Wanting what they don't have

Proverbs 21:26 Sinners are always wanting what they don't have; the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

Here are a couple of hints about the happy life: gratitude and generosity. If I'm only focused on what's out there, what I don't have, what is not yet fulfilled, then I'm living in a half-empty life, constantly reminded of life's deficiencies and dissatisfactions. The sad thing is that even if or when my life expands, I don't notice because I am so fixed on what I don't have yet. It's a limitless category! But if I can start to appreciate and be grateful for what I DO have, suddenly my life begins to fill up with satisfaction and contentment, it becomes half full. As my life grows and expands, my gratitude grows also, until it overflows into generosity; when I truly live in gratitude, I need less and I want everyone to enjoy something of what I possess: not my things, but my experience of a joyful life.

Prayer: Dear God, Let me be grateful every day for the many blessings of this life, and let me live that gratitude through a generous spirit. Amen.

Harvest of Righteousness

It has been two months since I have written here. I spent a fabulous week in Mississippi working on houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and found freedom surrendering to the schedule they establish for you at Camp Coast Care. I have been celebrating with family and friends out of town my recent birthday. I spent another fabulous week writing an icon while on retreat (I'll post a picture when I finally finish it) which is one of the many contemplative practices that I enjoy, and a refreshing week with dear friends who have let me graft my branch on to their family tree. So it has been a time of travel, and fun, and relaxation, but I have gotten away from my daily spiritual practices, so here I am, wanting to re-engage with Eugene Peterson's The Message, his contemporary paraphrase of the Bible, and with all the history and tradition that stands behind it. I am also thinking about how to shift this blog, perhaps, just a tad, to bring in more of my practices and experiences, as I use Bible reading as spiritual guide in my call to live the Christian life. I would be happy to hear questions, suggestions, ideas that any of you have that I could incorporate here.

Isaiah 5:7b He looked for a crop of justice and saw them murdering each other. He looked for a harvest of righteousness and heard only the moans of victims.

Isaiah has just used the analogy of a vineyard and its owner to represent the relationship between the kingdom of Israel and God. God has lavished Israel with tender care and in return sees selfishness, greed, hatred and war.

Life is a gift. This incredible planet on which we live is a gift. Do I look at each day and all it offers me as a gift, as a manifestation of the love and care of a Divine Creator, or am I caught up in my own head – my problems, my feelings, my insecurities, my petty ego desires? In the half full/half empty debate, faith calls me to see the good that is in m life rather than bemoan what is missing. Einstein said that either everything is a miracle or nothing is, and my faith calls me to see the miraculous in every moment, the beauty that surrounds me, the good food I get to eat, the time that is mine to use, the people that I know and love that move in my life. Rather than focusing on what is missing, let me notice my blessings and be grateful.

Prayer: Dear God, I want to be sweet grapes for your delight, ro appreciate all that you have given me, and live out a blessing on the world. Help me keep to that path and be grateful for each day’s miracles. Amen.

Shout Bravo! to God

1Chronicles 16:28 Shout Bravo! To God, families of the peoples, in awe of the Glory, in awe of the Strength; Bravo! (The Message)

Some days I just want to praise God. Today is one of those days. I woke up rested. The sun is shining, the air clear and unseasonably warm. I took the dogs out for our morning constitutional, running and walking fast, so I am energized as well. There have been improvements at home, and I feel calm as I face the future. On such a morning, I often feel overwhelmed with gratitude, and just want to thank the Lord of the Heavens for all God’s glorious gifts.

I love Peterson (the author of the Message, the contemporary paraphrase of the Bible that I am reading right now) and how he uses new language to get across the power of the events he describes. Who of us hasn’t had that experience of leaping to our feat shouting “Bravo!” at the end of a particularly exciting or excellent performance? And, yet, every day we wake up to the wonders of a Creation more exciting and excellent than anything that man can devise. Why not shout “Bravo!” to the Creator of All? It gives wings to my heart just to read it! Was it Einstein who said that either nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle? Today I am in the "everything is a miracle" crowd, moving into my day overflowing with gratitude for all that God has brought into my life.

Prayer: Dear God, Today you have blessed me with a sense of awe at the splendor of your creation, and deep gratitude for all the blessings you have bestowed on me. Remind me that each day holds this potential for joy and gratitude, for that deep awareness of your favor and the incredible blessings of my life. Keep me humble in the face of all that you are. Amen.

Abraham's family tree developed

1Chronicles 1:29-31 Abraham’s family tree developed along these lines: Ishmael had Nebaioth (his firstborn), then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah—the Ishmael branch.

The first several chapters of 1Chronicles are a mind numbing list of names: sons of sons of sons with an occasional woman thrown in. My computer doesn’t recognize any of these names, and underlines each with its jagged red line saying, “this can’t be spelled right.” There are, however, some interesting things that come to light. Oddly, despite all the time given them in Genesis, neither Sarah nor Hagar are mentioned by name, but Ishmael, Hagar’s son, is given prominence as the first born, and despite the fact that they were both sent away, we are given his lineage as well as the lineage of Isaac, the father of the Israelite nation. Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, however, is mentioned, though Genesis is silent about her. Later on, we discover that Joab, David’s right hand man, as well as his brothers Asahel and Abishai, were actually the sons of David’s sister, Zeruiah, and therefore, his nephews. We also encounter Jabez, famous for his prayer of prosperity, which God answered. But mostly it is genealogy of the not very interesting kind, a bunch of names, son of, son of, detailing all those who formed the community of Israel both before the exile, and the names and duties of those who first came back to Jerusalem from Babylon.

So what is this list of names? I imagine for a people scattered, first by Assyrians and then by the Babylonians, these names were a grounding, a reminder of the people they had once been. Each name represented a person, a story, one of the many stories that weave together to form the story of Israel and its relationship to God. Perhaps this was a way of reminding themselves of who they were, of paying homage to those that went before, of recording their truth in the face of a culture that wanted to wipe them out, that defined them as powerless, faceless and pitiful. They are a concrete expression of the heritage these returnees didn’t want to forget. I am reminded of the Vietnam Memorial, which is primarily a list of names, the names at Ellis Island and other entry points for immigrants to this country. Watching Henry Louis Gates tracing African-American roots back to slave ancestors, my own exploration and understanding of those forebears who came here from other countries and started anew, reminds me that we all, I think, have a stake in those that came before, and owe who we are to the sacrifices they made. Perhaps this was their way of remembering.

Prayer: Dear God, I feel you calling me to take the time to remember and honor those who came before me. I know that everything in my life is built on what they did, and saw and sacrificed. Let me also be aware of those today who, all around the world, are being uprooted from their homes, sent into exiles of one sort of another, who have lost family and friends in wars and genocides, and struggle to remain connected to their land, their culture, their place on this earth. Teach me how to honor them. Give them your peace. Amen

They were exhausted with weeping

1Samuel 30:4-6 David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him.

Here’s David, having been run out of the country by Saul, having collected around him a ragtag army of misfits and other lost souls, and having to pledge himself to a rival king in order to live and take care of his following, and you’d think that all would be bad enough. But he comes home to find his family – and all their families – gone. And on top of that, his men threaten to turn against him! How low he must have felt at that moment, how despairing, how hopeless. It all makes my problems seem pretty small in comparison, my feelings of despair and hopelessness pretty minor. He had lost everything! And what does he do? Does despair and hopelessness lead him to abandon God, or turn against God? Not at all. He doesn’t blame God for his problems; instead, he goes to God seeking guidance and help. And God comes through.

So, two things really speak to me here. One is that however big my current problems may seem, I still have a great deal to be grateful for. My family is safe, and relatively healthy. I live in the country I choose to live in, where I enjoy freedom and many other blessings. I have resources to meet my material needs. When I begin to focus on the things for which I am grateful, the problems begin to become smaller and more manageable; I can see them in some sort of real perspective. The other things is that whenever I do feel those feelings of despair and hopelessness, when it feels like things are unraveling and I can’t hold them together, I can turn to God in prayer, contemplation and meditation on scripture such as this and God will be there to help me get perspective and get a handle on things. I can turn over what I’m struggling with, recognize what I am powerless over and surrender it to the Almighty One, and receive refreshment and renewal.

Prayer: Dear God, Sometimes life just feels overwhelming, as if it is all slipping out of my grasp, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Remind me in your wisdom at these times of how much I have to be grateful for. Soothe me with your eternal Presence that I may release myself from responsibility for those things over which I have no control, and be refreshed so that I can take on those things which I can, with your help, affect. And let me ever be mindful that everything that I have is a gift from you. Amen