In the midst of gunfire...

I returned from a meeting this afternoon and Pat called me into her office to tell me the news of the tragic shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Where 26 people are confirmed dead, 18 of them children.   It was only a few days ago when another gunman opened fire in a crowded mall in Oregon killing two people and seriously wounding a third before turning the gun on himself.

We find ourselves, yet again, stunned with the breath knocked out of us. How could this happen? Today 18 children lost their lives. So full of possibilities, dreams, laughter, joy, and innocence senselessly taken, stolen, destroyed.  Why? Why? In this season of expectation and hope, we are experiencing painful reminders of the brokenness of our world, and of our need for a Savior. 

I call you to prayer! Today. Now. Pray for those who died. Pray for those who were injured. Pray for those who weep and mourn. Pray for those whose insides are so distorted, so desperate that they decided to take not only their own lives, but the lives of the innocent around them. Pray for all those who now wake up with nightmares and those who are now afraid to go to sleep. Pray for the soul of the one who may be the next to pick up a gun - please God, may he not.

We must not lose heart, lose hope - for this our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from sin, from despair.

As we continue on our Advent pilgrimage, let us now more boldly and confidently be heralds of hope. Even in the midst of death and tragedy, let us proclaim with every fiber of our being,

"Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10b-11)

In Christ,

Paul+

Your dominant eye?

This past week I had the chance to shoot sporting clays.  I had not been shooting since I was a boy, so I needed a refresher course, to say the least.  My friend reminded me of the need to determine whether I was left or right eye dominant.  This was critical to take proper aim.

He led me through a little exercise to make that determination.  He asked me to make a triangle with my hands and focus on something with both eyes using my hands as a "view finder". Once I had an object in my sight, I was first to close my left eye seeing only with my right eye and then to do the opposite.   

With one eye, the object would stay clearly in my sight, 
but with the other eye it would be hidden from view. The eye that enables you to see the object is your dominant eye.

All of this led me to the question, "What is my dominant eye through which I view the world?"  Is it the one that keeps the cross and Christ clearly in sight, or is my dominant perspective the one that takes the cross and Christ out of view?

Am I seeing the world through the eye of faith, the eye of prayer, the eye of the cross, the eye of Christ?  Or, I am looking at the world in such as way as to keep all of that out of sight?

It's important to know what is our dominant "eye"?  How do we see the world?  On what do we focus?  What is clearly in our sight line and what is hidden from view.  Is our dominant "eye" one of power, money, success, achievement, self-interest, jealousy, prejudice, suspicion, anger, and fear.  Or, is it the "eye" of faith, hope, love, mercy, grace, forgiveness - the "eye" of the cross and of Christ.  On what do we focus and what is hidden from view?  What we see and how we see things makes a huge difference. 

Try the exercise and see if you can determine what's your dominant "eye"?

Peace,

Paul+

Thanks to my "hand model" - the Rev. Allan King!

Live Strong!

This week there's yet another story of an "American hero" and tales of lies, cheating, betrayal, lawsuits, questions, confessions, speculations, and revelations which blankets the news.  The tangled web of ego and deception.   Money and media.   Power and influence.  A public image and hidden reality.  An almost pathological drive to win - no matter the cost.

This is not a, "Let's bash Lance Armstrong," reflection. This is a "Let's take a look at ourselves and our world," reflection. We love to win and we love winners. We love folks who "beat the odds". We love "super humans". We don't remember who came in 2nd a.k.a. the "also-rans". We all too often celebrate the widely held, yet false and destructive competitive battle cry, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."

Unfortunately, far too many of us view the world with a very narrow understanding of what winning really is. Winning comes in many shapes and sizes. True "winning" isn't about crossing the finish line first or the person with the most trophies. Winning is about character and who we are at our core. It's about the values we hold dear, the tenacity of our spirit, and the true desires of our hearts.

Lance Armstrong, through his cancer foundation, made famous the words, "Live Strong." These words have inspired millions of people to keep striving, working, believing, and living to do something that perhaps they thought was impossible. And that's good!  But...for what are we striving, working, believing, and "living strong"? What are we trying to win? How do we define what winning is?

I challenge us to "Live Strong" - indeed. But, let us take a careful and soulful look at what we are "living strong" for and what we believe it is to "win". For we are to strive not for a trophy of gold, nor for ego and honors, but rather we are to "live strong" and "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

Let us "Live Strong" for the faith, for love, for hope, for grace. Let us "Live Strong" for Christ and for the Kingdom.

Peace,

Paul+

Real or Robot?

This week I found myself noodling around the Episcopal Cafe website and came across a video about the Nicene Creed.  In the opening seconds of the video it read, "When you recite the creed are you being real?  Or are you being a robot? Do you even know what your saying?"  

The questions posed by the video are true not only for the creed, but for many things we recite in church.  For many of us, the words of our liturgy are so much a part of the fabric of our being we can skip through them with little or no thought. But in doing so, are we being real or robots?  

This was a welcomed and well overdue reminder for me.  I need to remind myself to be intentional and mindful in worship -- no matter how many times I've said the words, no matter how many times I've heard them.  There is transformational truth in the words of our liturgy, in the words of the collects, the Psalms, the confession, the offertory, the eucharistic prayer, the Lord's prayer, and the post communion prayer.  Far too often, we engage them rather mindlessly, lifelessly -- but they are the words of our faith.  The words of our common worship experience that we share with our sisters and brothers throughout the ages.  Whether or not you "agree" with every word or "believe" every word -- say every word and pray every word with mindfulness and soulfulness, and let the Holy Spirit work.

The video closes by saying, "So the next time you proclaim the Creed...don't be a robot.  Make it real.  Don't just say it...pray it. Love it.  Live it."  We may just be surprised how these old and very familiar words find new life and refresh us in a new and wonderful way.

Watch the video

Peace,

Paul+

Religiosity vs. The Living God

While on holiday at the shore, I read a classic (at least a classic for an Episcopal Priest) The Christian Priest Today by Michael Ramsey former Archbishop of Canterbury.  The book is a collection of addresses he gave to those preparing for ordination in the Church of England.  Covering topics such as calling, prayer, preaching, teaching, humility, obedience, politics, doctrine, and discipline, Ramsey gives thoughtful insight into the ministry of the ordained.  But, even more so he offers wise counsel for lay and ordained people who come together in this great incarnational community known as the Church.  How do we fulfill God's vision for us and the world?

One most needed reminder and striking challenge came when he quoted F.D. Maurice, words written over a century earlier,"We have been dosing our people with religion, when what they need is not that but the living God."  (p. 20)  So often the Church can get caught up in the theoretical black hole of religiosity and completely lose sight of God.  Our world will not be healed by "religion", but by an encounter with the living God.  I am not saying to do away with religion, but rather I want remind us of the subtle seduction of religiosity and to encourage us to be faithful and intentional in how we live out our faith as individuals and together as the Body of Christ, the Church.

 

We must continual ask ourselves, "Where is the living God in all of this?" Being good Episcopalians doesn't mean much if we are not grounded in a deep and abiding relationship with God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In Christ,
Paul+   

Ubuntu

This past week I began reading God has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time by Desmond Tutu.  Of the many beautiful images Tutu offers us in his wonderfully accessible and yet poignant way is the notion of "ubuntu". "You know when ubuntu is there, and it is obvious when it is absent.  It has to do with what it means to be truly human, to know that we are bound up with others in the bundle of life." (p.26) 

We live with the false belief that we are independent.  "The 'self-made' man or woman is really an impossibility." (p.25)  We pride ourselves on self sufficiency.  The power and autonomy of the individual denies our true self.   Tutu points out that at the heart of creation is to be in relationship.  We are made to live in community, not in isolation.  He shares the African idiom, "A person is a person through other persons." (p.25)

We need to remind ourselves of this essential truth that to be truly and fully human is to be in intimate and life giving relationship with others.   We at times are so scared of being seen as overly dependent that we miss the life giving truth of interdependence.   Tutu writes, "The world is going to have to learn the fundamental lesson that we are made for harmony, for interdependence.  If we are ever truly to prosper, it will only be together." (p.28)

All for one and one for all! (Tutu didn't say that.)

Peace,

Paul+