Saturday, March 29, 2008

After John 20:19-31

That Sunday they met in secret, locking the doors because they were afraid of further persecution. And as they were talking, Jesus appeared among them, and said “Peace be with you!” Some were full of joy, some were frightened, and many had trouble believing. But Jesus showed them his hands, and the wounds in them, and his side, where the spear had pierced him, and they believed and rejoiced.

And Jesus said “Peace be with you; As the Father has sent me, so I send you!” And he breathed on them, saying “Receive the Holy Spirit!”

But Tom was not there in the locked room where Jesus had appeared, and when he heard the story he said “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and touch them, and touch the wound in his side, I will not believe.”

So a week later, they were again in the house with the doors securely shut, and Tom was with them. And Jesus again appeared among them and said; “Peace be with you.”

Turning, he said to Tom: “See and touch me, touch my hands - and my side where I was pierced - do not doubt, but believe.”

And Tom grasped his hands and fell to his knees, gasping: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him: “Have you believed because you have seen? Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet still have come to believe.”

Peace
LE

What to Wear?

When we go a feasting
We wonder what to wear
Which shoes go on our feet
If we should 'do' our hair

Is this a time for white
Or should we all wear black
Should we buff our buttons bright
Or could we wear a sack

When we enter in
If we aren't like the rest
We might feel singled out
The cuckoo in the nest

But some don't have the means
To buy a fancy suit
For them 'What to Wear'
The question is quite moot

So when we gather in
And hope that all will come
I'd like if we dressed humbly
Both rich and poor as one

And maybe the Lord God
Who forgives our sinfulness
Will value every single soul
No matter how we dress


Peace
LE

Friday, March 21, 2008

Blessing for a Non-Sectarian Wedding Feast

This Good Friday, I had the pleasure to contribute a blessing for a wedding feast.

Somehow that feels particularly appropriate for the day when we commemorate the sacrifice of a man who often referred to himself as a groom.

The Prayer:

God, we thank you for bringing us here at this time, to share with friends and family the joyful wedding of N and M. May God continue to bless them, and work through their lives to make them, and the world a better and more loving place. God bless this meal before us, bless us as we share it, and continue to bless us as we travel and as we return to our individual lives. May the strength of N and M’s love inspire us each to a renewed commitment to each other – to live more kindly, to share more fully, and to love more passionately.

In God’s name we pray;

Peace,
LE

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

A Future Full of Stars

Arthur C Clarke, father of the idea of communications satelites and the idea of of using geosynchronous orbits for them, prolific author, polio survivor, scuba diver, and environmentalist passed on to his reward at his home in Sri Lanka today. He was 90 years old.

Wikipedia has a fairly good article on his life, and the Fox has a decent write-up from AP. I suggest reading them, and thinking about this life, where it started with the "War to End all Wars", how it was changed by World War II, and how this man with an active mind re-tooled himself, several times, and helped to change the world.

For me this passing is a milestone. Clarke came from the world that was, and wrote about the world that he thought might come to be, some of which came to be, and some of which still might come to pass. The story of his life and how it wove into the movement of history reminds us that the journey continues, to this day, and that the future continues unfolding for us. Our job is to continue, to work to breathe life and love into it.

May we find that it is full of stars.

Peace,
LE

Sunday, March 16, 2008

On Palm Sunday


It’s the King!

The King is at the gates!

The King is just down the street!

The King claims He is One with God!

Blind people see!

Deaf people hear!

Run, Run and find him!

Praise him! Praise him!

Save! Jesus Save Us!

Save us from hunger!

Save us from oppression!

Save us from hardship!

Save us from pain!

Save us from difficulty!

Save Us!

Lead Us!

Be our King!

Topple the Government!

We will rise!

We will march!

We will fight!

Wait, he slips away…

He will not fight…

He will not confront…

He is… …he is arrested…

He goes meekly, like a lamb…

His disciples run like frightened children…

We are betrayed…

We remain oppressed…

We remain in hunger…

We remain in desperation…

But he said he was the One!

Jesus?

What to DO with Jesus?

The one who dashed our hopes?

The one who pretended to be the King?

The one who pretended to be GOD?

Crucify!

Crucify Him!

Crucify Him!

Crucify Him!


Friday, March 7, 2008

Hope for the Hopeless


I found myself in a valley, and the floor of that valley was strewn with bones.

Human bones.

Dry, dusty, no life in them, nothing in them that anything could live on.

And a voice said to me: “Can these bones live?”

Live? They are the essence of death!

“Prophesy over these bones! They shall live!”
“Sinews shall grow, flesh and skin shall cover them, breath shall enter them and they shall live!”

So I spoke the word of the Lord, and flesh came upon the bones, and breath entered them, and they stood upon their feet, a living multitude.

And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act," says the LORD. -Ezekiel 37:1-14


Monday, March 3, 2008

Here's Mud In Your Eye:

100 Words on Dirt (John 9:1-11):

He rubbed dirt in his eyes!

What?

The man they are calling ‘Teacher’.

Oh, the new prophet-guy, Jesus. You said he put dirt in someone’s eyes?

Worse, he took dirt, he spit on it, made mud and rubbed it in this man’s eyes!

The man didn’t try to stop him?

No, No, he was blind.

What, it wasn’t bad enough that he was blind in the first place? Didn’t anyone else try to stop him?

No, we didn’t think of it – and it made him see!

He puts dirt in people’s eyes and makes them see; now that’s a miracle.

Peace,

LE