Reflection

As I come back to this blog after a long absence, I am reminded of the relative importance of putting thoughts to paper or keyboard or whatever. I think we all need a time of reflection in our lives daily, this blog is perhaps not a daily reflection or an occasional diversion, it is necessary. The blog is perhaps not for anyone but me. A chance to ramble about the inspirations and observations that come from the world. Believe me, changes are what define our lives. Reflection on the world has become a look back to a matter of minutes or hours ago. For example, how many days ago did the world become upside down for millions of people? Did the earth shake and the world crumble for some people in Haiti or was life changed dramatically for millions of people worldwide? Was the call to help the people of Haiti limited to some first responders? Or was an emergency of considerable proportion significant in the lives of a myriad of people throughout the world? People who perhaps would have witnessed the disaster via electronic conveyance with sympathetic yet actionless interest find themselves swept up in the plight of people many miles away. As we look on with empathy and consider the world that these people find themselves in today we are justifiably moved to action. Whether our action is defined by reaching out materially or spiritually we are nevertheless moved to action. The simple act of caring what happens to these people is a change for good. If you reflect for a few minutes on how your life was changed by an earthquake in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, you will find that your interest was shifted for just a minute to someone besides yourself. The exposure to the terrible aftermath of natural disaster gives us pause to think and to be grateful that we were not swept up in similar circumstances. Our reflections show us that we are indeed at the mercy of God in our circumstance. What we consider to be the "worst" of circumstance for us suddenly pales in comparision to the circumstances of the people of Haiti. We see suffering. We see pain. We see desolation. We see destruction. We see death. We see panic. We see chaos. We see a certain sadness. We see cries for help. And we see it all "up front and personal" from our homes, in front of our high-definition, plasma, 47" television, a few steps away from our refrigerator. Are we then grateful for our abundances? Do we feel a certain guilt for having so much as others clamour for water and food? Suffice it to say that a grateful heart is in order. Thanks to God is a minimal response as we reflect on this terrible tragedy. Prayer for those unfortunate souls is essential. An outpouring of concern is an appropriate response. Take time to reflect on life as you know it. Perhaps it is fraught with personal dispair. Does it compare to the human suffering we witness each day? Have a grateful heart. Love God. Love one another.

I'll Fly Away

While attending a worship service this past Sunday, one of the songs that was sung was "I'll Fly Away". The song was a melodic Baptist standard and was sung acapella as is the tradition in the church we attended. The song was perhaps a bit more poignant this time than in the past. The opening verse of the song says, "Some glad morning when this life is over, I'll fly away..." it made me think of something that had been on my mind for the past few days. One of our neighbors had passed away a few days ago. His wife once told me of the appearance of a red bird when she had lost loved ones in her family. The morning after her husband's passing while standing of the porch with my grandson, a red bird began to sing from an overhead wire. His song made us take notice of his nearby perch and his vibrant red color. We knew the bird was a male by his crimson plummage. My thoughts went immediately to the red bird's timely appearance in my neighbor's story. Since my brother-in-law was having serious heart surgery, it gave me pause to consider the story. I thought to myself, that's her story not mine, nothing to worry about as the surgery had been successful. My grandson and I went inside to answer the phone that was ringing. The call was from a friend telling me about the neighbor's passing the night before at 10:30pm.
I was initially taken aback by the news and had to wait until the news had sunk in to react. The story of the appearance of red birds seemed to have borne out the events of the previous night. For indeed, this "glad morning" my neighbor had "flown away". Leaving this earthly plain as a red bird has a certain appeal as we see our soul set free. Free to soar. Free to fly.
The red bird's song was a familiar one to me. His call to "Purdy, Purdy, Purdy" had been the subject of a discussion that I had with my youngest granddaughter who had come for a visit the previous summer. I had told her upon her return home that she needed to come back as this bird was "driving me crazy" calling her. We had laughed about the bird's song when she was here. "There he goes again," I would say, "calling you". "Hear him saying, 'Pretty, Pretty, Pretty', to you." "Walk out there, so he can see you!"
My neighbor may have been calling to his wife on his "glad morning" after the many weary days of 90+ years. Reminding her of her story with a loud and crystal-clear song, "Purdy, Purdy, Purdy" ( I use southern dialect as I know he is a Southern red bird.)
Perhaps "one glad morning" you, too, will "fly away to a home on God's celestrial shore". After many "weary days", you will fly to a "land where joy shall never end". As you contemplate your soul taking flight, be grateful for the promises of God. Love God. Love one another. Prepare to "fly away" some "glad morning"!

Memorial for the Prince of Peace

Isn't it amazing that over a billion people watched the worldwide coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial. The media attention was incredible from the day of his death until the memorial at the Staple Center and now seems to be never-ending. You could run but not hide from the story as it unfolded. This person made his life the center of media attention and ultimately paid the price for his fame. It is truly sad that he commanded the same attention (if not more) in his death than he did in his life. His life was fraught with evils and temptations that seemed virtually insurmountable. It is our fascination with his life that seems to diminish us all. The King of Pop is dead! In considering the "circus" we have witnessed thus far it begets thoughts of what a "media circus" would have looked like upon the event of Jesus' death...
"We have breaking news from Jerusalem... The self-proclaimed King of the Jews is dead!" Jesus of Nazareth has been crucified on Golgotha! We have reporters on the scene to bring you the breaking news! We go now to Golgotha where our own reporter, Marcellus, comes to you from the foot of the cross where Jesus died just minutes ago.
Yes, Marcus, I am standing at the foot of the cross of Jesus of Nazareth, son of the carpenter, Joseph and his wife, Mary. On a placard over his head is an inscription that reads, THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. On his right and left are two thieves that were crucified at the same time as Jesus. Witnesses say that Jesus cried out, "IT IS FINISHED", just a few minutes ago. One Roman centurion was said to have exclaimed, "Surely, he was the Son of God!" Marcus, the weather seems to have taken a turn for the worse here, I'll send it back to you.
We have a reporter at the Temple where minutes ago the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. What can you tell us, Absalom? Well, Marcus, witnesses here say that the earth shook, the sky darkened, and this beautiful curtain was torn asunder!
Let's go to palace of the Roman governor, Pilate, for reaction to the news of events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. Marcus, numerous attempts have been made to get reaction from Pilate, he simply has no comment. Thank you, Aurelius, keep us posted if there is a Roman reaction to Jesus' death.
Absalom has the high priest, Caiaphas, in the Temple. Well, yes, Marcus, this is Caiaphas, the high priest, one of Jesus' accusers in his trial before Pilate. What is your reaction to the events of the day, Caiaphas? "It's shameful trickery, the curtains were old and the wind simply caused them to tear. We have posted guards to insure no more of this blasphemer's prophecy comes to fruition." Marcus, as you have heard the religious leaders want no more talk of Jesus and miracles, back to you.
Marcellus has found one of Jesus followers in the crowd near the cross. Marcellus, what does this man say? Marcus, I just questioned this man known as Simon Peter and he flatly denies that he knew Jesus. There are others who seem sympathetic to Jesus' cause, I'll try to get some of them to speak to me.
That's the breaking news on Jesus' death for now, stay tuned for our coverage of Jesus' life and the events that led up to his death. Coverage of "Memorial for the Prince of Peace" will continue after this short break...
As coverage of this story continues throughout time we hope that you are tuned into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Can you imagine a "media circus" befitting the Son of God? Can you imagine the relative importance of His story in your life? Have a grateful heart for Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Love God. Love one another.

I'll Be There

As the news of Michael Jackson's death inundates us all, we have occasion to hear an early song from his career that propelled the Jackson Five and Michael to stardom. It's the words that have special meaning in a larger sense. They seem to be a double entendre in their scope. "You and I must make a pact, we must bring salvation back, Where there is love, I'll be there", now, was this a hymn that Barry Gordy, Willie Hutch, Hal Davis and Bob West had in mind as they composed this song or was it a simple love song? Is not God's word... a simple love song? "I'll reach out my hand to you, I'll have faith in all you do... Just call my name and I'll be there" seems to cut to the chase in terms of God's message to us all. So what does a love song have to do with God's message to mankind. Just the simple phrase, "I'll be there", speaks to the very essence of religion. The existence of God, who will be there for all time, available, "Just call my Name, I'll be there!!"
The song goes on to say, "Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter, Togetherness, well that's all I'm after, Whenever you need me, I'll be there. I'll be there to protect you, with an unselfish love that respects you. Just call my name and I'll be there.", reminding us all of the promises God has made to us. He is there for us. God is Love. God is saying through the words of this song, heard by millions, "You and I must make a pact, we must bring salvation back".
Perhaps we all could us a little joy and laughter in this uncertain times. Perhaps we should call upon God. God will indeed be there with "a love that's strong, I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on..." The Four Tops had a similar message in their hit, "Reach Out I'll Be There"... "Now if you feel you can't go on because all of your hope is gone and your life is filled with much confusion until happiness is just an illusion and your world around is crumpling down,darlin', reach out..." God is speaking, are you listening?
So as you pause to reflect on the life of Michael Jackson, no matter how bizarre it became, remember the innocence of a young boy who reminded us that all we have to do is call God's name and He'll be there. Have a grateful heart, full of joy and laughter. Love God. Love one another.

A Full Plate

Do you remember the last family reunion that you attended? Was there food to comfort everyone? Some of Mom's apple pie? Some of Aunt Alice's delicious butter cake with chocolate frosting? Grandma's egg noodles? It was an opportunity to fill your plate with a mound of memories and goodness. It also happens at the buffet restaurant, the church supper, the company picnic, any place that we can help ourselves! We are woefully inept at self-control. There's seems to be a need to fill our plates with all the stuff we shouldn't eat or with "a little bit of everything" so as not to offend the creators of each dish. We do not heed Mom's warning not to put more on our plate than we can eat . We no longer worry about the starving children of the world who somehow benefited by our "cleaning our plate". Mom's attempted to chide us into trying new things and to make us grateful for what we have by saying, "Try it, you'll like it" or "you oughta be glad you have something to eat, there are many who don't". The temptations are too great, our self-control is flagging. We fill our plates beyond their capacity. Then we attempt to eat it all!

Life has become that same full plate for many of us. The plate is not usually filled with precious memories and goodness. Instead our plate is full of financial woes, health concerns, relationship issues and the welfare of those around us. Actually our plates are so full there is no possible way we could ever "clean" them. We are so full of trying things we don't like and then being stuck with them that we don't know how to cope. We make valiant attempts to stuff it all in but the plate's so full it overflows and ends up all over the place. Spilled all over us, on those around us, and on unsuspecting souls we come near everyday. What a mess!

The plate seems to have a flexible capacity that can hold endless mounds of stuff. We make attempts to "clean" a small place on our plate for "something good" just to be frustrated by someone slinging a pile of something that we don't like and don't want in the space we "cleaned". We long to be among the "empty platers" of the world. We would gladly starve to have a "clean plate". On the contrary, we usually carry our full plate everywhere we go. We can make no time to digest it's contents instead we are too busy, filling our plates or letting someone fill our plates for us becomes our normality. There are people around us who are like the impertinent server in a cafeteria line who slings a spoonful of something on our plate and says, "Keep Moving!". We have no intention of eating it but it takes up a valuable space on our plate. This is what seems to keep our plate full, a world of impertinent servers.

Do you remember a time when you were grateful for having a full plate? Do you ever wish for a full plate? Or has your plate become so full you an no longer carry it? Has the weight become so heavy that you stoop from it's fullness? Are you constantly looking for someone to help share your load? Look up! Help has always been there for you! All you need to do is reach out and accept it. In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest! Put on my yoke and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Let God scrape that stuff off your plate! Have a grateful and forgiving heart! Be gentle and humble. Love God! Love one another!

A Most Unforgivable Sin

They're all talking about the "most expensive divorce in Hollywood history". First of all, divorce is not news in Hollywood, second, divorce is not news anywhere. We are a society of expendables and planned obsolescence. In California, there's an uproar about the legality of same sex marriage, why? Our society seems to have misplaced the value and solemnity of marriage. There was a startling statistic about the rate of divorce in our country, slightly over 50% of marriage end in divorce. Nothing startling anymore about that statistic, marriage is a casualty of a "throw-away" lifestyle. More often than not infidelity is the reason for divorce. Usually, the media has a scorned woman involved. Somebody figured out that news about women extracting vengeance on men "sells papers". It is an age-old problem... Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. That adapted phrase came from a play, "The Mourning Bride" by William Congreave, written in the 1690's. The line from the play, "Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd.", speaks to the reason for the fury as love lost. The examples of this fury are many. In Genesis 39, Joseph is a servant of Potiphar, Pharaoh's captain of the guard. Potiphar's wife entreated Joseph with sexual temptation and his refusal got him jail time. Judges 16 tells us Samson found himself powerless at Deiliah's hand after he lied to her. As a result of casting dispersions on Herodias, wife of Herod, John the Baptist lost his head (Matthew 14:1-9). Modern examples come easily to mind as the salacious news of the day pervades our media. Carrie Underwood's song "Before He Cheats" is a chart topper. Perhaps huge divorce settlements have supplanted the inner desires of the scorned to do physical harm to the scorner. Are men held blameless, simply suffering from ravages of women gone wild? Is this the remedy for a most unforgivable sin?
This rage is perhaps understandable but in context is it justifiable? As relationships go there is an unspeakable scorn that occurs daily in our lives. Men and women scorn equally. God loves us all with such intensity that He has given His Son so that we may live eternally. Jesus brings a resolution to the dilemma of mankind. Yet, for most of us, we scorn God's Love almost everyday. We fail to live up to the least of His expectations. Our responsibility to God is relatively simple. Love God with all your heart. Love one another. Be grateful for the blessings bestowed on us. God steps up amidst our scorn and offers forgiveness. How small we are in comparison... Our vengeance makes us smaller. Consider the wrath of God and His forgiveness when you think with fury about extracting remedies for the scorn of your love. Have a grateful, forgiving heart. Love God. Love one another.

Gentleness

Gentleness is a quality we often associate with loved ones. We directly associate a gentle nature with grandmothers and grandfathers of a "kinder and gentler" era. Will you be a gentle and kind hearted elder within your family? Can we survive in this hard world by being gentle and kind hearted? There are many who teach management skills that insist there is no place for gentleness and kindness when dealing with subordinates. Does this attitude transcend the workplace into our family lives? Do we treat our children with gentleness and kindheartedness? Do we treat our spouses with gentleness and kindheartedness? Have the stresses of our lives muddled the work and home environments? Lots of questions, not so many answers that affirm an effort toward kindness and gentleness. Our demands for excellence and submission seem to preclude gentleness and kindheartedness.
Paul, in his letters to churches, exhorts them to be kind and gentle to one another. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says in 3:10, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.". And in his letter to the Corinthians, in chapter 13 he explains the qualities of love, he tells God's people that love is patient, kind, not easily angered and that love never fails. It is these reminders that we need every day.
What a delicate balance we have made for ourselves! We harden ourselves to insure that this cruel world does not squash us and by so doing we lose sight of the importance of kindness and gentleness that is essential to demonstrate our love for one another. Paul stays on message to the Ephesians in Chapter 4, "Be completely humble and gentle, bearing one another in love". And to the Galatians 5:22, he says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.".
Do you suppose that the kindly and gentle elders of yesterday had a widely different perspective than we do today? Is that perspective of our own making as it was for Paul's correspondents? Are we simply reacting to the way others treat us and lack the courage to put ourselves "out there" by being kind and gentle. Given that an animal beaten with a stick seemingly has two choices, cower and flee or attack viciously; given that same choice, how do we react? Most of us envision ourselves battle hardened and ready to attack. This is the choice that most often results in two prominent casualties, kindness and gentleness. Will you be remembered for your kindness? Will your gentle spirit exude the love that brings us all together?
Remember to forgive, be grateful, love God, love one another and be kind and gentle.