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Posts Tagged ‘Paul’

In the Face of Despair

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on July 10, 2010| 6 Comments »

No, I have not faced despair to the point of facing death. My life is blessed. What are my struggles compared to walking streets where a car bomb could go off at any moment or looking into the eyes of my starving children each day or living in a tent city or carrying water for miles in plastic water jugs?

II Corinthians 1:8b-9
We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

I understand the theory of trusting God in the face of despair. I understand that God is present for the poorest of the poor, for the loneliest of the lonely, the widows and orphans, the lost. But I have only witnessed these lives from afar. Even when I went to Africa, I was in a cocoon of safety.

In Namibia, I spent one afternoon at the Mafuta village where our church-sponsored children’s home was providing a lunch to the local school children. And I was touched by their need, their struggle. And yet, these were better off than many. They were being fed while many others elsewhere are not.

Would I have the courage to trust in God in the face of true despair? Would I be able to hold fast to my faith?

It is the reason I am still in awe of Mother Teresa when she served in Calcutta. She faced the despair of others every day. But she was able to sustain herself in Christ. Only her faith in God allowed her to rise each day and touch the dead and dying. To be the hands of love. She could not bring hope, even. Just tenderness and love in the face of despair.

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Overflowing Comfort

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2010| 2 Comments »

When anything overflows, the implication is that there is more than enough. Although I can speak at great length about my pains and our troubles, I rarely discourse on the overwhelming comfort I’ve received. Why is that?

II Corinthians 1:3b-5
. . . the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

What travels faster, good news or bad news? There’s nothing like a juicy story at someone else’s expense. Or, it might be a tragedy that is played and replayed on the television. So often, even in sports, it’s the mistakes or the “cheating” that gets the most press. During these weeks the 2010 World Cup is big news and yet, the biggest news seems to be the bad referee calls, faked injuries, and intentional errors.

During the course of a day, don’t we tend to remember the person who was unpleasant and rude more than the polite or sympathetic one? Somehow, the gentle hand never seems to be enough.

Pain has a reputation of being stronger than comfort. Sorrow lays across our heart like a heavy blanket. Disappointment can be a wound that will not heal. Betrayal is the repeated slashes of a knife.

I remember one horrible emotional breakdown I had some time ago. I don’t really remember the source of my cataclysm, but it definitely took me over the edge. I was in full tilt: shouting, crying, and door slamming. My daughter tried to come into my room to “comfort” me and I sent her away. What was I really saying when I rejected her, “You are not able to comfort me!” or “I don’t want to be comforted; I want to feel like this a little longer because I deserve it!”

Despite saying we don’t like to swim in misery, I think we do it more than we care to admit. In fact, swimming in misery can become the norm. Swimming in comfort means feeling better, even good, despite our circumstances.

For comfort to work, it has to be accepted.

Here are some other words for “comforter” in the New Testament: Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby [Amplified]. The comforter is the Holy Spirit and, as we all know and the Holy Spirit is within. True comfort comes from within: the voice of counsel, the voice of solution, the voice of encouragement, the voice of support, the voice of strength, and the voice in the background.

The Comforter has my back . . . if I let that one do his/her job. The comforter picks me up when I fall.

But the Comforter, like Jesus, is polite. Comfort cannot be pressed upon a person. One can always send comfort away.

I am reminded of Matthew 20:32, “Jesus stopped and called them [two blind men]. ‘What do you want me to do for you?'”

The Comforter does not presume. It is sometimes up to me to figure out exactly what is the true problem, what is the issue, what is causing me to feel so much pain, anxiety, fear, etc. This is the first step toward comfort. The second step toward comfort is breath.

That may sound simplistic, but taking a deep breath will often start the healing particularly if it is the breath of God.

My prayer: Open my mind and heart and soul to your Comfort, to your breath, to your spirit. Forgive me for shutting out the Comforter. Forgive me for shutting out the people who come to me in the name of Comfort.

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Do Everything in Love

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on July 7, 2010| 2 Comments »

No matter what we do, we are admonished to do it all in love. It is unfortunate that the “love” message has gotten so watered down by our current culture. That’s so simplistic, we might think. It’s so 60’s. It’s so “new age.” We miss the power.

I Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

The more I study, the more sure I am that love is the bottom line. If there was love in our words and actions, so much would come out differently.

Intending to love and actually loving are different. The first one doesn’t really count.

I keep reminding myself that love is about “other.” Love is not just a soft feeling. As the saying goes, “love is a verb.” It might only take a moment to ask myself the question, how are my words and actions speaking and demonstrating love? Is it in my voice quality? Is it in my facial expression. Is it in my touch? Is in my choice of words? Is it in my heart?

Is love in my work?

In verse 16:13, Paul has a string of encouragements about strength and courage. Isn’t it interesting that these would be partnered with doing everything in love? Apparently, these qualities are part of the love quotient.

To love in the face of “no love” is far more difficult than any other human act.

Will I stand for love today? Will I be strong? Will I have courage to love? And harder still, can I love without payback? Like everyone else, I want to be loved too. I want to be cared for and appreciated and nurtured. I want to be complimented and admired. I want to be known.

But we’re back to paradox. I’m sure of it. To be loved, I must love…. in everything. So simple.

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With Opportunity Comes Opposition

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Truly, whenever a door opens, it does seem that obstacles come flying across and even through the opening. Too often, when this happens to me, I find myself closing the door, fearful of potential attack and worse, for me, failure. A clear view of the way through does not necessarily mean it’s the right door.

I Corinthians 16:8-10
But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

There’s a Bible story about this situation [Numbers 13-21-30]: Moses sent a group of men to spy out the land of Canaan. When they got there, they found a beautiful land, “flowing with milk and honey.” But along with the verdant land, there were fortified cities and even giants. It all seemed too daunting to the scouts except for Caleb, who believed the opportunity was from God and therefore, worth the cost.

Opposition in the face of opportunity may also mean there is a sacrifice to attaining the goal. Our culture has adopted the “quick fix” way of doing things. If it doesn’t come easily, it’s not worth doing.

I have seen students leave college within one semester because it was so much more difficult they they expected. There was an initial goal but the demands were greater than their desire to overcome the challenges.

I remember when I was first getting into the theater business in Chicago back in the seventies. There weren’t as many professional and semi-professional theaters back then as there are now. As a result, most actors would venture into the modeling or acting in commercials or trade shows (in addition to waiting tables, of course). This process includes presenting oneself to an agency with a head shots and resumes and a hope that they might like you well enough to send you on an audition. The audition: that’s the opportunity.

But every audition would have hundreds of other starving, good-looking, perfect-for-the-part actors and actresses. If a “newbie” didn’t get a job from one or two of those auditions, the agency lost interest. They wanted instant success and verification that the “product” (actor) was a viable commodity.

How do you fight that kind of opposition? Intellectually, I always knew the answer: practice and perseverance. But emotionally, I couldn’t handle the disappointments, the losses, the failures. I didn’t look or sound like the “All-American” girl. Instead of leveraging who I was, I kept trying to be someone I wasn’t. I actually gave in to the opposition.

Opposition builds strength and like fire, separates the dross from the pure gold. It’s a good thing.

God help me accept opposition and to stand firm in its face, to learn what I must learn and then to forge ahead.

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Stand Firm, Hold Fast

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on July 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There is a piece of my journey that rests strictly with me: standing firm and holding fast. It’s the “free will” part of the plan. I must choose to stand as long as I am able, to stand with faith by holding fast to the One who promises there is good reason to do it.

I Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

If there is no world or realm outside of this three-dimensional one, if there is no changed body, if there is no kingdom where love is the norm and sin is untenable, then really, what is the point?

It’s all about the kingdom of heaven, really. Jesus is the door, the long-awaited door, by the way. He came and left with us the keys to the kingdom. He showed us “the way.”

The way is still there but continues to be an obstacle course. As a people, we allow the vines and briers to grow over and along the path just like the hedge of Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Or, we are seduced to go the easier way at the crossroads. Or, we have lost the tools to cut down the vines, like the sword of truth.

This path should not be one of pride (as though my being on the path is something extraordinary). I’m just fortunate to have had a glimpse of it. But I am pretty sure it is most difficult to traverse the long journey alone. I keep trying to do this alone. I confess it; I know it. This is the primary reason for “church,” a team to travel together. But I don’t always feel like we’re on the same path.

Christianity is filled with paradox. And this is what I need to understand. Probably, the way that is least likely, is the way to go. The people who are least likely to help, are probably the guides.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. [Matthew 7:14]

This is the cause for the narrowness, the paradox and the sins of the nations.

Oh yes, I must stand firm this day, to stand in my faith that there is a way and I am on it. I must also hold fast to the hem of his garment [Matthew 9:21], and I will be able to stay on the path. There are indeed, “lions & tigers & bears, oh my” [Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz], but I believe in a Christ who will never leave me or forsake me [Hebrews 13:5].

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Body Splendor

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on July 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

I love the idea of splendor. The word speaks of expansiveness and beauty. And to think, all earthly bodies have splendor. It is unfortunate our culture has narrowed human body splendor to a few superficial ratings. And worse, we often abuse our own wonder-filled creation.

I Corinthians 15:40
There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.

The body is neither to be worshiped nor desecrated. It is a vessel, a sponge, a unique invention, a tool, and a living organism. It is a gift.

All bodies have great potential when born.

Our first abuse is our habit of limiting the body. In the same way we limit the body, we also limit the mind and the spirit. Why don’t we teach our children to recognize the body for all that it can be and do?

It’s a wonder for today. That’s all. A wonder.

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Body Seed

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Had some fun this morning thinking of my body as a seed being prepared for planting. Each seed is different. Each seed has its own characteristics and with each 3-D life event, the seed is affected (both good and bad). Each seed then creates a “plant” — a new entity.

I Corinthians 15:36b-37
What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

It never occurred to me before that a resurrected entity would have as much diversity (or more) than these human bodies we now have.

Really, until Jesus “revealed” himself to the disciples after resurrection, they didn’t really recognize him. He had to manifest something they could understand: the nail-driven hands and feet, the pierced side. But they certainly didn’t recognize his clothes or his features at first.

What else don’t we recognize? They say we “see what we want to see.” We see what we expect to see. For all we know, the resurrected guys are walking around among us. I’m just sayin’…

In the parable of the sower and the seed, the success of the seed had a great deal to do with environment and circumstances. Some of this environment we cannot control initially (caustic families, poverty, etc.) but as we mature, we are presented with more choices. We can actually seek change. We can look for good soil. The human seed does not have to be passive. And apparently, when a bunch of seeds get together they can really transform circumstances.

I know these are just flights of fancy, but word pictures are important because I cannot really fathom anything about this “other” world I have called “heaven” all my life. It’s not just a place . . . it’s a state of being.

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