Dear Friends:
You may recall that tragic summer when we lost three young adults in three days in West LA.
Many of you were there when Baby Jordan was baptized at Palms Westminster.
Jordan's Mom, Dana Canedy has written a book about Jordan's father, Charles, who wrote a journal for his son while he served in Iraq.
Charles was killed by an IED in Iraq just a few months after we baptized his son.
In the book, A Journal for Jordan, pp 161-165, Dana reflects on the baptism and the ministry of reconciliation that took place that Sunday.
Indeed, Baby Jordan was a blessing to Anna and Julio's family in the midst of their grief.
Let us pray that the baptismal font continues to bring peace, healing and reconciliation for our brothers and sisters in Los Angeles and around the world.
Howard's Sermons and Article Clippings.
About Me
- Howard
- Im a Mainline protestant minister who loves serving in multicultural and urban contexts. I'm very interested in how liberation theology and existential-humanistic psychology are applied to the praxis of pastoral care and counseling. My most profound encounters with God come as we sojourn as brothers and sisters seeking the inbreaking of God's reign, here and now.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Jesus Cleanin' House
Jesus Cleanin’ House March 15, 2008
John 2:13-25
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.
In our Gospel lesson today we take a break from Mark’s gospel. The next several weeks we will reflect on the passion story in John. This is a powerful image of Jesus cleaning house. It runs contrary to the Jesus is my boyfriend mindset that tends to go around. Yes, there is a time and place for righteous anger. This is where Jesus finds himself at the Temple on the eve of Passover.
I like to think of on old Western movie when there is a showdown at high noon. John Wayne or Clint Eastwood is portraying Jesus. They are having a showdown with the powers that be, because the town bullies have pushed the towns people around long enough. It takes a hero from the outside to come into to town to confront this oppressive situation.
Have you ever been in crowd where you feel you hardly have room to breathe, let alone adjust your elbow? That is what Jerusalem was like during Passover. Thousands of people throughout the country side have come into Jerusalem to offer their animal sacrifice at the Temple.
So what is Jesus so ticked off about? Well for starters the temple authorities have moved the money changing tables from the traditional site the Mount of Olives to the Gentile Court in the Temple. There are corrupt temple authorities placating the Roman occupiers, and allowing price gouging and unfair currency exchanges to take place. When a faithful Jewish came into the Temple they were not allowed to carry anything with a graven image. These poor peasants from the countryside, trying to be faithful Jews, only had the Roman currency. In order for them to purchase the doves and other animals for sacrifice, first, they had to exchange their coins with the Images of Caesar on them into the local currency in Jerusalem. King Herod was smart enough not to mint coins that set off the revolutionary masses who would not tolerate a graven image in the Temple.
Jesus sees how the powers that be are exploiting a situation and profiting on the backs of people trying to be faithful observers of Judaism. This is what set him off. Why should the faithful have to go the Gentile Court to be price goughed? This is how the authorities have turned to the house of prayer into the den of thieves.
So what’s going on today that would be an equivalent? The NAACP just brought a law suit against several banks and lenders who are charged with unfair lending practices. They directed African American with the same credit history and lending status as Euro American into sub-prime loans. The temple authorities of our day are some dishonest bankers and lenders. This has been a concern for decades, yet we seem to have not made much progress. There is a time for righteous anger, when we see that the people who wield power do not seem to be held accountable. Jesus stands in the long line of the prophets of old who remembered the least among us and gave them a voice and sense of agency.
Another example comes to us from Cameroon. Sally shared this article with me from the Reuter Press. The Roman Catholic Pope, Benedict, is due to visit Africa to partake in the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the church in Africa. The security forces in Yaoundé forcibly demolished the street vendor kiosks to give the city a face lift for the Papal visit. The powers that be need to hear this story again from John’s gospel. Jesus was angry because he heard the cries of the poor and oppressed. The blinders of idolatry have again eclipsed a people’s vision of where Jesus dwells. Jesus sees and hears the plight of these streets vendors whose livelihood has been taken from them for the sake of appearances.
Those in power need to remember where God’s ultimate allegiance rests. We will always have some modern day temple and religious authorities with us. They get so caught up in the game they loose sight of what really matters. Every child of God is entitled to their access to daily bread. The authorities in Yaoundé should have explored alternative ways of using the vendors to sell all the tourist trinkets that come with a Papal visit. We all know the tourist trap and the memorabilia that is sold. Instead, the powers that be thought God’s was on their side when they pushed aside our brothers and sisters doing their best to put bread on their tables for their families.
The Judeans had a hard time understanding Jesus’ teaching and the sign he presents to them. Destroy this temple and you will raise it again in three days? The Jewish people had no idea what was on the horizon when Jesus cleansed the temple. They did not know that Nero would torch the place in 70 AD. The audience in John’s audience, however, understood what this cleansing of the temple meant, because the gospel was written a good twenty to thirty years after the Jewish temple was no longer in existence.
Jesus is trying to explain to the crowds that the temple will be destroyed and recreated through the death and resurrection of the Messiah. John’s gospel is filled with various signs and symbols that help explain Jesus life and ministry. Do you remember the first miracle in John? Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Now we are approaching the Passover, when the cup of Elijah is lifted up and the Jewish people remember God’ s promise to send a Messiah who will complete their exodus from Egypt long ago.
It’s interesting that in John’s gospel the cleansing of the temple comes at the beginning of the Gospel, where in Matthew, Mark and Luke this showdown comes at the very end. This is the cataclysmic event that gets Jesus arrested and tried for treason. Several scholars have questioned whether it’s accurate to place this event at the beginning of Jesus ministry.
What many people don’t realize is that every year at Passover, false prophets would ride in on a donkey, and proclaim to be the messiah that has come to deliver the Jews from occupation. And every year, the Roman centurions would arrest these people and they would be executed for treason. Jesus knows the cross he is picking up when he gets on that colt and donkey makes the fateful procession on Psalm Sunday.
For too long, Christians have pinned the blame on the Jews for Jesus’ death. We all as a collective humanity put Jesus on the Cross. If Jesus was to come back today, there are powerful people in this world who want to put him back on the Cross again. As Christians, we need to take an ongoing self-inventory lest we continue the anti-Semitism that comes from a literal reading of the passion story. Mel Gibbon’s Passion is not adequate source material to understand the historical and sociological reality of Jesus time.
The Good News is that the Temple has been restored through the death and resurrection of our Risen Lord. The body of Christ is the new temple that transcends time and space. No more animal sacrifices are required for us to have access to God. We do not need any intermediaries between us and God. We open God’s word, commune in the Spirit and we are in the standing in the temple which is the Body of Christ. Each of us carries the presence of God’ s Spirit into our communities.
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus has modeled for us how there is a time and place for righteous anger. When we see the poor and vulnerable being exploited by the money changers of our day, we too should flip some tables and clear away the den of thieves. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of unemployed today because of the money changers in Wall Street.
May the fires of God’s justice burn and a brighter day dawn. Jesus is still cleaning house and we are the brooms and mops. We keep our ears, eyes and hearts open to know where God is calling us to be. We too carry a cross of love and make sacrifices on behalf of our brothers and sisters on the margins. Never again will God’s temple be made den of thieves.
Gracious God, cleanse our hearts and minds so we can serve as pure vessels in your new temple the Body of Christ. Send us out from here to flip any table that keeps our brothers and sisters from having access to their daily bread. May your manna from heaven fall among us. We may not carry whips but we seek the sword of your Spirit. May hardened hearts be shattered into hearts of compassion. May we see and hear where you are calling us to go, and express the righteousness anger you shared long ago. We want to dwell in your holy temple all the days of our lives.
John 2:13-25
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.
In our Gospel lesson today we take a break from Mark’s gospel. The next several weeks we will reflect on the passion story in John. This is a powerful image of Jesus cleaning house. It runs contrary to the Jesus is my boyfriend mindset that tends to go around. Yes, there is a time and place for righteous anger. This is where Jesus finds himself at the Temple on the eve of Passover.
I like to think of on old Western movie when there is a showdown at high noon. John Wayne or Clint Eastwood is portraying Jesus. They are having a showdown with the powers that be, because the town bullies have pushed the towns people around long enough. It takes a hero from the outside to come into to town to confront this oppressive situation.
Have you ever been in crowd where you feel you hardly have room to breathe, let alone adjust your elbow? That is what Jerusalem was like during Passover. Thousands of people throughout the country side have come into Jerusalem to offer their animal sacrifice at the Temple.
So what is Jesus so ticked off about? Well for starters the temple authorities have moved the money changing tables from the traditional site the Mount of Olives to the Gentile Court in the Temple. There are corrupt temple authorities placating the Roman occupiers, and allowing price gouging and unfair currency exchanges to take place. When a faithful Jewish came into the Temple they were not allowed to carry anything with a graven image. These poor peasants from the countryside, trying to be faithful Jews, only had the Roman currency. In order for them to purchase the doves and other animals for sacrifice, first, they had to exchange their coins with the Images of Caesar on them into the local currency in Jerusalem. King Herod was smart enough not to mint coins that set off the revolutionary masses who would not tolerate a graven image in the Temple.
Jesus sees how the powers that be are exploiting a situation and profiting on the backs of people trying to be faithful observers of Judaism. This is what set him off. Why should the faithful have to go the Gentile Court to be price goughed? This is how the authorities have turned to the house of prayer into the den of thieves.
So what’s going on today that would be an equivalent? The NAACP just brought a law suit against several banks and lenders who are charged with unfair lending practices. They directed African American with the same credit history and lending status as Euro American into sub-prime loans. The temple authorities of our day are some dishonest bankers and lenders. This has been a concern for decades, yet we seem to have not made much progress. There is a time for righteous anger, when we see that the people who wield power do not seem to be held accountable. Jesus stands in the long line of the prophets of old who remembered the least among us and gave them a voice and sense of agency.
Another example comes to us from Cameroon. Sally shared this article with me from the Reuter Press. The Roman Catholic Pope, Benedict, is due to visit Africa to partake in the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the church in Africa. The security forces in Yaoundé forcibly demolished the street vendor kiosks to give the city a face lift for the Papal visit. The powers that be need to hear this story again from John’s gospel. Jesus was angry because he heard the cries of the poor and oppressed. The blinders of idolatry have again eclipsed a people’s vision of where Jesus dwells. Jesus sees and hears the plight of these streets vendors whose livelihood has been taken from them for the sake of appearances.
Those in power need to remember where God’s ultimate allegiance rests. We will always have some modern day temple and religious authorities with us. They get so caught up in the game they loose sight of what really matters. Every child of God is entitled to their access to daily bread. The authorities in Yaoundé should have explored alternative ways of using the vendors to sell all the tourist trinkets that come with a Papal visit. We all know the tourist trap and the memorabilia that is sold. Instead, the powers that be thought God’s was on their side when they pushed aside our brothers and sisters doing their best to put bread on their tables for their families.
The Judeans had a hard time understanding Jesus’ teaching and the sign he presents to them. Destroy this temple and you will raise it again in three days? The Jewish people had no idea what was on the horizon when Jesus cleansed the temple. They did not know that Nero would torch the place in 70 AD. The audience in John’s audience, however, understood what this cleansing of the temple meant, because the gospel was written a good twenty to thirty years after the Jewish temple was no longer in existence.
Jesus is trying to explain to the crowds that the temple will be destroyed and recreated through the death and resurrection of the Messiah. John’s gospel is filled with various signs and symbols that help explain Jesus life and ministry. Do you remember the first miracle in John? Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Now we are approaching the Passover, when the cup of Elijah is lifted up and the Jewish people remember God’ s promise to send a Messiah who will complete their exodus from Egypt long ago.
It’s interesting that in John’s gospel the cleansing of the temple comes at the beginning of the Gospel, where in Matthew, Mark and Luke this showdown comes at the very end. This is the cataclysmic event that gets Jesus arrested and tried for treason. Several scholars have questioned whether it’s accurate to place this event at the beginning of Jesus ministry.
What many people don’t realize is that every year at Passover, false prophets would ride in on a donkey, and proclaim to be the messiah that has come to deliver the Jews from occupation. And every year, the Roman centurions would arrest these people and they would be executed for treason. Jesus knows the cross he is picking up when he gets on that colt and donkey makes the fateful procession on Psalm Sunday.
For too long, Christians have pinned the blame on the Jews for Jesus’ death. We all as a collective humanity put Jesus on the Cross. If Jesus was to come back today, there are powerful people in this world who want to put him back on the Cross again. As Christians, we need to take an ongoing self-inventory lest we continue the anti-Semitism that comes from a literal reading of the passion story. Mel Gibbon’s Passion is not adequate source material to understand the historical and sociological reality of Jesus time.
The Good News is that the Temple has been restored through the death and resurrection of our Risen Lord. The body of Christ is the new temple that transcends time and space. No more animal sacrifices are required for us to have access to God. We do not need any intermediaries between us and God. We open God’s word, commune in the Spirit and we are in the standing in the temple which is the Body of Christ. Each of us carries the presence of God’ s Spirit into our communities.
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus has modeled for us how there is a time and place for righteous anger. When we see the poor and vulnerable being exploited by the money changers of our day, we too should flip some tables and clear away the den of thieves. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of unemployed today because of the money changers in Wall Street.
May the fires of God’s justice burn and a brighter day dawn. Jesus is still cleaning house and we are the brooms and mops. We keep our ears, eyes and hearts open to know where God is calling us to be. We too carry a cross of love and make sacrifices on behalf of our brothers and sisters on the margins. Never again will God’s temple be made den of thieves.
Gracious God, cleanse our hearts and minds so we can serve as pure vessels in your new temple the Body of Christ. Send us out from here to flip any table that keeps our brothers and sisters from having access to their daily bread. May your manna from heaven fall among us. We may not carry whips but we seek the sword of your Spirit. May hardened hearts be shattered into hearts of compassion. May we see and hear where you are calling us to go, and express the righteousness anger you shared long ago. We want to dwell in your holy temple all the days of our lives.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
HIV Testing in Prisons
Georgia Senate Passes Bill Requiring HIV Testing Among Prison Inmates Prior to Release
The Georgia Senate on Tuesday voted to pass a bill (S.B. 64) that would require HIV testing for inmates prior to their release from state prisons, GPB News reports. Current state law requires HIV tests when inmates enter the prison system. Under the new bill, the HIV tests, which cost about $4 each, would not be required unless the state agrees to fund them, GPB News reports. According to state Sen. Kasim Reed (D), the bill aims to stop the spread of HIV as data indicate that "when people know their status, they change their behavior." Some lawmakers opposed to the bill questioned if the testing requirements will actually protect people from the spread of HIV after former inmates living with the virus re-enter the community. State Sen. John Douglas (R) said there is "nothing to force" HIV-positive former inmates "to tell their partner that they have HIV." The bill now goes to the state House for consideration (Zornes, GPB News, 3/10
The Georgia Senate on Tuesday voted to pass a bill (S.B. 64) that would require HIV testing for inmates prior to their release from state prisons, GPB News reports. Current state law requires HIV tests when inmates enter the prison system. Under the new bill, the HIV tests, which cost about $4 each, would not be required unless the state agrees to fund them, GPB News reports. According to state Sen. Kasim Reed (D), the bill aims to stop the spread of HIV as data indicate that "when people know their status, they change their behavior." Some lawmakers opposed to the bill questioned if the testing requirements will actually protect people from the spread of HIV after former inmates living with the virus re-enter the community. State Sen. John Douglas (R) said there is "nothing to force" HIV-positive former inmates "to tell their partner that they have HIV." The bill now goes to the state House for consideration (Zornes, GPB News, 3/10
Urban Peacemakers
My next chapter in life includes starting a local non-profit Urban Peacemakers.
Please let me know if you have some funding suggestions or prospective board members.
I am in the process recruiting board members and filing for a 501.C3.
Our mission and vision will be to provide crisis counseling and gang intervention services to partner city agencies in the Twin Cities metro.
Our services will include:
1. crisis counseling training of clergy and community stakeholders who can then provide emotional and spiritual support to crime victims and their families.
2. Crisis intervention and conflict meditation between gang members and at-risk youth.
3. Advocacy for people living with HIV/AIDS: Prevention and Access to treatment.
The leading cause of death for African American women is HIV/AIDS.
I have consulted with my colleague Jeff Zimmerman who operates the Crisis Response
Team in LA. He has given me some direction on the foundations that have helped fund the LA Crisis Response Team program.
The LA Mayor's office and Chief Bratton's office will be providing reference letters to the work we did together in LA (2005-2008).
Rev. Howard Dotson
(612)702-3151
Please let me know if you have some funding suggestions or prospective board members.
I am in the process recruiting board members and filing for a 501.C3.
Our mission and vision will be to provide crisis counseling and gang intervention services to partner city agencies in the Twin Cities metro.
Our services will include:
1. crisis counseling training of clergy and community stakeholders who can then provide emotional and spiritual support to crime victims and their families.
2. Crisis intervention and conflict meditation between gang members and at-risk youth.
3. Advocacy for people living with HIV/AIDS: Prevention and Access to treatment.
The leading cause of death for African American women is HIV/AIDS.
I have consulted with my colleague Jeff Zimmerman who operates the Crisis Response
Team in LA. He has given me some direction on the foundations that have helped fund the LA Crisis Response Team program.
The LA Mayor's office and Chief Bratton's office will be providing reference letters to the work we did together in LA (2005-2008).
Rev. Howard Dotson
(612)702-3151
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Another Bat Attack at Lake Phalen
4 thugs attack man near Lake Phalen
By Mara H. Gottfried
mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 03/03/2009 03:47:49 PM CST
St. Paul police are investigating an attack of a man walking his dog near Lake Phalen last week.
Four males, who appeared to be teenagers, came up to the man Friday night and asked him for change, said Peter Panos, police spokesman.
"The next thing he knows, he's knocked out," Panos said. One report said a baseball bat was used and another said it was a rubber object, Panos said.
The man was brought to the hospital. He didn't have life threatening injuries, Panos said.
Nothing was taken in the attack, Panos said.
Police are looking into whether Friday's assault is connected to an attack last summer at Lake Phalen, Panos said. On Aug. 1, a woman in her 40s was walking at the lake when three young people wielding baseball bats attacked her.
They tried to hit her over her head repeatedly, but the woman held up her hands to protect her head. One of her fingers was severed, and she has multiple fractures in both hands and her wrist. The case is unsolved.
On Aug. 4, a young married couple was assaulted with bats while taking a walk around Lake Phalen. Three teens with gang ties were charged in that case.
By Mara H. Gottfried
mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 03/03/2009 03:47:49 PM CST
St. Paul police are investigating an attack of a man walking his dog near Lake Phalen last week.
Four males, who appeared to be teenagers, came up to the man Friday night and asked him for change, said Peter Panos, police spokesman.
"The next thing he knows, he's knocked out," Panos said. One report said a baseball bat was used and another said it was a rubber object, Panos said.
The man was brought to the hospital. He didn't have life threatening injuries, Panos said.
Nothing was taken in the attack, Panos said.
Police are looking into whether Friday's assault is connected to an attack last summer at Lake Phalen, Panos said. On Aug. 1, a woman in her 40s was walking at the lake when three young people wielding baseball bats attacked her.
They tried to hit her over her head repeatedly, but the woman held up her hands to protect her head. One of her fingers was severed, and she has multiple fractures in both hands and her wrist. The case is unsolved.
On Aug. 4, a young married couple was assaulted with bats while taking a walk around Lake Phalen. Three teens with gang ties were charged in that case.
Picking Up our Crosses Mark 8:31-38
Picking Up our Crosses Mark 8:31-38
31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and
be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels
On the Second of Lent, we remember that being a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ is a tall order. Are we ready to lose our life to gain it? Do we have the courage and strength to pick up the cross that is at our feet. How many times we have tripped over it trying to get beyond it without having to pick it up?
How many of us have felt that twist in our stomach when we saw something that was so wrong, but we couldn’t find the courage to stay anything. We did not want to stick our necks and be ostracized. We struggle to find the inner strength to take the risk, and pick up the cross God had set before us. In reality, we will have many different crosses before us in our life time.
Our necklaces with crosses on our chest are good reminders for us of how we are daily called to carry our cross. Yes, ultimately it’s about what Jesus did on Calvary, but is also symbolizes the personal cross that we bear every day. Every morning when you pull the cord or chain over your head, say a prayer for strength and courage to carry the cross that is at your feet for this day.
When I see so many jewels and sparkles on the Crosses we wear, I wonder if we have gotten away from the pain and hardship that bearing the cross brings. May be we should wear more simple, plain wooden crosses, lest we sanitize and dilute the true meaning of this symbol. Just as Jesus suffered for us, we must be willing to endure the Cross set before us. We can not discover who we are as a resurrection people without the Cross that is set before us. There is no way of side stepping the Via Dela Rosa and the ascent to Calvary.
Yes, we want the Messiah, we want Christmas and Easter, but can we just move along with all this Lent and Good Friday stuff. When do we get to the fun stuff? Lent can be a difficult time to market coming to church. We live in the era of consumer spirituality. Too many of us have succumbed to the entertainment mode of being church. Give me the warm fuzzy I came for. I want to be moved, but don’t ask too much of me. I want to be able to move in and out without much accountability. Let me just stay anonymous.
In the early church, it was pretty hard to be invisible. Poor Peter, he really gets a bum rap in Mark’s Gospel. Surely it hurt his feelings when Jesus says to him, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter did not want the suffering servant. He wanted to see King David back on his throne, and hopefully a seat on his cabinet. Many of Jesus’ followers could not understand the path that was before them. Let us get to Easter Sunday through another path shall we?
Perhaps Jesus was stern with Peter because in Jesus’ humanity he was struggling with the temptation to agree with him. We see in the passion how Jesus struggled with the cup that was set before up. “ Father, I will do your will but could you take this cup from me?” We see how Jesus prayed in isolation and despair while the disciples slept. Jesus knew this was going to be a lonesome valley. He could see that many of his disciples would betray and deny they knew him when the time of trials came. Yes, Jesus, in his humanity wished there was another way, but his love for us compelled him to carry the cross that was set before him.
Do we have the courage to carry the cross that God has set before us? Now not many of us will be required to give our lives for the Gospel. But this is our spiritual legacy. Our ancestors were willing to give it all, so they could save their lives by losing it. 1700 years of being the official religion of Western Culture has made some of us grow complacement. We don’t fully appreciate just how demanding it is to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
We need to be daily engaged in spiritual practices, so we can be conditioning ourselves for the day when we face the heaviest cross we will be required to carry. How do we find the courage and strength to pick up our cross and follow our Lord to Calvary? I am amazed at the courage so many people have had for the cause they believed in. They were willing to face the threat of death in order to proceed down the righteous path.
Jesus’ life and ministry has been the source and inspiration of many courageous saints. For instance, people take notice when the women get organized. In every social movement that has brought us closer to a realization of our Lord’s Prayer “On Earth as it is heaven”, there has always been the backbone of women who were willing pick up their cross. I have always been inspired by how women seem more willing to carry their personal cross for the sake of others. They definitely seem to out number the men. Brothers, we can learn something from our sisters about what it means to stick your neck for the welfare of others. Our moms, aunties and grandmas have this more comprehensive sense of what it means to carry the cross for all of God’s children. There is this maternal empathy that women share. This huge sense of responsibility for nurturing of others.
Many years ago, in 1872, Susan B Anthony walked into a barber shop that served as a polling station and demanded that she be allowed to register to vote. She promised the election judges that she would cover their legal costs if they accommodated her and the other women who would follow. Many courageous women would follow. With a copy of the 14th amendment in hand, they practiced civil disobedience. They carried their cross to right the wrongs of sexism.
They did not just do this for themselves. They were willing to bear the weight so others one day would not have to. Can you imagine Susan B Anthony’s smile when she sees so many of the first milestones we’ve had. There is still a work to be done in our world but we can rest for a minute and celebrate the progress we’ve made.
I mentioned a few weeks ago about the Iron women of Liberia. After years of war they elected the first African woman to be President Ellen Johnson. I encourage you to go the theatres and see the documentary, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” This is an inspiring story of how the Christian and Muslim Women’s associations joined forced to work for peace and end the civil war in Liberia. These ladies courageously picked up the cross set before them.
These iron ladies of Liberia put on their white sack clothes and kept vigil on the road that leads up to President Taylor’s house. These courageous ladies bent the ears of their pastors to mobilize the congregations to be part of the pressure that brought all parties to the peace table. Their Muslim sisters worked in the mosques to pressure the Imams to urge the rebel group leaders to also come to the table. The ladies even went on a sex strike. They refused their husbands affection until the peace process started.
When the talks finally began in Ghana, it was clear that many of the delegates were dragging their feet. Just as the talks began, Charles Taylor was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Sierra Leone. The talks seemed to doomed to fail. Then the rebel forces started the siege of Monrovia. This is where millions of internally displaced persons had fled to.
The Iron women of Liberia had had enough. All dressed in white they encircled the building where the peace negotiations were taking place. They locked arms and refused to let the delegates out until they made some progress. When one of the rebel delegates tried to jump over human chain, the former President of Nigeria rebuked him. “You get back in there. You are not a real man. You are killing your own people. Your acting like a boy and these Mamas are right!”
We have a cloud of witnesses of followers of Christ who had the courage to carry the cross. Not merely for the sake of their personal salvation, but so that the kingdom of God could be more fully known in our midst.
These prayers flags remind of us of the commitments we have made to practice acts of sacrificial love. To pick up the crosses before us so other people do not bear their burdens alone. So often we wonder if anyone will care. When I allow myself to be humbled and ask for help will someone be there?
Every day, there are people in our lives who are our Simon of Cyrenes who come to walk beside us and take a part of the cross for us. Jesus promised to make the yoke easy, and we are the hands and feet that help fulfill this promise. There will always be a yoke for each of us to carry, but this is the path our Lord has set for us.
We can’t find who we are as a child of God until we let go of the life we try to set on our own terms. During these days of Lent, let us lay down our own agendas, so our arms are freed to pick up the cross Christ calls us to carry. We will never be alone, our Triune God is with us every step of the way. Even when it seems the world is on your shoulder, our Awesome God can sustain each and every burden. This path is not easy, but man is it worth it! We follow the loving Shepherd who loves us enough to give it all away for our sake. Let’s pick up our cross as an act of love and praise.
31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and
be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels
On the Second of Lent, we remember that being a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ is a tall order. Are we ready to lose our life to gain it? Do we have the courage and strength to pick up the cross that is at our feet. How many times we have tripped over it trying to get beyond it without having to pick it up?
How many of us have felt that twist in our stomach when we saw something that was so wrong, but we couldn’t find the courage to stay anything. We did not want to stick our necks and be ostracized. We struggle to find the inner strength to take the risk, and pick up the cross God had set before us. In reality, we will have many different crosses before us in our life time.
Our necklaces with crosses on our chest are good reminders for us of how we are daily called to carry our cross. Yes, ultimately it’s about what Jesus did on Calvary, but is also symbolizes the personal cross that we bear every day. Every morning when you pull the cord or chain over your head, say a prayer for strength and courage to carry the cross that is at your feet for this day.
When I see so many jewels and sparkles on the Crosses we wear, I wonder if we have gotten away from the pain and hardship that bearing the cross brings. May be we should wear more simple, plain wooden crosses, lest we sanitize and dilute the true meaning of this symbol. Just as Jesus suffered for us, we must be willing to endure the Cross set before us. We can not discover who we are as a resurrection people without the Cross that is set before us. There is no way of side stepping the Via Dela Rosa and the ascent to Calvary.
Yes, we want the Messiah, we want Christmas and Easter, but can we just move along with all this Lent and Good Friday stuff. When do we get to the fun stuff? Lent can be a difficult time to market coming to church. We live in the era of consumer spirituality. Too many of us have succumbed to the entertainment mode of being church. Give me the warm fuzzy I came for. I want to be moved, but don’t ask too much of me. I want to be able to move in and out without much accountability. Let me just stay anonymous.
In the early church, it was pretty hard to be invisible. Poor Peter, he really gets a bum rap in Mark’s Gospel. Surely it hurt his feelings when Jesus says to him, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter did not want the suffering servant. He wanted to see King David back on his throne, and hopefully a seat on his cabinet. Many of Jesus’ followers could not understand the path that was before them. Let us get to Easter Sunday through another path shall we?
Perhaps Jesus was stern with Peter because in Jesus’ humanity he was struggling with the temptation to agree with him. We see in the passion how Jesus struggled with the cup that was set before up. “ Father, I will do your will but could you take this cup from me?” We see how Jesus prayed in isolation and despair while the disciples slept. Jesus knew this was going to be a lonesome valley. He could see that many of his disciples would betray and deny they knew him when the time of trials came. Yes, Jesus, in his humanity wished there was another way, but his love for us compelled him to carry the cross that was set before him.
Do we have the courage to carry the cross that God has set before us? Now not many of us will be required to give our lives for the Gospel. But this is our spiritual legacy. Our ancestors were willing to give it all, so they could save their lives by losing it. 1700 years of being the official religion of Western Culture has made some of us grow complacement. We don’t fully appreciate just how demanding it is to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
We need to be daily engaged in spiritual practices, so we can be conditioning ourselves for the day when we face the heaviest cross we will be required to carry. How do we find the courage and strength to pick up our cross and follow our Lord to Calvary? I am amazed at the courage so many people have had for the cause they believed in. They were willing to face the threat of death in order to proceed down the righteous path.
Jesus’ life and ministry has been the source and inspiration of many courageous saints. For instance, people take notice when the women get organized. In every social movement that has brought us closer to a realization of our Lord’s Prayer “On Earth as it is heaven”, there has always been the backbone of women who were willing pick up their cross. I have always been inspired by how women seem more willing to carry their personal cross for the sake of others. They definitely seem to out number the men. Brothers, we can learn something from our sisters about what it means to stick your neck for the welfare of others. Our moms, aunties and grandmas have this more comprehensive sense of what it means to carry the cross for all of God’s children. There is this maternal empathy that women share. This huge sense of responsibility for nurturing of others.
Many years ago, in 1872, Susan B Anthony walked into a barber shop that served as a polling station and demanded that she be allowed to register to vote. She promised the election judges that she would cover their legal costs if they accommodated her and the other women who would follow. Many courageous women would follow. With a copy of the 14th amendment in hand, they practiced civil disobedience. They carried their cross to right the wrongs of sexism.
They did not just do this for themselves. They were willing to bear the weight so others one day would not have to. Can you imagine Susan B Anthony’s smile when she sees so many of the first milestones we’ve had. There is still a work to be done in our world but we can rest for a minute and celebrate the progress we’ve made.
I mentioned a few weeks ago about the Iron women of Liberia. After years of war they elected the first African woman to be President Ellen Johnson. I encourage you to go the theatres and see the documentary, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” This is an inspiring story of how the Christian and Muslim Women’s associations joined forced to work for peace and end the civil war in Liberia. These ladies courageously picked up the cross set before them.
These iron ladies of Liberia put on their white sack clothes and kept vigil on the road that leads up to President Taylor’s house. These courageous ladies bent the ears of their pastors to mobilize the congregations to be part of the pressure that brought all parties to the peace table. Their Muslim sisters worked in the mosques to pressure the Imams to urge the rebel group leaders to also come to the table. The ladies even went on a sex strike. They refused their husbands affection until the peace process started.
When the talks finally began in Ghana, it was clear that many of the delegates were dragging their feet. Just as the talks began, Charles Taylor was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Sierra Leone. The talks seemed to doomed to fail. Then the rebel forces started the siege of Monrovia. This is where millions of internally displaced persons had fled to.
The Iron women of Liberia had had enough. All dressed in white they encircled the building where the peace negotiations were taking place. They locked arms and refused to let the delegates out until they made some progress. When one of the rebel delegates tried to jump over human chain, the former President of Nigeria rebuked him. “You get back in there. You are not a real man. You are killing your own people. Your acting like a boy and these Mamas are right!”
We have a cloud of witnesses of followers of Christ who had the courage to carry the cross. Not merely for the sake of their personal salvation, but so that the kingdom of God could be more fully known in our midst.
These prayers flags remind of us of the commitments we have made to practice acts of sacrificial love. To pick up the crosses before us so other people do not bear their burdens alone. So often we wonder if anyone will care. When I allow myself to be humbled and ask for help will someone be there?
Every day, there are people in our lives who are our Simon of Cyrenes who come to walk beside us and take a part of the cross for us. Jesus promised to make the yoke easy, and we are the hands and feet that help fulfill this promise. There will always be a yoke for each of us to carry, but this is the path our Lord has set for us.
We can’t find who we are as a child of God until we let go of the life we try to set on our own terms. During these days of Lent, let us lay down our own agendas, so our arms are freed to pick up the cross Christ calls us to carry. We will never be alone, our Triune God is with us every step of the way. Even when it seems the world is on your shoulder, our Awesome God can sustain each and every burden. This path is not easy, but man is it worth it! We follow the loving Shepherd who loves us enough to give it all away for our sake. Let’s pick up our cross as an act of love and praise.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
A Wilderness Experience First Sunday in Lent
A Wilderness Experience March 1, 2009
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Mark 1:9-15
Last Wed. We began our forty day journey to the Cross and Empty Tomb of our Lord. Many of our Catholic brothers and sisters will forgo meat on Fridays. At the age of fifteen, my first job was working at Burger King, I remember how many fish sandwiches we sold for lunch on Fridays. Have we domesticated the wilderness experience we are called to during Lent? We are called to remember the personal sacrifices Jesus made in these forty days in the wilderness. It is enough to give up red meat one day a week, or reduce our intake of chocolate.
Leading up to the cross in our chancel, we have draped our prayer flags. We have made commitments to practice acts of sacrificial love during Lent. In our wilderness experiences, we don’t need to worry about wild beasts. Our confrontations with the evil of this world are milder forms of temptation. Very few of us will endure the hungers pangs or sleep without shelter above our heads. How will grow in love and compassion for our brothers and sisters walking through the wilderness right now?
In the Ancient Near East, when you heard the number of forty you knew this was a time of testing. This was not a punishment from God. Rather this was a time of spiritual purification. When Jesus departs into the wilderness for forty days, he is repeating the spiritual pilgrimage of his ancestors. Moses led the people out of captivity into forty years in the wilderness before they reached the promised land. Moses spent forty days and nights on the Mt. Sinai before he delivered the law. Elijah spent forty days on Mt. Horeb. Every time that we are set apart for spiritual formation, God does not abandon us.
God is preparing us for the trials and tribulations that still lay ahead. The path Christ set for us is not always tranquil. Speaking the truth in love and proclaiming the gospel will place us in the wilderness more times than many of us would like to accept as reality. God did not promise us a rose garden. We make sacrifices now for treasures in heaven.
Yes there will be hunger, temptation and wild beasts, but the angels of God are always with us to sustain us. If the very Son of God has to go through his own spiritual preparation, how much more do we? How is the Spirit of God calling us today to take some time in the wilderness. We leave the ways and means of this world to appreciate how God’s voice is speaking to us. We silence the distractions and competing voices, so we can hear the still, small voice that nurtures our souls.
Many of our peers like to see themselves as more spiritual than religious. They say to themselves, “I don’t need to go to church, I can find God in nature, this is where I commune with the Spirit.” Many people no longer see the need to be part of a faith community. God does not send us into the wilderness to just feed our own psychic needs. God gives us Sabbath in the wilderness so we are prepared for the demands of sacrificial love we will share with others when we return. As Westerners, we need to acknowledge our propensity for being self absorbed and accustomed to navel gazing. God sends us into the wilderness as a time of preparation for service.
When I think of Jesus growing hungry in the hot noon days and frigid midnights, I pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who live in refugee camps. The violence they had no part in has forced them to flee the life they knew into settlements where life is precarious. Charlie and George spent ten years in Kampala at a Sudanese refugee camp. For twenty years, the Southern Sudanese people fled the conflict zones. This tragedy isn’t over, millions of the people of Darfur, another region of Sudan, have also had to flee the Junjaweed and the Sudanese gunships. When we think of wilderness, our brothers and sisters fleeing the war zone are living it.
It’s hard to embrace this spiritual sacrifice of self denial when you are struggling for your daily bread. At times, it can be hard to find God’s presence with you, when the wild beasts surrounding you are fellow human beings. Their acts of evil and cruelty create a crisis of faith. The refugees of our day living in exile are searching and praying every day for the angels to tend to them in their wilderness. Our prayers are with the people of Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as they endure a harsh wilderness journey they never chose for themselves. May the angels tend to them, and the day of peace and prosperity come soon.
God has given each of us our own time in the wilderness to prepare us to be the angels God sends out to tend to others. Every one of us will encounter a wilderness experience. It’s part of the journey. Yes there will always be testimonies of someone who has had it more difficult than we have. One of the redeeming points is that these experiences of self denial enable us to have compassion and solidarity with others, who currently endure a wilderness moment. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, hungry, tired and tempted. Our Lord knows our struggle to keep perspective and to restrain from our temptations to give into our baser natures.
When we have our dark nights of the soul, when we feel God is far from us, we can take comfort in remembering that God gave the Israelites manna from heaven, God gave Elijah the food to sustain them. God does not send us out into this wilderness to fend for ourselves. Rather, we are taught again and again, we need to step out on faith and trust God will provide. Many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world are praying and trusting that God has not forgetten them. May of our acts of sacrificial of love during these forty days be answered prayers for those enduring wilderness moments.
In many cultures young men are sent out on a vision quest as part of their initiation into adulthood. Native Americans here in North America and many tribes in Africa still practice this rite of passage. Jesus, has also modelled this path of spiritual maturity. Sometimes we need to descend to ascend. To grow in mind and spirit, we let go of some of the comforts that have become crutches and chains holding us back. We step out on faith and struggle with the elements to learn and trust that God will always provide.
We grow in the image of Christ when we get of ourselves and the comforts that serve as substitutes for the spiritual food only God can provide. In this Lenten journey, there is manna in the sky awaiting for us. Are we willing to endure the hardships and hunger in order to get to the clouds carrying this for us?
We have begun the Lenten Journey. As we receieve the bread and cup today, we remember how much God loved us. God was willing to lay down his life for us. Somehow red meat or chocolate really seem to pale in comparison. How will we give to others an act of sacrificial love as an act of worship and praise to the Lamb who gave it all for us?
Yes the bunnies, lilies and Easter baskets will come at the end of this wilderness experience, but we need to abstain for a while to appreciate the sweetness of Easter morning. How will we walk with our brothers and sisters through their personal Good Fridays? How will we help sustain one another in the wilderness moments that life brings?
Are we ready to serve as vessels and channels of the peace of Christ in a world filled with wild beasts? We are the people we have been waiting for! Through our acts of sacrificial love this Lent, we are angels tending to fellow spiritual pilgrims enduring their time in the wilderness.
May our eyes always be open, our ears always attentive. The voice of God carries through the cries and tears from the wilderness. May the manna from heaven fall again and again. May the Kingdom of God be proclaimed and be made known in every corner of God’s creation. Soon and very soon, we will complete our journey across this dry and desolate land and rest our weary feet in the still waters and green pastures again.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Mark 1:9-15
Last Wed. We began our forty day journey to the Cross and Empty Tomb of our Lord. Many of our Catholic brothers and sisters will forgo meat on Fridays. At the age of fifteen, my first job was working at Burger King, I remember how many fish sandwiches we sold for lunch on Fridays. Have we domesticated the wilderness experience we are called to during Lent? We are called to remember the personal sacrifices Jesus made in these forty days in the wilderness. It is enough to give up red meat one day a week, or reduce our intake of chocolate.
Leading up to the cross in our chancel, we have draped our prayer flags. We have made commitments to practice acts of sacrificial love during Lent. In our wilderness experiences, we don’t need to worry about wild beasts. Our confrontations with the evil of this world are milder forms of temptation. Very few of us will endure the hungers pangs or sleep without shelter above our heads. How will grow in love and compassion for our brothers and sisters walking through the wilderness right now?
In the Ancient Near East, when you heard the number of forty you knew this was a time of testing. This was not a punishment from God. Rather this was a time of spiritual purification. When Jesus departs into the wilderness for forty days, he is repeating the spiritual pilgrimage of his ancestors. Moses led the people out of captivity into forty years in the wilderness before they reached the promised land. Moses spent forty days and nights on the Mt. Sinai before he delivered the law. Elijah spent forty days on Mt. Horeb. Every time that we are set apart for spiritual formation, God does not abandon us.
God is preparing us for the trials and tribulations that still lay ahead. The path Christ set for us is not always tranquil. Speaking the truth in love and proclaiming the gospel will place us in the wilderness more times than many of us would like to accept as reality. God did not promise us a rose garden. We make sacrifices now for treasures in heaven.
Yes there will be hunger, temptation and wild beasts, but the angels of God are always with us to sustain us. If the very Son of God has to go through his own spiritual preparation, how much more do we? How is the Spirit of God calling us today to take some time in the wilderness. We leave the ways and means of this world to appreciate how God’s voice is speaking to us. We silence the distractions and competing voices, so we can hear the still, small voice that nurtures our souls.
Many of our peers like to see themselves as more spiritual than religious. They say to themselves, “I don’t need to go to church, I can find God in nature, this is where I commune with the Spirit.” Many people no longer see the need to be part of a faith community. God does not send us into the wilderness to just feed our own psychic needs. God gives us Sabbath in the wilderness so we are prepared for the demands of sacrificial love we will share with others when we return. As Westerners, we need to acknowledge our propensity for being self absorbed and accustomed to navel gazing. God sends us into the wilderness as a time of preparation for service.
When I think of Jesus growing hungry in the hot noon days and frigid midnights, I pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who live in refugee camps. The violence they had no part in has forced them to flee the life they knew into settlements where life is precarious. Charlie and George spent ten years in Kampala at a Sudanese refugee camp. For twenty years, the Southern Sudanese people fled the conflict zones. This tragedy isn’t over, millions of the people of Darfur, another region of Sudan, have also had to flee the Junjaweed and the Sudanese gunships. When we think of wilderness, our brothers and sisters fleeing the war zone are living it.
It’s hard to embrace this spiritual sacrifice of self denial when you are struggling for your daily bread. At times, it can be hard to find God’s presence with you, when the wild beasts surrounding you are fellow human beings. Their acts of evil and cruelty create a crisis of faith. The refugees of our day living in exile are searching and praying every day for the angels to tend to them in their wilderness. Our prayers are with the people of Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as they endure a harsh wilderness journey they never chose for themselves. May the angels tend to them, and the day of peace and prosperity come soon.
God has given each of us our own time in the wilderness to prepare us to be the angels God sends out to tend to others. Every one of us will encounter a wilderness experience. It’s part of the journey. Yes there will always be testimonies of someone who has had it more difficult than we have. One of the redeeming points is that these experiences of self denial enable us to have compassion and solidarity with others, who currently endure a wilderness moment. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, hungry, tired and tempted. Our Lord knows our struggle to keep perspective and to restrain from our temptations to give into our baser natures.
When we have our dark nights of the soul, when we feel God is far from us, we can take comfort in remembering that God gave the Israelites manna from heaven, God gave Elijah the food to sustain them. God does not send us out into this wilderness to fend for ourselves. Rather, we are taught again and again, we need to step out on faith and trust God will provide. Many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world are praying and trusting that God has not forgetten them. May of our acts of sacrificial of love during these forty days be answered prayers for those enduring wilderness moments.
In many cultures young men are sent out on a vision quest as part of their initiation into adulthood. Native Americans here in North America and many tribes in Africa still practice this rite of passage. Jesus, has also modelled this path of spiritual maturity. Sometimes we need to descend to ascend. To grow in mind and spirit, we let go of some of the comforts that have become crutches and chains holding us back. We step out on faith and struggle with the elements to learn and trust that God will always provide.
We grow in the image of Christ when we get of ourselves and the comforts that serve as substitutes for the spiritual food only God can provide. In this Lenten journey, there is manna in the sky awaiting for us. Are we willing to endure the hardships and hunger in order to get to the clouds carrying this for us?
We have begun the Lenten Journey. As we receieve the bread and cup today, we remember how much God loved us. God was willing to lay down his life for us. Somehow red meat or chocolate really seem to pale in comparison. How will we give to others an act of sacrificial love as an act of worship and praise to the Lamb who gave it all for us?
Yes the bunnies, lilies and Easter baskets will come at the end of this wilderness experience, but we need to abstain for a while to appreciate the sweetness of Easter morning. How will we walk with our brothers and sisters through their personal Good Fridays? How will we help sustain one another in the wilderness moments that life brings?
Are we ready to serve as vessels and channels of the peace of Christ in a world filled with wild beasts? We are the people we have been waiting for! Through our acts of sacrificial love this Lent, we are angels tending to fellow spiritual pilgrims enduring their time in the wilderness.
May our eyes always be open, our ears always attentive. The voice of God carries through the cries and tears from the wilderness. May the manna from heaven fall again and again. May the Kingdom of God be proclaimed and be made known in every corner of God’s creation. Soon and very soon, we will complete our journey across this dry and desolate land and rest our weary feet in the still waters and green pastures again.
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