Faithless In America

"Listen to me, you coastlands, hear this, you distant nations! The Lord called me before I was born, while in my mother's womb He named me. . . And now the Lord says, who formed me in  the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength-- He says, 'It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.' "  --[Isaiah 49: 1-2, 5-6].

When I was a little girl, Sundays were a sacred time, set aside for church and family.

We went to church every week. Afterwards, all the aunts, uncles, cousins, my parents and sibling would gather at Grandma's house. She would cook a big meal, everything from scratch, including home-baked pie or cake for dessert.

Then, when I turned fourteen, my grandparents gone, my aunt and uncle moved away, we abruptly stopped going to church. I will never forget that first Sunday when I asked my mother eagerly if we were going to church?

She said to me sternly, "We don't do that any longer." It was then I started hearing that religion "was the opiate of the masses." Believing in God was for the losers who were incapable of succeeding on their own.

I cannot tell you how bereft I felt. It was as if I had been plunged into a black hole. I also felt betrayed. You mean, all that stirring verse about God being present, and everything being right in the end in His Universe, was one big lie?

No God ?-- then, no Peace, no Hope, no Justice. The way I saw it, if the humans alone were suddenly in charge, the world was in big trouble.

This is but the experience of one little girl, who grew to inhabit a sad wisdom, of what it feels like to have no Faith.

Since then, this waning of our Faith has overtaken America itself as a country.

America was founded on religious freedom. Our Declaration of Independence says, "All men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Our currency, and our courthouses, declare, "In God We Trust."

Reminiscent of Isaiah 49: 6, [ "I will give you as a Light to the Nations"], our Statue of Liberty is engraved with the famous poem by Emma Lazarus: "Give me your tired, your poor, your hungry, yearning to breathe free. . . I lift my lamp beside the gold door!"

At the founding of our country, George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

Benjamin Franklin siad, "I was never without some religious principles. I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that He made the world and governed it by His Providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing of good to men; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished and virtue rewarded either here or hereafter."

Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, said, "In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. But for it, we could not know right from wrong."

President FDR said, "No greater thing could come to our land today than a revival of the spirit of religion -- a revival that would sweep through the homes of the Nation and stir the hearts of men and women of all faiths to a reassertion of their belief in God and their dedication to His will, for themselves and for their world."

John F. Kennedy said: "Let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking [God's] blessings and His help, but knowing that here on earth, God's work must truly be our own."

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Remember, if I am stopped, this movement will not stop, because God is with the movement." And, "Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned with that now. I just want to do God's will."

TODAY, I cannot imagine a public figure or politician talking like this! It would be shocking if a politician spoke this way. Indeed, the words would make national headlines, as a scandal.

In an article entitled "Civil Religion in America", 1967, Robert Bellah, the author talks about how, even in secular and public life, there has always been a simple version of Religion guiding us. What he calls The Civil Religion in America assumed that 1) there is a God; 2) there is a life to come; 3) there is a reward to virtue and a punishment to evil; 4) there is value in fighting against religious intolerance.

What I am stunned at today is that our society seems to no longer hold these precepts as automatically understood.

Consider the words of Hillary Clinton, about the religious voter: "Deep-seated 'cultural codes', religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed." As if we could change God's Word?

Consider the words of Donald Trump: "The religious right adores me, by the way." As if people of Faith are nothing more than a "special interest group", or a demographic.

I feel like that little girl again, bereft because her church was taken away, and because her Faith in all things sacred was denied.

As you watch the Presidential Inauguration this week, keep your eyes fastened on the Bible used to administer the oath of office. Listen to the oath itself and see whether the new President will swear to uphold the Constitution, "So help me, God."

IF we, as a Nation cannot even stipulate that there is a God, that there is a life to come, that there is value in fighting religious intolerance, then WHY are we going through the motion of a President swearing on the Bible, and saying, "So help me, God." ??

[Related Postings: "Freedom of Religion",  3/7/12; "Free to Believe", 7/3/15.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2017.

The Enduring Wisdom of Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King's birthday is celebrated this year on January 16, 2017.


We live in a far, far different world than it was in April, 1968, when Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. Perhaps we tend to think that a man such as King was merely a man of his time? But, true visionaries speak Wisdom that is timeless.

Yes, King did write about a specific, anguished time in American history. But I find that many of King's writings are startling prescient.

What would Martin Luther King, Jr. think about our world today?

Certainly, he would barely recognize the vast extent of our technology.  WHAT King said about Technology: "Science and technology have enlarged man's body. The telescope and television have enlarged his eyes. The telephone, radio and microphone have strengthened his voice and ears. The automobile and airplane have lengthened his legs. The wonder drugs have prolonged life. . . We have genuflected before the god of Science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that Science can never mitigate. These transitory gods are not able to save us or bring happiness to the human heart. But in spite of these astounding new scientific developments, the old evils continue and the age of reason has been transformed into an age of terror." --[Strength to Love, 1963].

ON the myth of government being the solution to all our problems: "There are those who seek to convince us that only man is able. In the Renaissance and subsequently the Age of Reason, some men gradually came to feel that God was an unnecessary item on the agenda of life. . . . [Some men] have the strange conviction that by thinking, inventing and governing, they will at last conquer the nagging forces of evil. This idea, sweeping across the modern world like a plague, has ushered God out and escorted man in, and has substituted human ingenuity for divine guidance. But, the old evils continue and the age of reason has been transformed into an age of terror. Selfishness and hatred have not vanished with an enlargement of our educational system, and an extension of our legislative policies " --[Strength To Love, 1963].

ON the fracturing of human connections: "All too many of those who live in affluent America ignore those who exist in poor America; in doing so, the affluent American will eventually have to face themselves with the question, that Adolph Eichmann chose to ignore: How responsible am I to the well-being of my fellows?"

AND, "A riot is the language of the Unheard."

ON our current desire towards Isolationism: "ALL life is interrelated and in a real sense, we are all courting an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." -- "The destiny of the United States is tied up with the destiny of India and every other Nation. Can we stand idly by and not be concerned." --

"Man through his scientific and his technological genius has made of this world a neighborhood. And now we are challenged through our moral and ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood."

In the late 1990's, scientists discovered some proof of the theory of Entanglement-- that when a scientist "pokes a particle, another one far away can instantly respond to the touch -- without any messages passing through space, as if the two particles were one." -[Popular Science, 8/29/15].  Many scientists have come to believe that there is a Consciousness in the Universe that ties everything together. AND so, we are beginning to prove, literally, that Martin Luther King was right!

Finally, ON Hope, a political slogan bandied about a lot by both political sides: " I have become more and more convinced of the reality of a personal God. In the midst of outer dangers, I have felt an inner calm, and known resources of strength, that only God could give. In many instances, I have felt the power of God transforming the fatigue of despair into the buoyancy of Hope. God IS a living God."

[Related Postings: "Martin Luther King's Dream", January 15, 2014; "Race in America", August 1, 2013; "The Prophet: Martin Luther King", January 15, 2015; "The Need for Martin Luther King", Jan. 16, 2013; "Remembering Martin Luther King", Jan. 16, 2012; "Martin Luther King", Jan. 16, 2012.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2017. All Rights Reserved.

The Power of Yes

" The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them, in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them." --[ Luke 2: 16-21.]


We live in an extremely negative world -- have you noticed?

Negative makes the nightly news, the video stream, the online headlines. What is positive lately rates barely a mention.

We live in a very binary world -- have you noticed? It is black/white; either/or; yes/ no.

When I was growing up, immigrants such as Italian, Irish, French, Hispanics, were bad. People like us-- English and here for generations-- were good.

Education was good. The trades -- plumbers, electricians, construction workers -- were bad.

Being wealthy --able to pay vast sums for your kids' education, traveling to exotic locations, eating gourmet food, wearing expensive clothes -- was good. Being poor was bad.

As I was being raised by my family, I was told what was bad about me -- I was told to never wear certain colors; I was told where NOT to go to school (only THIS side of town); what not to study; where not to live (only THIS side of the river); how to behave ( suppressed emotions); who to be friends with and whom to avoid.

Apparently, my sum total of inborn impulses was wrong, wrong, wrong.

I was told that there was no God. I was responsible for everything that happened to me. There could be no mistakes, no accidents, no twists of fate. Every blip of my day was my fault, a disaster of my own making. This was a dangerous recipe for anxiety and depression. We cannot make ourselves Gods, masters of the Universe. We are not that powerful. . .

When I became Catholic, I came to confront Mary. SHE was the embodiment of the Power of Yes. Mary-- a peasant girl, probably no more than 14 years old, probably illiterate --- said, 'YES". The world has never been the same since.

Mary said, "Yes", to God. You would have thought that this was the beginning of a Princess sort of life. After all, she had been chosen by God.

But, far from it. When Jesus was 12, he disappeared one day. His parents found Him after three days of searching, at the temple in Jerusalem. When Mary said to Him, " Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you",  Jesus said, "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

Jesus was thronged by crowds in His ministry. His disciples professed their undying fealty, yet didn't seem to completely understand understand Him when Jesus was alive and preaching. Jesus died a horrible death, and was hung up like a common criminal.  You would think in our modern terms, that He was an utter failure.

But, He was a Divine Success.

Mary was a woman without sin. Yet she suffered terribly as she "lost" her son to His ministry, when He was so young; and she watched Him become surrounded by enemies, suffer and die on the cross.

As I gain maturity as a Christian, I am starting to see that Life is  a to more complicated than back and white.

Is the LBGT community all "bad"? Have they all utterly turned in their Sin away from God? I see many in that community who ARE believers and who want to approach the table of Mercy.

Are all women who have had an abortion irredeemably wicked, forever? I know of women in this circumstance who cannot erase the overwhelming guilt and shame over what they have done. They wish they could take their action back; because, asleep and awake, they are haunted by the specter of it.

Are ALL priests infallible, and without sin? Or, are some all too feeble in their humanity?

The Power of Yes never guarantees a perfect Journey.  If we are to truly open our hearts to God, in the way Mary did, we have to give up the illusion of control over our own lives.

The Power of Yes is the power of Faith.  We go where God asks us to go. We trust that, even if the road is perilous, God will lead us, and He will have our backs.

Our journeys may be messy, exhilarating, inspiring, depressing, long, boring and frustrating. But, if we say 'Yes' to God, we are never alone.

[Related postings: "The God of the Possible", 12/18/16].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2017.  All Rights Reserved.
















 

Christmas Message

" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and thenWord was God. He [Jesus] was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him [God], and without Him, nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race: the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . . .The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him. But to those who did accept Him, He gave the power to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name . . . And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His Glory, the Glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and Truth.  -- [John 1:1-18].


Sometimes, as blind human beings, we wonder where Jesus came from? We understand that Jesus was part- human, part- Divine. We celebrate Jesus' birth at Christmastime. And we celebrate His return to His Father at His Easter Resurrection.

We forget, however, that Jesus was there all along, "in the beginning" with God, even all the way back to Creation.

This is clearly the meaning of " As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end."

Each year, as we enter the Christmas season, and as the current year wanes, we human beings -- blind and frail -- often fear that the world is coming to an end. Recently, a friend said to me, "I no longer recognize our world today."

We debate whether today's persecution of Christians is worse than it was, than even in the early days of the Church. Pope Francis himself has stated that today's persecutions are far worse than in Biblical times. The Knights of Columbus this year successfully lobbied to designate current Christian persecutions as a "genocide".

Despite the birth, at this time of year, of "the Light of the human race", are we really plunged into darkness?

What I have to focus on these days is that "the light shines in the darkness", and, "the darkness has not overcome it." And, if anyone speaks against the Source of this Light, then perhaps it is because "the world did not know Him."

I see around me plenty of  people who misperceive Christianity. Public figures who say that the Christian "backward" thinking must be abolished and that we Christians must be "re-educated". ["Deep-seated religious beliefs have to be changed."]

I have come to the point where I am not sure if the phrase "Catholic haters" means "Catholics who hate", or "people who hate Catholics".

If people want to deconstruct and denigrate Christianity, the least they can do is to get it right.

 I  dream of a day when the whole world understands that Christianity is all about Love, not hate. . . when we realize that the First Commandment is to love one's neighbor as oneself. And that violent actions in the name of Religion, do not arise from God; because War is not Love.

I dream of a day when we truly live out the Scriptural admonition that "there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, but Christ is in all of us."  People who misunderstand Christianity see only division. But Christians have always understood that human unity, in, with and through God, is what we work so hard, our whole lives, to achieve.

I dream of a day when, as Pope Francis said, we Christians are not engaged in those gotcha moments, when we gloat in catching another's transgressions. Christians believe that we need to "first take the plank our of our own eye, as we fail to see the speck in our brother's eye." -[Mt. 7:5].

I dream of a day when the world sees that, as Mother Teresa said, "God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful."  The lure of this world's extravagant riches is, to a Christian, worthless and even, disgusting. We need wealth to live, we do not need to live for wealth.

I dream of a day when the world understands that Christians are not "status quo" but actually anti-establishment -- seeking Peace where there is war; ministering to the poor, when the world seems to idolize wealth; working to end divisions, rather than conspiring to multiply them; worshipping God and His Plan, rather than worshipping human celebrity.

I pray that in our world today, the Logos (the Word), the Wisdom, the Prince of Peace, our Wise Counselor,  the Son of Man, the Lamb of God, the Light of the World, and our Teacher may truly come to save us all.

[Related Posting: "Myths About Christianity", 11/15/16; "Got Faith?", 11/28/12].

Spiritual Devotional 2016. All Rights Reserved.

God of The Possible

"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.  When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.  Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home.  For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.' " --[Matthew 1: 18-24].


The Immaculate Conception. . . .  Many Christians take this miracle on Faith. But then, there are also many who cannot get past this seemingly "impossible" event; they go on to reject Christianity entirely.

Mary herself, when the angel Gabriel comes to her, questions: "How can this be? I'm a virgin." The angel Gabriel replies, "Nothing will be impossible with God." --[ Luke 1: 26-38].

There is a huge suspension of disbelief, which we must enter, for us to accept this story as Truth. That suspension of disbelief is called Faith.

Many times, we humans cannot readily make such a huge leap.

Where to begin?

I start with my own life. . . I have had many things, that seemed "impossible", occur in my lifetime. For one, my parents met, only because my mother visited the place where my father grew up  "by accident". This was a vacation which my mother did not want to take, but her family was going there anyway, so she had to go.

Coincidence? Maybe.

My mother came very close to dying, as she was giving birth to me. I almost never made it out of the womb.

I suffered many traumas in my early life, about one major trauma for each year of my life -- fire in my grandparents' home when I was three; near-drowning when I was about four; having to put myself down for naps and find food at age five because of neglect in the home; being diagnosed with severe asthma at age six to seven; constant bullying by a sibling and by kids in the neighborhood; the death of my only loving relative when I was ten, at which I largely stopped speaking; the suicide of a relative in my extended family, when I was 14; finally confronting serious parental abuse when I was 18; becoming a victim of a major crime during which I came close to dying, when I was 22.

A person who has confronted so much abuse and trauma are 12 times more likely be suicidal. But, I am not.

A person who has endured sibling abuse and bullying is 67% less likely to get married. I am happily married. For over 30 years.

A person who has been abused throughout childhood is much more likely to abuse their own child. I am a loving mother.

A person with a lifetime of trauma is seven times more likely to be alcoholic and ten times more likely to abuse alcohol. I am substance free.

A person with so much past trauma is much more likely to be in jail or have criminal tendencies. I am gentle and loving. I have never committed a crime.

I have been called "a miracle". A statistical impossibility.

I challenge you:  Before you say that Christ's birth, as God's only Son, to a young peasant woman, as a result of Immaculate Conception through the Holy Spirit is "impossible" --  then you MUST confront the "impossible" in your own life. . .

When you discover the "impossible" in your own life, then you are confronting "the God of the Possible".

If you are open to the Possible, then you are becoming open to God.

I AM a miracle! And if God can work these seemingly "impossible" blessings in MY life-- and in your own life--  then who is to say that Mary's birth to the Lord's Son is so unbelievable?

This Advent season, I pray that we may ALL open our hearts to the Possible. And to God.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2016. All Rights Reserved.

The Compass

" When John the Baptist heard in prison, of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?' Jesus said to them in reply, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have to good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.' " -- [Matthew 11: 2-11].


Somehow, I cannot get over the fact that-- despite all of John the Baptist's roving the countryside, preaching, 'Prepare the way of the Lord', and teaching,  'the One who is coming after me is mightier than I.   I am not worthy to carry his sandals.' -- that in the end, when Jesus came, John did not at first recognize Him.

And we see this, in the Apostles' slow, all-too-human dawning realizations, about who Jesus really is.
In Matthew 16: 22, Jesus tells His disciples that "He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders. . and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Peter's reaction is, essentially, 'THIS cannot be!' A man who is to be murdered like a common criminal cannot BE the Messiah.

At the time when Jesus began His ministry, the Israelites expected a great military leader, a ruler/warrior who acted also as a judge, someone like Moses. Or, they expected perhaps a prophet, such as Isaiah. Or, perhaps a King, such as David or Solomon.

At one point, even Jesus' disciples vied amongst each other for who among them would be called the greatest.  Clearly, the disciples themselves were expecting an exalted leader. Instead, Jesus rebuked them: "The greatest among you shall be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." --[Matthew 23:11].

The issue then, is HOW do we recognize God?

I think that these Scriptural passages must give us great Hope!  God is too mysterious and too huge for our feeble human brains to fully comprehend. So very often, we just don't get it. IF God is present, we often do not even realize He is there.

I always have in mind that I need to work on recognizing God in my life. But, I also MUST teach this to my son!

It is very hard for me to discern God at times. Growing up, my family and I attended church faithfully each Sunday. I went to Sunday School; I was baptized, Confirmed and received my First Communion.

But, when I was 14, abruptly we ceased attending church. When I asked about it, I was told, "We don't do that any longer."  From my family's talk, they seemed to "not believe in that stuff" any longer.

I was confused. Very.

I started hearing their gossip at the dinner table.  Their bitterness-- they seemed to covet more and more, when we seemed to have so much already. Their racism and disparagement of the poor. Their  supercilious attitude, convinced that we were superior to the poor or the marginalized.

All this I somehow knew in my heart to be wrong. For, " the desire for God is written upon the human heart."

Only in the last several years, as an adult, have I even owned a Bible. And then, I came across the great "Shema" the Old Testament Commandment that Moses gave to his people: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Recite [these Commands] to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you arise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead. . ." -[Deuteronomy 7: 2].  The Old Testament Shema became the New Testament "greatest Commandment".

And yet, today, over 70% of Millenials say that they have "no religion" at all. This is a shame, a crime.

I teach my son that he must have a Compass for God. IF God is not in it, don't do it. Always do the loving thing. IF it is not Love, it cannot be God.

I also teach my son that Jesus and God are the Great Healers. They comfort the poor and the sick, they help the lame to walk and the blind to see.

 IF what my son is doing is NOT loving and healing, then he is NOT the face of God.

I also teach my son that the Dark Side loves-- and thrives upon-- division, hatred, violence and chaos.
If my son is NOT against division, hatred, violence and chaos, then my son is part of the problem, and he is encouraging, if not participating in, Evil.

I would like to see a world where we are not afraid to say that Evil is real. I would like to see a world where we name what the Evil IS. We cannot even begin to fight Evil, if we cannot even name it.

Somewhere along the line, Christians have become "the enemy".  We Christians are asked, "You are NOT Christian? Are you?'    Pope Francis has said, "The encroachment on [Christianity] in the West is a 'polite persecution' disguised as 'culture and progress.' "

Evil has become tantalizing, dazzling, even attractive. Bad has become "good".  The Light in Christianity, in Jesus, has become laughable -- or, even worse, irrelevant.

If we do not recognize God, let alone live a life dedicated to Him, how can we hope to defeat the Dark Forces all around us? For, by not living by the Light, we invite the Darkness in.



[Related Posting: "The Voice of One", 12/5/16; "The Armor of Light", 11/28/16.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2016. All Rights Reserved.

The Voice of One

"John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!' It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
' A voice of one, crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight His paths.'
John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
He said, ' One who is coming after me is mightier than I.  I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.' "  -[Matthew 3: 1-12].

In Advent, we are called to "Prepare the way for the Lord." Who among us does not greet a newborn baby with absolute Joy? These are the happy and memorable preparations for Christmas Day, setting out the creche, giving gifts to loved ones, as the Magi gave precious gifts to the infant Jesus.

But, John the Baptist calls his followers, even before Christ, to "make straight His paths."  Our pathway to Jesus entails so much more than glittery ornaments, bows and Christmas goodies. There are so many individual obstacles along the path to Jesus!

Not long ago, Pope Francis spoke about the obstacles to true personal intimacy with God, saying that when we put up barriers to that relationship, then we actually "sadden the Holy Spirit." -[ Ephesians 4:30].

Those personal obstacles to God are, obviously, lack of belief, feeling no need for Jesus in our life. But it is more complicated than that!

Paul talks about "putting away our former way of life, our old self, corrupt and deluded by lusts. . . putting away falsehood, stealing, evil talk, bitterness, wrath and anger and wrangling and slander and all malice." --[Ephesians 4: 22-31].

In my house growing up, I witnessed greed-- the refusal to share our bounty with those less fortunate. I heard "evil talk" -- judgmentalism of those who could not help their poor situation. There was gossip over the dinner table; there was bitterness that, as abundant as our fortunes were, we did not gather in for ourselves even more. There was wrangling, so that father revenged his hurts by taking his anger out on his daughter, and so that mother took her jealousy out on daughter by slandering her and blackmailing her; and brother sensed the daughter was the 'favorite' since she was the battleground, so brother hated sister.

It used to pain me as a child that we were not Believers. It seemed that we needed that Peace in the house, above all.

It did not occur to me that the gossip, judgement, bitterness, wrangling and jealousy were enormous barriers to the Peace that we so sorely needed.

It also pained me that I was so very different from my other family members. Didn't they see what I saw? -- that all the material possessions, power and "domineering talk" in the world were worth as nothing compared to Peace -- and Love?

Which is precisely the point of how seemingly "odd" John the Baptist was. His clothing was made of camel hair.  Other people's clothing at the time was made of linen. John ate locusts and honey. Other people at the time probably ate fish, or bread.

John the Baptist was out preaching to crowds. But, he was IN society, not OF society. Like Jesus, He was humble, even derided by some.

This is often what it is to be a Christian, even today. What passes for "entertainment" or even news, is falsehood, gossip, snarky comments, anger, one-up-manship, and constant out-maneuvering.

I am reminded of my teen son, who refuses to engage in social media -- no public gmail account, no Instagram, no Twitter, no Facebook page. He has seen his schoolmates take embarrassing or even risqué photos of classmates, and then forward them around to everyone. Social media has become vindictive weaponry.

He has heard of kids in other town schools who have been suspended from school for "sexting". He wants no part of it.

He is IN school but not OF school. If anything slanderous, bitter, gossipy or angry plays out, my son walks away. The kids seem to like him.  But, for him, it is all too easy to be "alone in the crowd."

Sometimes, as a Christian mom, I feel like a salmon, swimming upstream.  But, I know no other way to raise my son.

What he loses in this world-- closer friendships, "popularity", inside jokes, being "in" with the gossip--- he gains in a straighter path to the Lord.

This Advent, what is YOUR path?

[Related Postings: "Prepare the Way", 12/10/12].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2016. All Rights Reserved.