So yesterday my Ember day letter to +Cate took priority over this, but back into it now...
God's dream wants us to be brothers and sisters, wants us to be family. (G.H.a.D. Tutu, pg. 21)
What would it mean for you to see everyone around you as brother or sister? How would you treat them differently? What keeps you from welcoming them into your family? As you see people in the street, and opinions, judgments, and prejudices leap to mind, can you see them as not this or that, but as a child of God, as your brother and sister?
I really do try to see everyone as a brother or sister, as someone who is a child of God.
It really bothers me sometimes that I don't have more to give to charity or to the homeless, because what if I just denied Christ because I gave my leftovers from dinner to the person before him. Or if I was on my phone and didn't have time to offer directions or help.
I think having empathy towards the plight of the world is a start and if we stand with our brothers and sisters that we can potentially turn that empathy into really helping each other.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Lenten Musings... Day 6
Through a Dayquil induced haze I am going to try and write this one, judge lightly please...
"It is this fact that we were created to be free that is the reason that all oppression must ultimately fail. Our freedom does not come from any human being--our freedom comes from God.... People are made for it just as plants tend toward the light and toward water." (G.H.a.D. Tutu, pg. 14-15)
There are people throughout our world who are still struggling for freedom. Do you have faith in their victory? Do you pray for them with confidence? What can you and your community do to help them to be free, to be fully human?
Yes. It will take time and lives will be lost, but ultimately freedom will prevail. My prayers are confident, but cautious as I attempt to discern God's will through the turmoil. Freedom must come from God, not from human desires to replace one dictator with another. I really have no idea, what to do with the situation in Libya or Bahrain, I am not sure how to help without being seen as a Western interloper causing more problems. With the slavery situation in the world, I saw a number the other day estimating the number of slaves still in the world it was shocking, we can inform ourselves, then inform others, then approach the issue together. God does bring freedom, but sometimes God asks us to take up our cross and follow his lead...
"It is this fact that we were created to be free that is the reason that all oppression must ultimately fail. Our freedom does not come from any human being--our freedom comes from God.... People are made for it just as plants tend toward the light and toward water." (G.H.a.D. Tutu, pg. 14-15)
There are people throughout our world who are still struggling for freedom. Do you have faith in their victory? Do you pray for them with confidence? What can you and your community do to help them to be free, to be fully human?
Yes. It will take time and lives will be lost, but ultimately freedom will prevail. My prayers are confident, but cautious as I attempt to discern God's will through the turmoil. Freedom must come from God, not from human desires to replace one dictator with another. I really have no idea, what to do with the situation in Libya or Bahrain, I am not sure how to help without being seen as a Western interloper causing more problems. With the slavery situation in the world, I saw a number the other day estimating the number of slaves still in the world it was shocking, we can inform ourselves, then inform others, then approach the issue together. God does bring freedom, but sometimes God asks us to take up our cross and follow his lead...
Monday, March 14, 2011
Lenten Musings... Day 5
"Our ability to do evil is part and parcel of our responsibility to do good. One is meaningless without the other. Empathy and compassion have no meaning unless they occur in a situation where one could be callous and indifferent to the suffering of others. To have any possibility of moral growth there has to be the possibility of becoming immoral." (G.H.a.D. Tutu, pg. 13)
When have you shown empathy and compassion when you could have been callous and indifferent? When were you callous and indifferent? When could you have been more loving to a family member or friend?
Maybe this is cheating, but there are somethings that I am not ready to share on the internet, so trust that I have prayed and thought about this... Have a Blessed day!
When have you shown empathy and compassion when you could have been callous and indifferent? When were you callous and indifferent? When could you have been more loving to a family member or friend?
Maybe this is cheating, but there are somethings that I am not ready to share on the internet, so trust that I have prayed and thought about this... Have a Blessed day!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Lenten Musings... Day 4
So there wasn't a day three due to the observance of a digital sabbath, which was very nice there were some times though that I definitely wanted to check my email or Facebook.
"Many people believe that they are beyond God's love.... God's love is not cut off from anyone. However diabolical the act, it does not turn the perpetrator into a demon. When we proclaim that someone is subhuman, we not only remove for them the possibility of change and repentance, we also remove from them moral responsibility." (G.H.a.D. Tutu, pg. 10-11)
Are there things about you or things you have done that you sometimes believe make you unlovable? Are there things that others have done to you that you think make them unlovable to God? Can you see them as God does, with love, as precious, as his children?
There were... there was a time when I couldn't go to church after I got home from Iraq. I just knew that my actions over there had removed me from God's love, it took a couple of months of a lot of personal struggle and pain, before I let myself be forgiven by God. I was very lucky to have a Priest who showed me that I wasn't beyond God's love or forgiveness. At this point I really have forgiven the people who tried to kill me and my Soldiers, there is far too much evil in this world for me to hold onto hate. I struggle at times and the pain of friends lost is heavy to bear, but we are all God's children and we need to treat each other as such.
"Many people believe that they are beyond God's love.... God's love is not cut off from anyone. However diabolical the act, it does not turn the perpetrator into a demon. When we proclaim that someone is subhuman, we not only remove for them the possibility of change and repentance, we also remove from them moral responsibility." (G.H.a.D. Tutu, pg. 10-11)
Are there things about you or things you have done that you sometimes believe make you unlovable? Are there things that others have done to you that you think make them unlovable to God? Can you see them as God does, with love, as precious, as his children?
There were... there was a time when I couldn't go to church after I got home from Iraq. I just knew that my actions over there had removed me from God's love, it took a couple of months of a lot of personal struggle and pain, before I let myself be forgiven by God. I was very lucky to have a Priest who showed me that I wasn't beyond God's love or forgiveness. At this point I really have forgiven the people who tried to kill me and my Soldiers, there is far too much evil in this world for me to hold onto hate. I struggle at times and the pain of friends lost is heavy to bear, but we are all God's children and we need to treat each other as such.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Lenten Musings... Day 2
"God marvelously, miraculously cares about each and every one of us.... And so God says to you, "I love you. You are precious in your fragility and your vulnerability. Your being is a gift." (G.H.a.D, Tutu pg. 8-9)
Do you feel God's love for you? Where do you feel fragile and vulnerable in your life? How would you live differently if you felt that God truly cared about you and loved you and that your life was a gift to you and the world?
Yes, I do!
I still feel at times like I am not good enough for the life and call that God has set before me. That does weigh on my heart at times, but I know and trust that God will equip me with what I need and give me the experiences that will shape me into the Priest that He is calling me to be.
My feelings do not make me doubt God's love, so I believe that my life is a gift to me and I try to treat it as a gift to the world.
Do you feel God's love for you? Where do you feel fragile and vulnerable in your life? How would you live differently if you felt that God truly cared about you and loved you and that your life was a gift to you and the world?
Yes, I do!
I still feel at times like I am not good enough for the life and call that God has set before me. That does weigh on my heart at times, but I know and trust that God will equip me with what I need and give me the experiences that will shape me into the Priest that He is calling me to be.
My feelings do not make me doubt God's love, so I believe that my life is a gift to me and I try to treat it as a gift to the world.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Lenten Musings... Day 1
So I really enjoyed Archbishop Tutu's book 'God Has a Dream' so as part of Lent this year I decided that each day I would pray and write about one of the study questions in the back of the book each day.
So here we go...
"This is a moral universe, which means that, despite all the evidence that seems to be to the contrary, there is no way that evil and injustice and oppression and lies can have the last word." (G.H.a.D. Tutu p.2)
Do you believe in this statement? If so, what supports your belief? If not, what calls it into question?
Yes, I do.
I have seen evil in the streets of the Middle East first hand, but I have also shared a meal in the homes of people who didn't know me as anything other than a US Soldier in their country. There were times of enjoying ice cream, flying a kite and kicking a soccer ball around that shined through all the turmoil.
As the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya have taken to the streets over the last few weeks, we have seen that grassroots efforts can bring about discussion and eventually change, casting off the yokes of oppression.
In my life thus far, I have seen no greater emotion than love. Love can deliver in the darkest of hours. Love can safe in the bleakest situations. Love will win over hate...
So here we go...
"This is a moral universe, which means that, despite all the evidence that seems to be to the contrary, there is no way that evil and injustice and oppression and lies can have the last word." (G.H.a.D. Tutu p.2)
Do you believe in this statement? If so, what supports your belief? If not, what calls it into question?
Yes, I do.
I have seen evil in the streets of the Middle East first hand, but I have also shared a meal in the homes of people who didn't know me as anything other than a US Soldier in their country. There were times of enjoying ice cream, flying a kite and kicking a soccer ball around that shined through all the turmoil.
As the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya have taken to the streets over the last few weeks, we have seen that grassroots efforts can bring about discussion and eventually change, casting off the yokes of oppression.
In my life thus far, I have seen no greater emotion than love. Love can deliver in the darkest of hours. Love can safe in the bleakest situations. Love will win over hate...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)