A Franciscan Benediction

I found this prayer in a couple of places on the Internet the other day. Some of you may be familiar with it, but it was new to me. It reminds me of James 1:27, the verse that says that pure religion is taking care of orphans and widows and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world. I pray God continues to work on all our hearts to mold them into the shape of His.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen.

Out of Control

This morning I began a study of the book of Esther, guided by a Women of Faith publication. The first section of the study guide focuses on the first chapter of Esther. I've known the story of Esther since I was a kid. But I love revisiting these Old Testament stories as an adult. It's like finding an old coin, and as you polish off tarnish with your thumb, you find a shiny nugget of value.

The author of the guide presents the issue of control, and I am struck by this issue this morning. We really struggle with control as human beings, don't we? I began to think about all the areas in my life that seem out of control (most of them). Guided by this little book, I began to ask God what He would have me do in order to get many of these matters back under control. As I scribbled along in my journal, it hit me.

Oh.

I'm supposed to trust God with all these issues in my life that seem to be out of control.

The fact of the matter is that God is ultimately in control of everything.

Oh, we take the reins away from Him and try to drive this thing called life on our own. But He's really in charge of it all. After all, He's God.

The author directs readers to Psalm 46. Here's a highlight:

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging....Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress" (Psalm 46:1-3, 6-7).

These days we live in reflect how little control we really have, don't they? We cannot control other nations. We cannot control Mother Nature. But it really doesn't matter if we have God on our side.

Now all this does not mean that you are off the hook in all areas of your life. You can't ask God to do your taxes for you or organize your hall closet for you. But you can ask Him to give you the strength, motivation, guidance, and wisdom to do what you need to do to get the controllable things in your life in line.

Now I've got the Twila Paris song "God Is in Control" stuck in my head. But that's a good ear worm to have. I pray the phrase "God is in control" becomes stuck in your head today, too.

THE Answer

God is doing something to me. I'm not sure that I like it. You see, God has been showing me increasingly more of the world outside of my little isolated existence. Broadening one's horizons sounds good, doesn't it? It is good. But with increased awareness comes responsibility. I used to keep two separate notebooks--one for jotting down ideas for pieces I'd like to write and one for writing down notes from sermons and Bible studies. I've thought about doing that again, but it seems the material that would go into the notebooks is overlapping. Jesus' words about poverty echo the sentiments I feel when I watch the news.

A friend of mine teaches fifth graders. She has told me about the home life issues that these children bring to school with them. When I was teaching, I got to know high schoolers whose parents bought marijuana for them and smoked it with them. Numerous students were their mothers' sole caretakers because these women were so lost, they could barely go through the motions of everyday life. One female student was filled with such rage and exhibited other destructive behaviors, that I wondered if she had been--or continued to be--sexually abused. Another student was pregnant for the second time while in my class. She lived with a foster mother and her own first child, who had Down Syndrome.

Recently my husband and I watched In My Country and The Constant Gardener. Both highlight issues in Africa. The issues in The Constant Gardener may not be accurate, but they could happen. Meanwhile, we Americans sit in our comfortable homes and shake our heads at the sadness.

But the sadness isn't only in Africa. The other night, the TV show Cops (we don't have cable, so our viewing choices are limited) highlighted cases with arresting prostitutes. One arrestee was an 18-year-old girl. She had a baby. I believe she had been arrested once before for prostitution. The officers warned her about the ramifications for continuing to earn money in such a way. She said she wasn't going to do it forever, that she'd stop after she hit $100,000. An officer again warned her that it is hard to get out of that business, but that she was young and could stop now. The expression on her face indicated to me that she probably wouldn't stop any time soon.

Last August I began working for a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help empower communities and other organizations in an effort to promote social justice. The term social justice used to be just a word in a history textbook to me. Now it's becoming real. When I read all the statistics on the disparities between portions of our society, I can't help but think of Jesus. Who did Jesus choose as His companions? Was it the rich guys? He did know some of them and cared about them, but His main companions were poor fishermen. They were uneducated. But Jesus chose them to carry His message.

Recently I've been reading Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. It is changing the way I think about Christian beliefs. This book is definitely about letting God out of the box that we tend to put Him in. Miller talks a lot about how his Christianity affects his thinking about the world. His tone is conversational, not authoritative. It supports the idea that all humans are equal. We are all God's creations. We are all His children. Now imagine how sad God must feel to know a huge number of His children are hungry, dressed in tattered clothes, and have few opportunities to get out of their situation.

God has pricked my heart with the knowledge of these things. I haven't done anything different in my life yet, but I don't know how I can continue to be the same person I was. This post may seem very depressing. I don't mean it to be. I'm just conveying what I've been observing. So what is the answer to all these problems?

God.

Love.

Yesterday, in honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to read about love. Here are some highlights:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" (I Corinthians 13:1-3).

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (I John 3:16-18).

"We love because [God] first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he (God) has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (I John 4:19-21).

One final note: Everyone is our brother. Remember the story of the good Samaritan. Also, having pity on someone, according to the Bible's standards, is not about giving a homeless person five dollars out of the goodness of your heart. It is allowing your heart to see that man or woman as a fellow human being and allowing your heart to break as a result of your awareness. And that heartbreaking should lead to action....I'm working on that part.

It'll Happen

I'll just let God speak to you....

"'Listen to me...you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you'" (Isaiah 46:3b-4).

"'I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand....What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do'" (Is. 46:9b-10a).

God has promised us so much as His children. These verses remind me that what He says will happen, even if it's not in the time or way that we expect it will.

Note: In an effort to spend more time on things that God has shown me are important, I will be posting less frequently on this blog. I encourage you all the more to read His Word daily. Remember it's your "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17).

A Heart Massage

In Hebrews 3, Paul refers to the Israelites' time in the desert, citing Psalm 95:7,8.

"'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did" (Hebrews 3:7a-9).

Paul then makes a connection between encouraging each other and guarding our hearts.

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Heb. 3:12-13).

Sin is deceitful. Slowly but surely, little acts of rebellion against God's ways can lead to a hard heart that does not care what God wants. But God knew that our human nature was this way. So, that is why the Bible urges Christians to encourage each other and be accountable to each other. God knew we couldn't do it alone. We need support. If you do not have a network of support comprised of at least some believers, do what you need to do to change that. We all must massage each other's hearts so that they remain soft and ready to accept God's will for our lives. Sometimes it hurts when someone is working to get those kinks and knots out of your heart. But those knots can lead to hardness that is dangerous. So, make sure you get regular heart massages. And giving soneone a physical shoulder rub now and then can be a good thing, too. ;)