have taken advantage of others to amass those riches. Maybe he practically stole the riches. He must have broken the law or walked over others to get ahead. We assume that we must hate wealthy persons, because wealth = evil.

Each of these notions of wealth is somewhat of a stereotype. A person who is wealthy may be honest, hard-working and fair. OR, he may be corrupt and evil. Every person’s bank account has a personal story behind the riches.

This Scripture says that “though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”  Luke also warns about those who “store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

God does not love us more, or less, based on our wealth. He loves everyone where they are.

What God does measure us by, is if we store up treasure for ourselves. He measures us by seeing if the wealth itself becomes an idol, something we worship more than we worship Him.

Wealth does make it harder to keep a clear head and put God first.  Putting God first is not impossible for a person who is wealthy. But the riches can easily get in the way of generosity and humility.

Getting wealth and keeping wealth can become more important than the qualities of Love, generosity, tolerance, peace, humility, patience and so on. Keeping wealth can become hoarding, or competing with others who have more wealth, or feeling envious of others who may have more than even we do.

I have seen countless times when a person comes into riches, and the wealth changes that person for the worse. Sometimes the wealthy person confuses the money with God’s approval. A rich person is in danger of believing that God must favor him because He has blessed him with wealth.

A wealthy person is in danger of  believing that those with fewer resources are somehow inferior.

For me, I remember when I was grateful to have a few dollars to buy the basic things I needed. I remember living paycheck to paycheck. I remember eating rice and beans for the last few nights before I got paid again, and the panic that set in after I had paid all my bills and I had so little left.

Now that I am comfortable, I find that my bank balance does not matter on a day to day basis. I find myself working on deep and loving relationships. People have told me that I am the most generous and selfless person they know.

I examine myself each time I make a decision, to ensure that my motivation comes from selflessness and humility, and not greed or self promotion.

The blessings that I have do not make me a better person, more worthy or admirable. The blessings that I have DO enable me to be loving and generous to others.

I always try to ensure that the material blessings that I have do no harm, or at least remain neutral to who and what I am. I am embarrassed if anyone thinks I have material assets, because I do not want anyone to confuse my presumed material riches, with who I am as a human being.

Even better, I try to ensure that the material blessings that I have can become a source of blessing to others. Perhaps since I am comfortable, I can utilize my extra time when I am not earning, to help others. Often, I donate to charity or quietly assist a friend or neighbor, since I can.

For, the kind of wealth which I count precious must be “what matters to God.”  And that is the kind of wealth that multiplies, the more I give it away.

(C) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.



Thursday, August 1, 2019

I AM Martha

 “Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed Him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at His feet listening to Him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do the serving? Tell her to help me.’ The Lord said to her in reply, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.’ “ - [Luke 10:38-42].

Life today has become a To-Do List. A Bucket List. A Checklist.

We measure ourselves by what we DO. Not by who we ARE.

Have we climbed a higher mountain than the next person? Have we visited more states? More countries?

Have we won more trophies or awards? Have we logged more hours? Run more miles?

It has come to the point that people ask,  “What are you going to DO on your vacation?”  DO?

 How about, Sit in a chair and watch the sun rise. Or the sun set? How about strolling in the woods, not with the goal of how many miles traveled, but with the vague sensation of happening upon a tiny butterfly, or some wild roses with their sweet scent, or the feel of a cooling breeze?

Sometimes, I wonder what the future will bring? I race around trying to control every eventuality.
Will my son do well in college and get a good paying job? Will I plan my savings well for retirement? Will I keep my health as I age?

Sometimes I think we humans race around trying to rack up accomplishments, in a desperate attempt to feel that we are in control of our lives. ‘Look at me’, we say, ‘ I am in good stead, I volunteered 150 hours this year. Look at me, I am an interesting and worthy person, I am global, I have seen many tourist sites.’

But, as I told an acquisitive person in my life, “ There is ALWAYS someone out there with a bigger boat.”

Anything we own or think we have acquired can be taken from us in an instant. Busyness is not godliness. Our possessions do not equate with our inherent value.

If I came upon Jesus, I am afraid I would be Martha, not Mary. I would want to “create the moment” rather than being serenely still and drinking it all in.

How wrong I would be!

If I am too busy, I will never really see life. Or, enjoy it. I will race down that circuitous path with an eye only to the end of the trail. I will never pause long enough to even see the butterfly. Let alone to delight in its meandering flight.

Sometimes, when an issue in life arises, I want to see it resolved NOW. If there are twists and turns along the way, I actually try to say to Life, “Well?! HURRY up”.

I cannot stand the suspense. I want the denouement and I want it to be a happy ending, and I want it NOW. So I run around trying to prevent any eventualities.

What God wants me to do is to sit with Jesus sometimes, and trust in all Faith that He will walk with me as Life unfolds.

I need to remember that I cannot control what happens, just by staying insanely busy, desperately attempting to plug all the holes in life, to adjust for others’ shortcomings, or my own. The Mary in me understands that the Peace which comes from sitting with Jesus is the ONLY thing that cannot be taken away from me.

[Related Postings: “The Martha Complex”, 7/16/16; “Are you Martha or Mary?’, 7/21/13].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Resserved.

 

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Near To Your Heart



"[Turn] to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul. For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, 'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'  Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?' No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out." -[Deuteronomy 30: 10-14].


When I was a little girl, I was not fed consistently. I was verbally abused, called a failure, struck and bruised. I began to shut down, not speaking, not sleeping. All I wanted was for someone to hug me and say, "I love you." More than that, I wanted someone to show me Love.

I thought- 'I will be happy if I keep my stuffed animals near me, my teddy bear, my tiger striped cat, my dachshund toy, my kangaroo toy, my baby doll.' I had names for all of these, and they all had their distinct personalities. But one day, my mother saw me lovingly arranging them on a wooden bench in my room. I was about 12 years old. When I came home from school the next day, they were all gone! I ran to my mother to ask where my "friends" were? She said, "I gave them away." I cried.

So then I thought- I will be happy if I study hard and get all A's in school. I had to study extra hard in Math, it was not my best subject. One evening at dinner, I told my parents that I gotten an A- on my Math test. My mother told me icily, "Next time it will be an A." I had to swallow hard to eat my supper.

So then I thought - I will be happy if I get accepted to my first choice in college. I WAS accepted and I was very happy there. I made friends and did well; except that when spring of my senior year came, I cried because I knew that I would be leaving that happy place. . But then, my mother told me that I would major in what she told me to study because she was paying the tuition. And if I did not follow her plan for me, I would be kicked out of the house and I was on my own. I did follow her plan for me because she forced her will on me. But my soul was crushed by living someone else's life.

So then I thought - I will be happy if I get a good job and make a generous salary. I did get that good job. But I hated the work. Every Sunday night, when the Sunday night programs came on TV, I cried because I knew that meant I would be back at the job I hated by Monday morning. Every time I tried to quit, I got a big raise and a nice promotion. I kept working harder than anyone else and lobbying for more and more responsibility. Why wasn't I happy?

So then I thought - I will be happy if I can meet the guy of my dreams and get married. Through a mutual friend, I did meet the man of my dreams, one who is kind, patient, smart and incredibly funny. We got engaged but my mother was furious. This was not the man SHE would have picked for me. My parents refused to stand in the receiving line at my wedding, and they cut us out of family holidays.

So then I thought- I will be happy if we can buy a house. We did find the house of our dreams. But then my parents refused to give us any support, monetary or otherwise, to fix it up, and then they refused to come to our house, because it was not "nice enough."

So then I thought - I will be happy if I became a mother. That joyous day came, when our son was born. But then my parents, and just about everyone else I knew, began giving me unsolicited parenting advice. And, I found out that caring for another tiny human being never can cure the longings and gaps in our own psyches.

All these years later, I am a whole lot older and wiser. I understand now that the longing in my wounded soul is with God. And God is not "out there" somewhere.  He is not too mysterious and remote that He can never be found or embraced.

I once asked a neighbor, "What is beyond Space, beyond all the skies and stars that we can see, and even the ones we cannot see?" She gave me a funny look and said, "I think that beyond that there is just more Space."

But that was not the answer that I was looking for. The way I figured it, Heaven was somewhere beyond the farthest reaches of Space, just no telling HOW far? What I wanted to know was, "Exactly how far away is God? How far away is Heaven?"

In reality, we don't need to locate God or the Divine in some indefinable place "Out There". God is NOT too mysterious and remote.

We do not need to go across the sea or through the skies to find Him. We do not need to ask anyone to bring Him TO us.

God is not found in only certain places - such as just in church.

I was looking for Love and happiness in all the wrong places. I wanted experiences and accomplishments and milestones in life to heal my Soul.

I thought I could heal my soul and find Love in comfort objects. In recognition for good grades. In acceptance at a college. In a job title and a certain salary. In the status of being married to another person. In motherhood.

But what I found out is that God IS Love. And God is no farther than my own lips and my own heart.

When I carry out that Love of God within me, FOR others and WITH others, I slowly heal my Soul. When I turn to God with all my heart and with all my Soul, I find the comfort and joy that I have always craved.

Today, I cannot say that I am "happy" in a secular sense. But I have found wisdom, peace, contentment, awe, Faith and peace. Who could for ask more that that?

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.


Tuesday, July 9, 2019

The Wolf Factor



"Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh [selfish personal desires]; rather, serve one another through Love. . . But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. I say then: live by the Spirit. . . For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so you may not do what you want." -[Galatians 5:1, 13-18].


A dear friend tells me that I am the most humble, the least selfish person she knows. I was happy to hear that. But I told her, that this takes constant vigilance on my part. I ask myself, at every action and transaction, 'Where do my selfish desires end, and where does my Love and compassion for the other person begin?'

Always, I understand that I cannot always do whatever I want. I have to separate out what I want, from what the other person needs or deserves. Because what I selfishly want may actually harm, or even destroy another person.

What the Bible calls "the flesh" is a shorthand way of saying "selfish personal desires". There is even a list for that : immorality, idolatry [worshipping celebrity, or fame, or material wealth], hatred, discourse, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness." -[Galatians 5: 19].

A pressing desire for alcohol, for excessive eating, for jealousy, for gossiping, of fault-finding, for anger, feelings of superiority and arrogance, for cheating, for greed, for the lies we tell to make ourselves look in better standing- all of these enslave us.

A person may fight the urge to indulge in these, may fall into that selfish trap, then descend into an emotional fall-out over the whole sordid mess. This is not freedom, it is slavery to an impulse which we hate.

All of the human temptations which trap us are now played out on an international stage. When Social Media was invented, we were told, "Together, we can change the world."

Yes, digital media can promote and multiply the good. But it can also multiply and expand the evil, as well.

A nasty epithet can be retweeted or re-sent millions of times. What passes for News is essentially Gossip, repackaged in bright, throbbing colors, with just the barest soupçon of veracity, to make it seem like the Truth. In this digital media age, we are devouring each other, with innuendo and outright lies.

 We mince and parse others' words, pouncing on each other with a loud, "Aha!", if we detect an insult that is not even intended. Someone who absolutely denies the charges is considered even more guilty.

People in the Western world believe that it is our "inalienable right" to do whatever we want. Our greatest goal in life is to amass enough money and enough power, to not have to answer to anyone.
In fact, this "personal freedom" is packaged as the American Dream.

 But cheating one's way to the top; believing oneself superior because of power or money; descending into fits of rage, are NOT Love.

The temporary, ill-gotten gains of this world are not Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because these fruits are priceless. They cannot be bought for any coin or power or money.

Here is a radical freedom: What if this Life's Dream is to love others? What if our dream is to do no harm? What if the most precious things in Life cannot be bought for money or power?

Selfish freedom, completely unfettered, (doing whatever I want, whenever I want) is ugly, cruel, voracious and arrogant - like a Wolf.

Even for all the wine, power, money, superiority or material wealth in the world, I do not want to be a Wolf.

What I want above all, is to Love and be loved. If the things of this world, such as money and power, cannot buy my greatest desire, which is Love- then money and power suddenly have absolutely no power over me.

I grew up in a home with plenty of money, power, greed, alcohol, fault-finding, anger, feelings of superiority, arrogance, hatred, racism, ambition, jealousy, envy. In other words, I grew up with nothing to feed my soul. I entered the world, after my childhood, broken and empty.

I could not find any value in their money, power or status. These were worthless and even dangerous to me. I had to make them meaningless and without value. The power of these false idols could have devoured me. I had to render them worthless to my Life.

Chasing money and power could not fill my soul. Only Love could.

When I am gone from this world, I do not want to be remembered by what I owned, or by the power I wielded, or by the fear I invoked, or by the lies I told, or by the superiority I displayed.

I want to be remembered by how I loved. Without Love, we devour and destroy each other.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019.




Monday, June 24, 2019

One Body



"The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to Him and said, ' Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions, for we are here in a deserted place.' But He said to them, 'You give them something to eat.' They said, 'We have no more than five loaves and two fish- unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.' For there were about five thousand men. . . Jesus, taking the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to Heaven and blesses and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was leftover was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces." -[Luke 9: 12-17.]

Just today, I helped the Community Outreach ministry, by transporting some of the over 200 bags of groceries donated by parishioners, to the town food pantry.

The director of the town food pantry greeted us joyfully. It is summer and the shelves of the pantry are almost bare. Low-income children who eat free breakfast and lunch at school are out of school, so they go hungry. Hunger knows no season or even social class. A family living in a mansion may find that the main bread winner has been laid off. The house is worth a lot but you cannot eat from an asset value.

People for centuries have wondered about the meaning and the explanation of the parable of the Loaves and Fishes.

At its heart, this parable speaks to me about hunger. In the crowd around Jesus, the hunger was not visible. And yet, it was there.

I grew up a hungry child. In my dysfunctional family, we had money and we had assets but I was fed inconsistently. At age five, I had learned the signs that would portend what nights I would receive no dinner. I had to learn the days of the week. Wednesdays were a poor bet for dinner. I would eat a bigger lunch at school. Then, I would appear at a neighbor's house, looking very hungry. Often, the neighbor, a poor widow herself, would give me a piece of bread with butter and a glass or two of milk. One mom would see that I might be cold and give me a bowl of chicken soup.

Today, I wonder if we see the hunger in others? I had a physical hunger as a child. But I also had a spiritual and emotional hunger. I was never hugged or told, "I love you." I was called a failure. If I reported that I was cold, I was told to, 'Stop acting up.'

The tender Love in this parable makes me teary-eyed. It is all that I longed for as a child. All that I lacked.

In a Christian church, we are one Body. We are all different, with different races, social classes, needs, gifts and talents. We are equal in the eyes of God, but we are not the same. Each of us is critical to the health of the whole.

The Body of Christ is not just in the community, but is in each one of us. Upon our Baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, and draws us closer to God's Son.

In case anyone believes that all this is just theological "mumbo-jumbo", there are real life consequences for this belief-

When I help another person, I am seeing and aiding the Jesus who abides in him.

When I tear another person apart, with my words or my actions, I am tearing apart Jesus.

I cannot even walk away and ignore another person in the world. . . because we are all part of one body. I am responsible for you, and you are responsible for me. We are one. If I walk away from another person, leaving him to flounder on their own, I am walking away from Jesus!

I can say, "Well, you are Jewish, or a slave, or a woman or, or. . ."  But the call is to encounter everyone, Jewish or Gentile, man or woman, slave or free.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, " In a real sense, all life is inter-related. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

This is the meaning of the parable of the Loaves and Fishes. Jesus multiplies the Love exponentially, by offering His Body up for us. He says, Whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do unto me.

As a child, I received one bowl of soup, one piece of bread and butter. I received a ride home from a neighbor, on a cold day. Now, the great multiplier is Jesus Himself. As I see His face, His need, in all the people who are hungry, I feed the many.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book, "The Cost of Discipleship", "It is impossible to become a [new creation in Christ], as a solitary individual. It is the Spirit who brings Christ to each several member, who builds up the Church by gathering individual members together."

This is why Jesus says to His disciples, "YOU give them something to eat."  This is why Jesus says to His disciples, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." -[John 13:35].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.




Tuesday, June 18, 2019

From Trouble To Hope



"Brothers and sisters: We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by Faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, character, and proven character, Hope, and Hope does not disappoint, because the Love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." - [Romans 5: 1-5].


I confess that I have spent a lifetime bemoaning all the affliction, - that is, troubles - I have had in my life. Loving friends and relatives have told me that I "need to get over it." As if I am coated in some kind of personal Teflon, and all the traumas of life can merely roll off me with no effect.

As if. . . Each trauma and crisis soaks into my soul. Trauma does things to you. I have become hyper-vigilant, waiting for the next disaster to come: the death of yet another key person in my life, the severe abuse of my childhood resulting in nightmares and flashbacks.

We are human, after all, not robots. A negative event cannot simply "fail to compute", and fall away, inert.

Some well-meaning people tell me, "Everyone has had bad things happen to them." But that makes me feel only worse. Why do people have to minimize what others go through? Have I had more than a lifetime of woe?

So, I start to recite:
Newborn: I almost died before I cam into this world. My mother nearly died, too.
Three: I came very close to drowning in a neighbor's pool.
Four: There was a fire in my grandparents' house.
Five: My dysfunctional mother did not feed me consistently. I had to find food at the neighbor's.
Six: I was diagnosed with severe asthma. My mother was a chain smoker.
Eight: Because of continual family, abuse, I shut down my emotions.
Ten: My beloved grandfather, my only ally, died. I stopped speaking.
Fourteen:  A member of the extended family committed suicide.
Eighteen: I became aware of my father's abuse.
Nineteen: My mother threatened to cut off tuition and threatened abandonment.
Twenty-three: I was the victim of a violent crime and nearly lost my life. My parents refused to allow me to come home to recover.
Forty-One: My husband and I nearly lost our infant son.
Forty-two: A massive maple tree fell directly in my path, nearly killing me and my infant son.

A Catholic friend with inspiring Faith once told me, "But all your suffering brings you closer to Jesus." I told her, "That is like someone telling you to get severely ill, so you can check into a hospital, in order to meet a cute doctor."

Lately, I am starting to see the wisdom of Romans 5, however.  The only comfort I get over the growing pains my teens son has, is to talk to other parents. We commiserate that none of our sons really WANT to take out the trash. The kids would rather indulge in screen time, and they require more than a few reminders to do their chores. I even spoke to a friend from Africa, and he laughed and said, 'More than a few boys fall asleep when they are supposed to be minding the cows, and the cows wander off. Then, there is trouble.'

Affliction produces endurance. Shared affliction produces community and even Love.

I remember telling some of my story to a wise nun. She told me, 'Your story is awful. But, go back and look over those years. God was there, somewhere. He is always there.'  And so, the next time I saw her, I told her how the neighbors fed me, or gave me rides to school when I was left to trudge in the snow alone. My parents told me that there was no God. I did not believe them. My tiny flame of Faith, which I had to keep hidden from them, was enough to give me access to God's grace. It was His grace that rained down on me when I was fed, taken in out of the rain, and encouraged by others. It was God's Love carried forth by my neighbors.

Beyond that, Christians are to keep their eyes on Jesus, not on our troubles. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book, "The Cost of Discipleship", said, "If we behold Jesus Christ, going on, step by step, we shall not go astray. But, if we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of at Him who goes before, we are already straying from the path. For He Himself is the Way." - I have to tell myself, that whatever it is that I face, Jesus has faced Himself, and then some. If Jesus cannot walk with us in Love, no matter what we face, no one can.

From affliction comes endurance, and from endurance character. Sometimes I don't think of myself as having strength of character. But many people who know me say that when they see me, they see Strength. I could not have survived what I have without strength of character. It is what has made me refuse to give up.

It has been a hard-won strength. I am asked all the time what has saved me? I say, "Hope. And Faith".

Call me foolish to be a Christian. But I have survived only because I have Hope in Something or Someone who is purer, stronger, eternal, Divine. The vagaries of Life can change in an instant. Family you thought would love you unconditionally can hurt you immensely. You can possess a fortune one day, but lose it utterly the next.

And where IS God? He is inside us. I thought my family, by denying God, could take my Faith away. But no, my Faith is my inborn desire for what is timeless, unconditional and eternal. The more trouble I experience, the stronger my Faith and the more unrelenting my Hope. Because the Love of God has been poured out in my Heart, through the Holy Spirit. I shall not falter.

Bonhoeffer says that "the curse [of being rejected and of suffering ills] will not harm the disciples, but the Peace they brought returns to them. You must not be depressed, for what others refuse will prove an even greater blessing for yourselves. To such, the Lord says, ' They have scorned it [Hope, Faith, Love], so keep it for yourselves."

And what we retain is far more valuable - endurance, character, Hope, and the Love of God poured out into our hearts. All these are priceless.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.








Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Spirit Flame



"When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit. . ." -[Acts 2:1-11).


Pentecost, Greek for "50th", began as the Israelite Festival of Weeks, the celebration of the spring harvest held 50 days after the offering of firstfruits at Passover. Over time, the Israelite Pentecost became a celebration of the giving of the Law (Ten Commandments) at Sinai.

In the Christian Church, Pentecost celebrates the birth of the church. After Jesus was crucified and died, He came to His disciples in the upper room where stye hid in fear, and He breathed the Spirit on them. Then they were charged with going forth in courage to spread the Word.

Even before His death, Jesus told His disciples, "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  . . He who does not love me will no obey my teaching. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Sprit of Truth comes, He will guide you in all Truth. . . -[John 14: 15-18; 16: 12-12].

When a Christian is baptized as a very young child, he or she receives the Holy Spirit within them. When a young person is Confirmed in the church, he or she receives the Completion of the Spirit.

As we walk through life, we are not alone in facing the myriad difficult issues that we encounter. We have a Comforter and Teacher within us, to guide us. Some would say that the Holy Spirit is that soft inner voice within, prompting us to "do the right thing." We can follow that inner voice, or we can defy it.

I grew up in highly dysfunctional home. There was abuse of every kind- physical, emotional, verbal, sexual. Gradually, I shut down, first vowing to show no emotion, then to feel no emotion, then to stop speaking, then eating little and sleeping little.

People are shocked at how I turned out. In my home, there was dissension, drinking, anger, jealousy, strife, physical violence, neglect, rejection, blackmailing, emotional recrimination, abandonment. Obviously, these are not the fruits of the Spirit.

When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the inclination towards the Gifts of the Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Strength, Knowledge, and Awe of the Lord.

As a child, I "knew" in my heart and soul that these were how I was to behave. I wasn't merely trying to be good for the sake of being good. I longed for a life that was NOT filled with violence, rejection, abandonment and hate.

Where my brother hit me, I knitted him a sweater. This was Strength, countering Hate.

Where my mother berated me verbally, calling me a failure and threatening abandonment, I weeded her garden. This was Wisdom, countering rejection.

Where my father drank and abused me, I did chores around the house, such as painting and raking. This was Understanding, countering enmity.

And when I turned 18, I left home for good.

I was a joyful child- I sat in my room and sang songs. I looked forward to the day when I would be safe. I had patience, to make the best of my situation, and to leave peacefully when I could.

I have received the Fruits of the Spirit today: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.  I am sometimes in awe at how I am able to live my life after my early life.

I have Wisdom and Understanding at what happened to me. I did not deserve what happened but I understand my early life was all about what my parents had to give, not about what I myself lacked.

I have Strength and Knowledge, that I can move into a joyful and fruitful Life.

I have Love now, people who love me, and people whom I can love.

Patience and Kindness and Gentleness are critically important to me, because I know all too well what a lifetime of Hate and cruelty feel like.

I am generous now, because of all the times I was not fed, or not loved, or was judged and rejected.

I am above all Faithful to the God who created me, who protected me and who walks with me.

Happy Pentecost.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.

[Related Posting: "My Pentecost Life", 5/15/16; "Pentecost: The Birth of the Church", 5/24/15; "Healing Gifts", 5/23/12.]






Monday, May 27, 2019

Love One Another



" My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: Love one another." -[John 13: 34-35].
" In a little while, the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. . .  Do not let our hearts be troubled or afraid." -[ John 14: 23-29].


To say, "Love One Another", today, seems poignant and naive.

People who are not Christian, and who have not read the Word in the New Testament, would not recognize a Christian as one who "Loves one another as I [Jesus] has loved you." Critics of Christianity would not see that we are to know Jesus, and to recognize His followers as ones who show Love.  John 13: 34-35 says, "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have Love for one another."

We modern people judge each other mercilessly :

A woman working in an office building is mocked for being "too thin".  It turns out she has cancer.

A guy who has turned to a vegetarian diet is ridiculed for being rigid about what he eats. It turns out he had blockage in most of his arteries. After heart surgery, his cardiologist told him that the only way to avoid a heart attack in the future is to eat no meat.

A student is harassed and bullied by another student. He goes to administration to ask for mediation and recourse. The student's grades plummet. He is told he did not "ask for help", and he is kicked out of school for poor work. The bully remains in school with no consequence.

A woman joins a prayer group. She has had many traumas in her life. She asks the prayer group to pray for her. The groups-leader prays, 'I hope you are not learning to become a victim.'

A young wife and mother learns that she has a serious and chronic disease. She tells her Christian friends about the new exercise and diet regimen recommended by her doctor.  One "friend", claiming to be a Christian, says that the mother is foolishly trying to cure herself and does not have enough Faith.

An older lady sits in the last pew at church. She has a racking cough. Each time Scripture is read or the pastor speaks, she murmurs, "Yes, Lord." And yet, people seated near her make faces and mock her. She has a chronic lung disease and is on oxygen.

We are known to each other, and to God, by our Love.

Our lack of Love today is heartless - and heartbreaking.

What passes for News - have you noticed?  - is actually shameless and shocking gossip, innuendo, cruelty, and lies. A newscaster or an online outlet broadcasts all this. Then it all spreads on social media. Each time the cruelties and lies are repeated, it is another nail crucifying Jesus.

We cannot claim to be Christian each time we participate vicariously in the Crucifixion of Jesus.
We cannot walk closer to Jesus, even as we spread lies and Hate and judgment against others whom we barely know. We cannot seek to love God, if we cannot love each other.

Loving one another is "Soul Work".  It means walking alongside one another, not standing to the side and slinging arrows. It means taking the time to comprehend each other's Joys, Sorrows and challenges.

It means "going deeper" into the Heart of another. . . Not judging from the surface and walking away, feeling smug and superior.

Love is a lot of hard work. But in the end, LOVE is all we really have!

[Related Posting: "The ABC's of Love", 4/27/13; "Hate = Murder", 2/127/11.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.





Thursday, May 16, 2019

The Voice



"Jesus said: 'My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.  . . No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of my Father's hand. The Father and I are one.' "-[John 10: 27-30].

On the popular TV show, The View, Joy Behar ridiculed Christians for saying that they "hear Jesus' voice."  Bear said, "It's one thing to talk to Jesus. It's another thing  when Jesus talks to you." She went on to say that hearing voices is "a mental illness."

I have to say that when I decided to join my church, and my pastor was talking me through the process, he told me how to pray. After a few attempts at this practice, I ran back to him, "spooked" because I was getting answers! He chuckled and said, "Oh. I think you'll get used to it."

This "conversation" with Jesus is called Prayer. We humans may feel so limited that we believe that a conversation with Jesus is merely a one-way dialogue. We beg Jesus for forgiveness, or for personal favors, such as enough money to pay the bills, or an A+ on a test - but many of us are completely astonished when Jesus actually answers!

I have been meditating upon what Jesus' Voice is like, or what He is conveying?

Could I get confused if His Voice seems to point me in one direction, only to find it may be a false turn?

Certainly, Paul talks about the cacophony of voices in the world that can mislead or even wound. In
1 Corinthians 13: 1, Paul says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels but have not Love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."

I am finding that the simplest way to discern if God is working through someone or if He is telling me which way to turn, IS THAT - when the message is not rooted in Love, it is not God!

These days, so-called friends have said some cruel things to me.  They berate me or are unkind or they judge over things they know nothing about. If I listened to everything the world told me to do, or told me about myself, I would be spinning and twisting as if buffeted by dangerous winds from all directions.

Becoming a Christian, growing as a Christian, is a long, hard walk. My pastor explained to me that we all have the Holy Trinity inside of us. The longing for God - Something or Someone greater and more eternal than ourselves- is innate; and we possess the capacity for His unconditional Love deep within us.

But anger, jealousy, bitterness, impatience and so forth threaten the fulfillment of that unconditional Love. When I hear those cruelties, I have a visceral response, because that is not what God wants for me, and that is not God speaking to me!

I have been whipped around by the viciousness of the world lately. Someone makes one small, unintentional mistake or utters something unwittingly insensitive, and that person is driven to the edge of society. This viciousness is flamed by social media and lives on forever in the cloud. The person who erred is never forgiven and never allowed to redeem himself.

But then again, complete strangers have spoken the Word of God to me, have lifted me up with their kindness and wisdom.

That is, that must be Jesus' Voice! That Love and compassion is what I shall follow:

"I heard the voice of Jesus, say, 'I am this dark world's Light; Look unto me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright. I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun; And in that Light of life I'll walk, Till traveling days are done." -[Hymn: "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say."]

[Related Postings: "She Talks To God", 4/23/18; "The Shepherd's Voice", 5/8/17; "Hearing the Shepherd's Voice", 4/19/16".]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.















Monday, May 6, 2019

Feed My Lambs



"Simon Peter [and the disciples] went out and got into the boat [to go fishing], but that night they caught nothing.  . .  Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you caught anything to eat?' They answered Him, 'No.'  So He said to them, 'Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.'  So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.'
When the climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. . . Jesus said to them, 'Come have breakfast.' Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish.
Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon Peter, do you love me more than these?'
Simon Peter answered Him, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.'
Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs.'
He then said to Simon Peter a second time, 'Simon, do you love me?'
Simon Peter answered Him, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.'
Jesus said to him, 'Tend my sheep.'
Jesus said to him a third time, 'Simon, do you love me?'
Peter was distressed that Jesus had said [this] to him a third time, and he said to Him, 'Lord you know everything; you know that I love you.'
Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'
And when He had said this, He said to him, 'Follow me.' "
 -[John 21: 1-19].


This Scripture is laden with symbolism: when Jesus' ministry began, he appealed to the disciples to leave their nets and become "Fishers of Men". This meal on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias mirrors in a poignant and earthly way, the Last Supper which became the basis of Communion for Christians. Upon Jesus taking the bread and the fish, and giving it to His disciples, Jesus is recognized for who He is. The great number of fish in the net has been numbered at 153, the number of different kinds of fish believed to be in the sea at that time; meaning that Jesus and His disciples fish for ALL, not just for some.

But the most important and poignant part of this Scripture is when Jesus says, "Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep."

In the series, "Jesus: His Life" aired over Easter week on the History channel, Biblical scholars argue that Simon Peter, having denied Jesus three times before His Crucifixion, returns to fishing believing that he is a failure; and that the Way, the Truth and the Life are over.

Imagine Peter's astonishment when the Risen Jesus appears at the shore. Not only does Jesus literally feed His disciples, he commands them to go forth and to, "Feed my lambs."

This ministry of nourishment can be found in this meal of fish and bread, and more crucially, in the meal of the Eucharist. But, this ministry of nourishment expands into a worldwide command to love others- when Jesus tells His disciples, "Follow me."

Jesus makes the command to love others directly personal. Nothing can be more clear than the explicit connection with Jesus established in Matthew 25: "And He will answer, 'I tell you the truth, when you refused help to the least of one of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.' " -[Matthew 25:45; New Living Translation.]

I read the news and social media today - and what I read is judgment, hard-heartedness, hate, jealousy, scapegoating, contempt, abuse, harassment, ego, selfishness, racism, violence and so forth.

Yes, there is good and evil. Yes, we must fight for justice.

But, however it is that we approach the poor, the ill, the marginalized, the folks who stumble badly - THAT approach is what we do to Jesus Himself.

Christians "have an irresistible love for the down-trodden, the sick, the wretched, the wrong, the outcast and all who are tortured with anxiety." -[Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "The Cost of Discipleship"].  We do not judge such as these, instead we share their burdens and we work to alleviate their sufferings.

Nor do we respond with violence, verbal or otherwise, at being rejected by the world. For the world does reject us for refusing to accommodate its selfishness and greed, its vicious judgment of others, its bitterness and war. "The disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it upon others." -[D. Bonhoeffer].

A Christian judges others for their struggles or their mistakes- at his peril - because, "Every idle word which we think so little of, betrays our lack of respect for our neighbor, and shows that we place ourselves on a pinnacle above him and value our own lives higher than his.  . Let us see whether we have tried to win popularity by falling in with the worlds' hatred, its contempt . . For if we do, we are murderers." -[D. Bonhoeffer.] For as we display anger with our brother, or judge him despite the immensity of our own sins, we assert ourselves as God.

Consider the sum total of all news and social media content. . . what percentage of it amounts to contempt, anger, egoism, and the inserting ourselves as a false God in society?

Because, in the end, only Love vanquishes all sin, all evil, all fear, all rejection and abandonment. Jesus proves this, as He loves and forgives Peter three times- that Love of Jesus triumphing over Peter's thrice denials before the cross.

Because, "Who needs our Love more than those who are consumed with hatred and are utterly devoid of Love?" -[D. Bonhoeffer].

[Related Postings: "Feed Me", 4/11/16; "Do You Love Me?", 4/14/13.].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.








Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Worshipping In Fear



"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of [crucifixion], Jesus came and stood in their midst and said them, 'Peace be with you.'  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' " -[John 20: 19-31].


On the morning of the first day of the week- - Sunday - - Mary of Magdala "came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb." -[John 20:1-9]. Jesus in physical body was gone! He had risen!

That evening, the disciples hid in fear in a locked room. They were terrified that they, too, would be crucified. It seems hard to believe that the disciples were not out right away, preaching and healing and converting unbelievers.

But, it is clear from their actions and demeanor, even before the Crucifixion in the Garden of Gesthemani, that the disciples were confused, overwhelmed, and fearful. It is quite possible that they did not even comprehend what had just happened.

Yes, Jesus had told them for a long time, how He had to suffer and die and return to His Father. But, when someone says that to you, there is an air of unreality, as if it is all a dream or perhaps a nightmare. That cannot BE, the disciples likely agonized.

The central story of Easter is that Jesus came to walk among us, to show us in human form the unconditional Love of His Father. The other enduring part of the story is that there is another life to come, in Heaven, which is made possible to us because of Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension.

The disciples' reaction to this is very much a mirror of our own reactions - incredulity; unawareness of its Truth; somnolence, as in the way the disciples literally fell asleep in the Garden of Gesthemani; confusion even as to Jesus' identity. And yes - Fear.

It is one thing to have an idea of the Divine, and of another Life in the supernatural. It is another thing to live it and confront it and experience it. Imagine Mary of Magdala's utter joy, but total shock, upon discovering that Jesus was simply gone!

But, imagine also the terror of the disciples when they realize the true cost of being followers of Jesus. He paid with His Life. The disciples could very well do the same.

The dawn of Easter brings the "dawning" realization that devotion to Jesus cannot be half-hearted. Jesus wants all of us, in the same way that He gave all of Himself, to us.

I see plenty of Fear in faith communities today. Synagogues and mosques and churches are being bombed and being subjected to mass shootings. I cannot in any way mock the Fear of the disciples. Their fear, OUR fear, are well-founded in some ways.

God and Jesus do not want merely a Sunday devotion. They want us to devote our lives- and our Life - to them. Our walk with Jesus merely begins on Sunday, but it continues on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday . . .

And Jesus walks WITH us: Jesus the wounded, Risen Christ, who walks through walls to reach us, who calls us all disciples because, "As the Father has sent me, so I send YOU."



The world's churches and mosques and synagogues, by rights, should be filled with worshippers, who literally stand up to be counted. The Faithful are not called to hide in the dark, in fear.

The Faithful are called to come out in the light, to BE the light.

Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about "Cheap Grace" vs. "Costly Grace."  "Cheap Grace" is the kind of Faith that requires us to merely sit in church on Sundays and sing hymns. "Costly Grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again. . . It is costly because it costs a man his life, because it cost God the life of His Son."

Bonhoeffer goes on to write: "The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the divisions which rend cities and homes. Jesus and His disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading nations astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the peace. The disciples will be sorely tempted to desert their Lord."

And WHY would a Christian ever contemplate such a journey, such a Grace Walk? Because Jesus shows us His wounds, and as He shows us the Truth of His wounds, He shows us that He is one of us, and we belong to Him.

[Related Postings: "Peace Be With You", 4/8/18; "Without a Doubt", 4/26/17; "Fear", 4/4/16; "The Benefit of Doubt", 4/29/14; "His Divine Mercy", 5/17/12; "The Truth of His Wounds"; "Doubt", 5/1/11].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.








Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Easter Dawn



"On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, 'They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put Him.'  So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. The other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there. Then the other disciples also went in, and he saw and believed." -[John 20: 1-9].

"Easter" is a word that refers to, or means The Dawn.

The discovery of Jesus absent from the tomb is made at dawn. Easter is quite literally, the dawning of a new age, when early Christians saw and believed that there is a whole lot more beyond our limited sight, than what we can perceive in the natural world.

Easter is THE demarcation between early inklings of who Jesus was, as He himself prophesied, and a time when the disciples came to understand proof of Jesus as Divine.

It is not as if Jesus did not warn His disciples. In Mark, the earliest Gospel account, Jesus tells His followers, "the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and teachers of the law, . . He must be killed and after three days rise against." -[Mark 8: 31-33].

Jesus also tells his disciples: "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days, He will rise." -[Matthew 17: 22-23].

And in John 2:12-22, when Jesus overturns the tables of the greedy money changers at the temple, He says, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." His listeners said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But Jesus was talking about the destruction of His body, and his rising from the dead to new life.

Jesus' disciples and His listeners had varying degrees of disbelief and unbelief. Easter is an unfolding, of layers of meaning and revelation for the disciples - AND for all of us. I used to feel foolish for not really understanding the full meaning of Easter.

But now I am beginning to realize that the unfolding of Easter is all part of our growth as Christians.

When I was a child, I used to hear the priest in my church say that "Jesus died for us." I thought that was horrible. Who wants to hear about the aftermath of a grisly death, on a day so full of the life of spring and promise? How can the violent end of one man save lowly ME? It made no sense. It was just too awful, especially since that one Man was God's only Son!

I still cannot watch any reenactment of the Passion. It wounds ME. But I am starting to understand that the Crucifixion is "supposed" to wound me! Jesus is a part of me, I share in His Passion. Whatever Sin I commit, crucifies Him a little bit more. Any Sin against me, is a crucifixion of Jesus. Each time I receive the Eucharist, I receive a tiny bit of His body and blood, like a healing balm for my human weakness and temptation.

It took the deaths of my best friend, my father, my mother, my mother-in-law and a dear family friend, all in a span of two years, for me to finally live out the simple Truth, that Jesus went to Heaven before us, so that we can follow Him. He established the way: literally the Way, the Truth and the Life. I don't have to live in despair that this Life of sweat and violence and evil is all that there is. Beyond our human capacity, lies a supernatural world that possesses far more than we could ever imagine in this Life.

I understood from a young age, that doing Evil in exchange for Evil, only hurts myself, AND Jesus. I have always tried to be part of the cadre of humans who offer compassion and peace.

But, it has taken me a lifetime to understand that in this Life we all suffer. It took me getting to this Easter to finally see - perhaps to accept - that there is no escaping the trials and suffering of our human existence. Whatever it is we humans all suffer is merely a matter of degree- some suffering horribly, others less so.

I used to spend a good part of my day, reciting the litany of every bad thing that has ever happened to me.  My litany was a chorus of grief, a lament over the trauma of my life. I believed that all these bad things should not happen to me, or to ANYONE. I was capable of getting depressed simply that these bad things ever occurred.

I don't know what I was expecting? Christians are meant to carry their own crosses. My dear mother-in-law used to say all the time, "We all have our crosses to bear." I used to see that as a platitude. A nice saying that you would discover on a wall plaque. It seemed hollow of meaning. This Easter, I see the profound Truth in it.

Every human on this planet has the experience of feeling deep Joy, but also awful despair. But we Christians do not carry our crosses alone. We have each other. And we have Jesus, who suffered the greatest agony ever. He understands our agonies, more than anyone. He walks with us.

Each Easter, I encounter a new Dawn of revelation, of what Jesus meant to us over history, and of how today, I can live with Him in my daily experience. Each Easter, I am a new creation, as I rediscover Jesus in a new way.

Each Easter, I encounter the Dawn that conquers the darkness.

[Related Postings: "Easter Joy!", 4/23/11; "Easter Redemption", 4/7/12; "Roll Away the Stone", 4/17/14; "Crucifixion Redux", 3/20/16; "The Triumph of Easter", 4/15/17; "Killing Him Softly", 3/27/18.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.









Sunday, April 14, 2019

Dark Voices Prevailed



"Morning after morning, the Lord God opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned my back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord God is my help. Therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame." -[Isaiah 50: 4-7].


Palm Sunday, in a word, hurts my feelings. The reading of the Passion evokes in me such pain and deep sadness.

Even though we all understand that the Resurrection comes in the dawn, nevertheless, the whole ugly, bloody scene of the arrest, the false trial, the nailing onto the Cross, and Christ's suffering, hurt me to the core. The point when Jesus utters, "My God, why have You abandoned me?!" is probably my lowest point.

Each year, I ask if the Crucifixion was a one of a kind event, or if Jesus would be just as likely to be crucified today?

Each year, I tragically conclude that, yes, Jesus would just as readily be crucified today.

Jesus' trial was a sham. He had broken no Roman laws. Even Pilate said, "I find no fault in this man." -[Luke 23:4].  The trial was on the Sabbath, and was arguably illegal. The judges were high priests who determined that Jesus had committed blasphemy but that was not a Roman offense, only a religious one. It was only under Roman law that execution was warranted.

The high priests accused Jesus of the wrong things, with misleading questions: Asking if He was King? But Jesus replied that He would sit at the right hand of His Father, no earthly King, he. The high priests accused Jesus of blasphemy for saying he would crush the temple and raise it up again in three days. But, Jesus was referring to the Truth of His Resurrection from the tomb after three days, something the high priests could not have foreseen.

The Roman governor Pontius Pilate addressed the crowd three times, "What evil has this man done?"

What ensues next is what I call mass psychology - the crowd began to cry out, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" and "Away with this man!"

I see our world today enmeshed in mass psychology, especially on the Internet.  Collective calls for mob justice can build and roll on social media, into a veritable tsunami.

In our upside-down world, a good person or movement is labeled bad. Or, an evil person is revered because he is wealthy or powerful.

Powerful people in Jesus' time saw His goodness as a threat. The Romans held all the political power in a very violent way. It was believed that when the Messiah came, he would be a King or a Judge, as in the Old Testament time. In other words, the Messiah was expected to be a political leader. Jesus walking around preaching that He was the King and brought forth by God was a direct threat to Rome.

Jesus said, "Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." - [Matthew 10:34]. This is not a literal sword, but the sharp divide between those who are powerful and evil vs. those who are good and holy.

Disrupters like Jesus can rarely last long in our world. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The world doesn't like people like Gandhi, They don't like people like Christ; they don't like people like Lincoln. They killed him. Here was the man of nonviolence falling at the hands of a man with hate, [But] thank God, Good Friday is never the end." -[From The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr].

There are powerful forces today, like Rome, who possess absolute power, and whose power corrupts absolutely. Any differences of opinion, religious beliefs or ethnicities (e.g. Rome vs. Jews vs. Jesus), is hemmed in, curtailed and ultimately crushed.

Rome's Hope was that Jesus was just one Man, and that they could stop the movement by eliminating the Man.  Herod and Pilate conspired to crush Jesus and His movement by crucifying the Man. They believed they were buying stability.  They had no idea that Jesus' crucifixion would spark a conflagration.

Once Rome crucified Jesus, and His Resurrection was told as the miracle that it is; once early Christians traveled far and wide - on Roman roads, after all!- Jesus' story became the Way, the Truth and the Life.

And there was nothing stopping Him - for all of Time.

[Related Postings: " Killing Him Softly", 3/27/18; "Our Own Role in the Passion", 4/10/17; "Why Did Jesus Have to Die?", 8/31/14; "Who Killed Jesus?", 5/7/14.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.











Sunday, April 7, 2019

Resurrection



"Now a man was ill, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, 'Master, the one you love is ill.'  Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let us go back to Judea.'  When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him.  Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give to You.'  Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise.' Martha said, 'I know He will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus told her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.' When Jesus saw her weeping, He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, 'Where have you laid him?'  They said to Him, 'Sir, come and see.' And Jesus wept. So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.'  Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands. So Jesus said to them, 'Untie him and let him go.' " -[ John 11: 1-45].


At a very dark point in my life, I went to see the pastor of my church. In the last two years or so, my father had died abruptly (we didn't even know he was sick); then a long-time family friend died, someone the family referred to as "Aunt"; then my best friend died; then my father-in-law's beloved wife died; then my mother died.

I felt as if I were swirling in a black hole, descending, falling down, down, down. Yes, you could say it was as if I were in a cave.

I found myself telling my life story to my pastor:

* When I was born, I almost died before I made it out of the womb. My mother nearly died in childbirth. BUT, the doctor's hands saved me.
* When I was about three, there was a fire in my grandparents' house. I was traumatized to see the charred walls and smell the acrid smoke in the air. BUT, no one was home at the time, and no one was injured. Damage was limited to one corner of one room.
* When I was four, I nearly drowned in a neighbor's pool. BUT strong arms lifted me up, to life-giving air. It was my mother who saved me.
* When I was five, the serious dysfunction of my parents meant they were not feeding me consistently. BUT, neighbors fed me and I did not starve.
*When I was six, I was diagnosed with a chronic lung disease. My mother's chain smoking worsened the scarring on my lungs. By the time I reached age 14, my parents were no longer taking me to the doctor for this disease. BUT several years ago, I found a devoted doctor, who even made house calls. His treatments put me back on a path to better health.
* When I was ten, my beloved grandfather died. After that blow, and years of abuse in my childhood home, I stopped speaking. My pastor said, You speak eloquently now.
* When I was in my twenties, I was the victim of a violent crime and nearly died at the hands of my attacker. As I felt my breath slip away, I prayed to God. The attacker loosed his grip on me and left. I lived.
* When I was in my early 40's, I was bringing my son home from the park, pulling him in his bright red wagon. I hesitated at the corner nearest our house, the wind was beginning to howl. I heard a "voice" say, "Cross here". . in other words, do not continue on straight, but cross the road, now. I was confused. I said to my son, "What did you say?" But he had said nothing. A tree fell across the road and I pulled the wagon at top speed. The tree fell only a few yards short of us. My son and I did not have one scratch. I believe that voice was my Guardian Angel.
*And now, I had lost many of the most important people in my life.

After I had recounted all this, my pastor turned and said to me, "You have had a lot of resurrection in your Life."

I was stunned. I had seen only trauma, terror and loss. I had never even seen the resurrection!

There are people today who say, 'Get over it. That is in the past. You cannot be defined by all the bad things that happened in your past.'

My answer to this is, even Jesus wept. He grieved along with Mary and Martha. He deeply felt the poignancy. Even WITH the possibility of resurrection in the next Life, it hurts. Jesus allowed himself to feel pain. He did not deny the raw emotion. The tears conveyed His humanity, his compassion.

Even when our resurrection comes, we remain in "the cave" for a time, scarcely believing that our resurrection has come. Just as Jesus has to beckon Lazarus out of the dark cave, Jesus has to cry out to us in a loud voice, "Come out!"

But what I also see is that we can be permitted our resurrection, not just in the next Life, but in this one. We don't have to stumble around in the dark, half blind, to find the Light, either. We are not alone. Jesus beckons. He exhorts us, He leads the way.

At the darkest of times, we can believe that somehow, with Jesus' help, we can overcome.

In fact, if we believe only in the individual, human effort to help ourselves, we vastly diminish the possibilities of resurrection. We don't need to rise up again, alone, and we ought not to. It is a haunting pride, as humans, to believe that we can raise ourselves up again, solely by our own efforts. As Thomas Merton says, in "The Seven Storey Mountain", "How could I love God, when everything I did was not done for Him, but for myself, and not trusting in His aid, but relying on my own wisdom and talents?"

And then, if we do rely upon God and Jesus for our resurrection, we see "the Lord [who] opens a way in the seas and a path in mighty waters, who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army. Remember not the events of the past, see I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? " -[Isaiah 43: 16-21].

[Related Postings: "Fear", 4/4/16; "Raising Lazarus", 4/3/17."]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.












Saturday, March 30, 2019

Bring The Fattened Calf



" Jesus addressed this parable: 'A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.'
So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off for a distant country. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend his swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, 'Here am I, dying of hunger. I shall get up and got o m y father and I shall say to him, 'Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would one of your hired workers.'
While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His father ordered to his servants, 'Quickly bring the finest rob; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fatted calf and slaughter it.' "
- [Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32].


We live in an age when social media has enabled us to scrutinized others' lives with infinite detail. Ordinary citizens, as well as big media, weigh in on everyone's relative merits. It is as if we believe ourselves to possess the ultimate powers of judge, jury and Arbiter. Some of the enumerated demerits are deserved. Others are exaggerated or completely false.

Imagine a celebrity who, it was found out, abused women or children. We would be horrified. But imagine that we discover that this abuser was himself abused as a child. The celebrity's act of abuse is still horrifying. But things get more complicated when we learn about how haunted the accused is from his own past.

Imagine a celebrity who, it is found out, used corrupt means to earn more money. We would call out that behavior with vehemence, for the greed and evil that it is. But imagine that we discover that this greedy person is also struggling with drug abuse? The corruption is still wrong. But things get more complicated when we learn about the addiction.

In Luke 15, the older son does not run off to a life of dissipation, he does stay with his father and do the right thing, supporting his father's orders and working hard. The older son is visibly angry when the father welcomes home the dissolute son.

The older son says, "Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends."

But the father says to the obedient son, "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found."

I think that the son with whom you most identify says a lot about you. I was once like the older son, a dutiful daughter who always did the right thing. And yet my brother, who made mistakes and sometimes made a mess of his life, was always receiving help and special treatment.

I felt angry and self-righteous. Why did I not receive more, when I was the one who was loyal and sober-minded?

It did not occur to me that I had already "won" by living my life in good standing. But my brother, who struggled, felt pain and believed he could not ever measure up, was "dying on the vine", and felt like he could do no right.

You see, there is a big difference between being Right and being Compassionate. Said another way, there is a big difference between Justice and Mercy.

In a world of only Justice, we can only harp on what everyone did wrong. We can never let anyone live down that one moment when he made a horrible mistake or did something awful. We can never allow anyone to have an epiphany moment, when a person has gained hard-won perspective and can see the awful mistake for what it was.

In a world of only Justice, even a plea agreement or a prison term can never let anyone move on and try to live a life that makes amends. Instead, we hunt the person down for the rest of his life; we corner him and trap him and flog him endlessly. We take away all his future earnings, we hound him in public, we always return to that one horrible chapter, while never allowing the possibility of redemption.

At the same time, in a world of only Mercy, every act is morally relative. We "live and let live". We declare, "I am the one in charge of my own life, to hell with anyone else."  It is individuality run amok.

We need both Justice and Mercy, friends. Justice establishes Right from Wrong. Mercy allows us to overcome our sins.

God sees us in all of our complexity, virtues and faults alike. God allows us to name what we did wrong, in the same way that the younger son says, "I have sinned against you and Heaven."  God allows us to change our ways and to reap rewards from our redemption.

God allows us the free will to make a mess of our lives, but to also own those mistakes and to be given the chance to rise again. He allows us to move past the dark chapters into the Light.

[Related Postings: "The Prodigal Son", 3/10/13; "The Prodigal Daughter", 9/15/13; "To Forgive is Divine", 3/9/16.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.


Tuesday, March 26, 2019

The Well



"Jesus came to a town of Samara called Sychar . . . Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?' - For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. - Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.' The woman said to Him, 'Sir you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water?'
Jesus answered and said to her, 'Everyone who drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' "-[John 4: 5-42.]


In Biblical times, the well was a gathering place. People drew life-giving water, they shared news, they socialized, they met friends and strangers alike.


What is striking about this story is that Jesus- a Jewish rabbi or teacher- directly addressed a woman, who was also a Samaritan. Jewish people actually believed that any contact with a Samaritan would contaminate them. But also,  a male in those times would never approach or address a woman in public.

The woman of Samaria addressed this directly with Jesus, saying, "How can YOU, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"

By addressing the Samaritan woman directly, and by even accepting a drink of water from her cup, Jesus purposely ignored the social conventions of separation.

There is more. Jesus continued His conversation, asking the woman, "Go, call your husband." The woman replied, "I have no husband." To which Jesus replied, "You are right when you say that you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you are with now is not your husband."  This Samaritan woman was not considered "respectable" by society. Yes, she might have been shunned by society, but Jesus confronted her directly.

It occurs to me that, in our modern times, we have also fallen into the desert of separation from each other. It would be all too easy to mock the "Olden Days" of the Biblical era, when a man and a woman could not address each other in public; or when a person of one religion or class could never mix with someone who is different.

But even today, Muslims and Jews do not mix, women and men do not mix, Republicans and Democrats do not mix, upper class people refuse contact with lower classes, blacks and whites do not speak to each other. Mother Teresa said, "If you judge someone, you have no time to love them."  Mother Teresa also said to love your neighbor; then, sadly she asked, 'Do you even know your neighbor?'

Sin also separates us from God. Isaiah 59: 2 says, "But your iniquities  have made a separation between you and your God."

Despite our race, our gender, our social class, or even our Sins, Jesus addresses us directly. He KNOWS us. We cannot and must not hide our face from Him. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our Sins. And yet He offers us His Love and forgiveness.

I have spent many years feeling broken and humiliated from childhood abuse. I have always put up a good front. I never wanted to burden anyone with my traumas or my brokenness. I have "fetched water" with a brave face on - run loads of wash, worked for a boss, raised a child, swept my front porch, weeded my garden, volunteered at my church, cooked dinner, paid bills, etc. - all the while pretending that everything was perfect with me. No would could see my wounds if I did not reveal any cracks.

But, the hardest I have ever cried in the last several years was when I read Psalm 139: "O Lord, You have searched me and You know me, You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down  . . . Before a word is on my tongue, You know it completely, O Lord. . . For You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. . . "

This same sort of feeling of "unmasking" comes over me when I enter my church. Do we not, all along, desire simply to be seen for who we really are?

It can be frightening to become "unmasked". But it can be a life-changing relief, as well. Suddenly, we don't have to put on a false front any longer. We can bask in that awesome feeling of being loved, despite - or maybe, because - of all our faults and our foibles.

The endless fetching of earthly water, says Jesus, will quench our thirst for a day. But the water which Jesus gives will become a spring of water leading to eternal life.

The Love of Jesus will heal us and lead us to deep springs of peace and strength. Our encounters with Him will enable us to ask, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.' -[Psalm 139: 23-24].

[Related Postings: "The Woman at the Well", 3/20/17; "The Living Water", 3/23/14;.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.








Thursday, March 21, 2019

The Crystal



"Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up to the mountain to pray.  While He was praying, His face changed in appearance and His clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory  . . . Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw His glory, and the two men standing with Him. As they were about to part from Him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.' After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.". -[Luke 9: 28B-36].


This story of Scripture is arguably the most beautiful in the Bible. Many would misinterpret this event as the moment when Jesus is taken up in glory, after His crucifixion. But, actually, no one witnesses Jesus' Resurrection. Jesus is laid in the tomb one moment and is gone before daybreak. It is Mary Magdalene who rushes into the tomb, fully realizing what has happened, that by Jesus absence, a miracle has occurred.

In Luke 9 here, Jesus is on the mountaintop, praying, and dazzling in appearance. Jesus' appearance is described as "His glory."

In the end of this "Transfiguration", a voice speaks from a cloud, saying "This is my chosen Son; listen to Him."  This disembodied voice is, of course, God. I always hoped that if God's voice came from out of a cloud, that He would have a lot more to say than the tautological and the obvious, "Here is my Son."

But the truly significant import of this statement is that God does speak to us mere mortals, if only we could listen and recognize who He is. After all, Peter, James and John are initially asleep and come very close to kissing the Transfiguration entirely.

And God in His Trinity points clearly to Jesus as His Son, in case anyone could doubt. This statement of God's is God's deliberate and firm affirmation of who God IS, in and of Himself, and in His Son.

Peter, helpful and pragmatic, proposes pitching tents. What a completely ordinary and earthly response to a wholly dazzling and supernatural moment. Not only does Peter betray his quotidian self, he apparently means to stay on the mountain awhile if he is building tents.

But Jesus and His disciples are meant to descend the mountain and do the difficult work of encountering other human beings.

In his book, "The Seven Story Mountain", Thomas Merton writes a beautiful metaphor about the Transfiguration. He writes that "Grace" is God's own life, shared by us. God's life IS Love.

Merton goes on to say, "The soul of man, left to its own natural level, is a potentially lucid crystal left in darkness. It is perfect in its own nature, but it lacks something that it can only receive from outside and above itself. But when the light shines on it, it becomes in a manner transformed into light and seems to lose its nature in the splendor of a higher nature, the nature of the light that is in it."

"So the natural goodness of man, his capacity for love which must always be in some sense selfish if it remains in the natural order, becomes transfigured and transformed when the Love of God shines in it. . . . Christ established His Church, among other reasons, in order that [humankind] might lead one another to Him and in the process sanctify themselves and one another. For in this work it is Christ Who draws us to Himself through the action of our fellow men."

Loving one another is incredibly difficult. Think of fractured relationships, bias, hatred, jealousy, war, abuse, conflict, egoism, manipulations. But loving one another is our WORK. We perfect ourselves on a spiritual level by loving others. We draw closer to the model of Jesus, the more and better that we love. We inspire others, in our Love, to work on loving more fully and more perfectly.

And to know Jesus and to try to imitate His virtues, is to draw closer to Jesus and to God.

Many today believe that Christians are intolerant, rules-bound, judgmental people who cannot possibly love someone who falls short of the glory of God.

The reality is that our job is to love one another, and to "lead one another to Christ."

One cannot love another if we hold ourselves apart as either superior or inferior to those around us. In this work of Love, we are in the trenches together.

Others may believe that the holiest Christian remains on the mountaintop, dazzling in glory but too transfigured to ever relate to someone who is all too imperfect, all too human. Yes, there is a place for the contemplative, cloistered life. But the vast majority, along with Jesus and the disciples themselves, descend from the mountaintop and confront the spiritual warfare that is Love.

Others still, believe that they are, in their natural state, a fine, very serviceable crystal. But, not believing in God, or deriving light from His Love, they won't fully perfect their spiritual potential.

In fact, Merton states, "Indeed, outside of Him [God], there is nothing."  Later in his book Merton writes of the time "in which he was to become conscious of the fact that the only way to live was to live in a world that was shared with the presence and reality of God."

Merton concludes from his realizations that "God has willed that we should all depend on one another for our salvation, and strive together for our own mutual good and for our own common salvation."

It is perhaps a shocking revelation today, that we shall all find our salvation together, or otherwise, we shall all perish together. In this age of personal identity and of individual needs overshadowing any sense of the collective community, the notion that we "should all depend on one another" is counterintuitive and even astonishing.

For we all possess the capacity to absorb the Divine Light, and to reflect it back unto the world. In fact, that is precisely why God placed us on this earth. But we cannot ever experience our own spiritual transformation or transfiguration, if we believe that we are individual cells, alone in the world and totally disconnected from each other - or divorced from the Divine Being.

Merton concludes, " We are born with the thirst to know and to see Him [God], and therefore it cannot be otherwise."

God's voice, emerging from a cloud, proclaims, "This is my chosen Son."  - But will we listen?

[Related postings: "Be Dazzled", 2/27/18; "Transfigured", 2/22/16; "This is My Son", 3/16/14; "My Transformation", 2/24/13; "Transfiguration of Christ", 3/5/12; "Transfiguration", 3/20/11.]

(C) Spiritual Devotional 2019. All Rights Reserved.