what if . ... ..

what if
we focus on single eye
   lighting our entire being out of darkness
   lighting our world
      and now we see
         [ luke 11.33 ff ]

what if
the Head gets to lead
   the Body led
   into our world
      and change Headward

what if
i be the disciple i profess
   singleeyed lighted seeing
   led into change
      all else secondary
      all
         let others go do their thing
         me what i see through my singleeye
            my part
               not what others expect/require/demand
            singleyed

what if
i do
others do
   we all singleeyeing
      i's singleeyed
         doing the Headled change
            not the secondaries
   maybe just maybe
      all those singleeyed i's addup to one
      attached to the Head
         led
            in unison
         onward toward
            kingdom

what if ..

quoted #5

quoted #4

wheelchair friend

i was standing there at 5:00 a.m.
outside, in the cool
watching, drinking a cuppa

a wheelchair slowly approaches in the dark
he stops and looks at me
i asked how he was doing - " tired; very tired " he said
he asked if the ' padre ' was here, then answered his own question - ' of course not .. '
said he needed to sleep ..

i wheeled him in
hot breakfast
a smile from him made my day

he can sleep in the back of the room, behind the divider, for a few hours
without fear
crash

Master, thanks for being here to help him today ..

peace

pray it

dear father in heaven,
may your will be done and your name made holy in this world, just like it it's in heaven
provide the things we need today
may we forgive those that have wronged us, just like you forgive us for our wrongs against you
may we not be led into temptation; deliver us from the Evil One
because the kingdom is yours. as is the authority, and the glory
for ever, through the ages

heavyhearted ...

spider barely in possesion of his mind - meth ..
general lee off his meds, in another world entirely (part of that halucination is the govt owes him $100 million.. and he's going to give $90 m to God)..
a young dude new to town with his girlfriend looks like he might have started on meth ..
Reb in ER ..
and now, this morning, Nat in hospital, od'ed on alcohol ..
all this, except 1, in the last 24 hours ..

lord .. help
each one is your creation, your child
bless each one
be with them in their brokenness
just as you're with me in mine
and help me to walk past judgement entirely
to simply see in them
   you
to love as you love
embracing
accepting ..

help me in my naivete to accept the brokenness of this world - maybe my greatest stumbling block to me
and to look earnestly for the fullfilling of your reconciliation, when all things will be made new

please
help
them ..
me

a read on prayer

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/shrinkingcamel/2014/08/11/new-study-suggests-prayer-is-so-boring-people-prefer-painful-electric-shocks/

quoted #3

the cross of Jesus Christ expresses a grave realism concerning human alienation. the crucified Christ represents (re-presents) the ultimate 'yes' of God to the human creature, and therefore to creation as a whole. but the crucified Christ also represents the ultimate 'no' of the human creature to its creator, and therefore also to its own creaturehood.
.. 'whatever else the cross may tell us', wrote the late Hendrikus Berkhof, 'it certainly proves that we cannot stand God and that he must be eliminated if he comes too close to us.'

quoted #2

quoted #1

i'm going to be posting quotations from a book i'm reading
it's a wonderful book, written by one of the most masterful commanders of the english language i have read
surrounding one of the most incredible concepts i have ever tried to master - the cross

peace

broken Body .. -|-

read this: http://denyingme.blogspot.com/2014/07/church-and-poor.html

now read this: http://billmoyers.com/2014/08/13/no-safe-place-how-cities-are-making-it-illegal-to-be-homeless/

somehow we have to take Jesus seriously when it comes to the margins
we have to ..

in the famous sermon on the mountain Jesus said some things
He began to teach them, saying:
"The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted.
The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled.
The merciful are blessed, for they will be shown mercy.
The pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God.
The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God.
Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me."

i've listened to sermons and messages and .. on this passage
most of the time it's a spiritual interpretation and application, and maybe rightly so since we're talking about 'spirit' and 'mourn' and 'gentle' and 'righteousness' and ..

but why does Jesus use 'poor' and 'meek' (gentle) and 'hunger and thirst' and .. ?

why indeed?
could it not be that he was specifically aligning the Kingdom of God with the impoverished, the marginalized, the hurt, the hungry ?
maybe that's a stretch ?

could it be that the kingdom looks nothing like the empires of this world ?
that he was drawing a contrast ?
that he was specifically pointing ( again ) to his inside/out philosophy ?
that humans are worth an invaluable amount to him, regardless of their status in life ?
or their condition .. ?

could be ..

 . ..      .

part 2
the hard part

it strikes me that Jesus was mostly a get-along-with guy
people liked him
he wasn't an angry person; he didn't go around berating this or that ..
except when it came to the religious empire

we talk a lot about Jesus anti-empire attitude towards Rome
but then there're the pharisees and the saducees and the scholars/legalists ..
Jesus took them on regularly
he pointed out their hypocrisy, derided their motivations for prayer and alms-giving in public, their money-grubbing ways in the temple of God ..
he took them to task for it
know why ?
they were charged with the responsibility of representing God before his people
they were to show-off God, inspire Godliness
lead God's people along the right path, for God
and they were screwing it up
turning it into merchandise, pomp, and politics
and Jesus was very angry at their misrepresentation of who God is

does that by any chance sound familiar ?
jus' sayin' ..
does it ?

well, maybe when the church of Jesus Christ is sitting in virtually the same place today, it should cause us to wonder at the comparison ..

i know there are stories, told and untold, of goodness at the hands of Jesus' church
i know that today christians step-up, taking the initiative, working the works of God to relieve suffering
i am thankful for every one that does
however .. considering the gospel accounts of Jesus' life, shouldn't it be significantly more obvious ?
it should be the one thing that stands-out whenever discussion of christianity evolves, for the mark of a christian, according to the Christ, is that we show love to one another
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
and the famous great commandment is to love our neighbour - it's as significant as loving God
   the two are inseparable

.. . ..

i wonder ..
where are you, church leaders ?
why aren't you sitting at the same table, discussing how, together, we can move the kingdom forward into God's will being done on Earth as it is in Heaven
pooling our resources
determined to help hurting people, regardless of the cost to our little itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny empires that we gloat so much over ..

think about it

is Jesus who we say he is ?
are we who we say we are ?
if so, we need to be doing what he did
thinking how he thinks
seeing how he sees
attituding his way

instead of playing politics

so here's a thought
take what you got
   and by the way, it ain't yours
and put it on the table
right in the centre
and tell all at the table that this is what your empire has as resources and you're putting it in
and let's see who else steps up to the plate

'cause this community can do what Jesus expects
he has empowered us
and we need to see it as our issue and not the issue of government, local or federal
it's us
we are responsible
I am responsible
it is our call in life to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the houseless, to give people space to toilet and shower and sleep and eat and raise their children
   ( 1 in 4 children in the usa exist at poverty level - 1 in 4 )

.. . . .

i recently read an article about how we as christians shouldn't be so serious
we should have the peace and joy of Christ and that should cause us to live in the moment and take things lighter and enjoy
to be frank, that fails with me
my fault i suppose
i haven't even begun to plumb the deeps of homelessness, and i am afraid
i am scared
for them in their dread condition
for me in my ineptitude, and my paltry efforts

that causes me feelings of guilt, depresses me, causes me to wonder at my commitment to my master and his kingdom, and a whole slew of other ' negative ' things
not delight .. not yet

and right there i'm back at Matthew chapter 5, which we looked at already
the poor
the hungry
thirsty
humble(d)
..
.........
    .        . . . .

who am i after all, that i should speak to spiritual leaders in this way ?
i am noone ..
yet i am someone
i see Jesus and his anger and why he was angry back then, and i see Jesus and his anger now
and i am afraid
i hesitantly, respectfully offer this as a reminder that the leadership of His Body lies with you
and that has to be the most incredible position to be in on this Earth

take that privilege and bloom
show the world the true person of God in Jesus
expend all for it
for him
go the distance, regardless of personal cost, and take as many with you as you can
when we boil it down nothing else matters, really
what is left, what floats to the top, is the incredible love of God for us, manifested primarily in the person of Jesus
love still is the bond of perfection.. above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

there is a massive need for it now
now
in this time, in this world, in the midst of the huge undoing of humanity we witness every new day
let us rise up and take the love of Jesus to the streets
relieving the need
listening to the hurt
compassioning with the abused and the cut-off
compassion, as in ' to suffer with '
as in I am hurting with you ..
.. . . . . . .     .

so when are we going to get off our thrones and play Jesus ??

when ?

a mite ..

homelessness is a disease

we're not sure how it's contracted, but we do know that it is debilitating, it spreads within the person to affect their emotions and their psyche, their sense of self esteem, and that the lifespan is shorter than for others

children and the elderly are at greatest risk

sick

I'm sick

i'm not without shelter, although i do live in humble circumstance

but i have empathetically contracted the disease

   or should i say, i'm trying to

i want to be sick

i've tried to think my way through a-day-in-the-life-of a homeless person ( a male: don't think i could imagine what it would be like for a woman ) , and although i think i'm aware of some things, i know i'm either not in those things deep enough, or i'm missing a bunch of stuff, or both

prolly both

.. . . .. .. ..... .

today there were 2 young people hanging around, in their early-twenties

they have been around for 2 weeks now

heard about us on the street the first day they came to town

the guy was crying

when i asked him about it he said that they were needing to get some stuff done, look for work, etc., but the shopping cart they kept their stuff in was holding them back

they needed somewhere to put their stuff, but storage rates had doubled, it being tourist season, and they couldn't afford it

and he was at a loss as to what to do - they weren't getting anywhere

my heart was struck

again

... . . . .     .

here's how that played out

i first called a few friends in town who've been here a lot longer than i 

passed the word around: do you know how we can help these people ?

we couldn't do it here, where we minister, because there is push-back from the neighbourhood, and we're trying our best to be neighbourly, which, in Jesus' terms = love

enemy ? love 'em

texts went back and forth, as did one email i saw

then i spoke to a lady that volunteers for the early-morning hangout we have where people can come in off the streets at 4 a.m. and have breakfast, hang out in peace, or sleep

she's cool

immediately she said this: i have storage and i'm not using all the space and they can use it .. 

got that ?

i stood in veritable disbelief 

this woman who doesn't have much immediately offered what she had - no questions asked 

then a little later a friend, who'd discussed this with me, left me a voicemail saying to be sure to hug that couple and let them know God loves them and that she's praying for them

. ..    . ..

yes, i'm lost for the most part

yes, i'm limited 

yes, i'm fighting a fight in which my strength is far insufficient, my resources few ..

sound like anyone you know ?

how about the widow that gave the mite, that almost worthless coin, because it was all she had to give, and was blessed ?

how about those fishermen that Jesus called to go with him ?

how about that pained woman who just knew that if she managed to but touch a part of Jesus' robe she would be healed

and was ?

.. ..       .

i don't have much

neither did my friend that offered her space

neither do the people i contacted, some of them homeless

neither did the friend that left the prayerful voicemail

but together we have

even if it's still not much to shout about

it's a lot to shout about

because this isn't the first time by a long shot

there are people who are slowly turning, like some old schooner on a boisterous sea,

but they're turning

and for each one i give thanks

i praise that same God who manifested his very person as a homeless man travelling Galilee and its surrounds, and who made a difference

a massive difference that speaks today, and will tomorrow, God helping me

it ain't much

but know what ? to them it's huge

and i get that

it's huge

and maybe their burden is somewhat lighter, and my friend will not have to cry tomorrow for him and for his girl he looks to care for

maybe

many thanks

praise to you, master

something's working right ..

shalom

peace

i come to you asking peace, o prince of peace
peace even now
even in this world
   not some other time

peace that overrides the all-too-often wicked intentions of mankind
that pierces the darkness of child labour camps and child prostitution
of massive raping of nature with no regard for the indigenous
of slavery
and inhumanity towards women
and class systems and empire
of occupation and usurpation
and dislocation
and death

we need peace so badly, master
we are dying for it
and for lack of it

help us
have mercy

peace that sees past the barrel of a gun into the eyes of the enemy and says ' that's my not my enemy '
peace that exposes the dread rationale of wealth, power and the desire to lord-over
   and responds by protecting the widow and the parentless, the poor and the insane and the addicted and the disabled and the vets and the homeless and the street children and the alien ..

have mercy on us

peace that watches the history of your church and winces
that calls all that call on the name of Jesus to unbuckle their denominationalism and reach out
that says ' yes, we have differences; but we have this in common: we serve Jesus, we follow him '
that watches the potential for humanitarianism ( so intricately displayed in Jesus ) and bites down hard
   putting away the differences
   reaching out through what unites us towards the widow and the parentless,
   the poor and the insane, and the addicted, and. . . . . . . ... .......

peace that walks right up to war and refuses to fight
offers itself as a winning alternative
that sings in the key of hope

have mercy

we pray for peace

we pray for the peace of jerusalem

o, prince of peace

follow up on the purple shoebox

several months ago i posted on the purple shoebox ..
here .. http://asthekingdomturns.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-purple-shoebox-covered-in-dirt.html

great news
i've never seen the dude sober in the 20+ times we've met
today he walked in for breakfast with her
and said he had something to tell me .. he was sober, and looked fabulous ..
he's been sober for a few days now

that is great cause for celebration
excellent stuff
stuff that makes my heart glad

peace

compassion is only 1/2 way there ..

an online dictionary defines compassion as  —n: a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate it

sounds about right

thing is

compassion, as defined, refers to the feelings associated with the suffering person one feels copmassion for
it does nothing to alleviate that suffering
the word derives from the latin, and means ' to suffer with '
there is goodness in the word so defined
apostle Paul, at Romans 12.15, says ' rejoice with those that rejoice, weep with those that weep '
   ( that entire pericope is worthy of posting on the fridge door )

that's the thing ..
the suffering with
as in feeling it

i'm all in to that
Jesus himself was said to be filled with compassion
as in Matthew 9.36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matt 14. 14 As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Matt 15.32 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way.”
 Matt 20.34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, ..
good precedent for us as his followers ..

thing is ... thing is
while compassion may swell from a good and caring heart, there's more to the story
it's followed-up by some form of action
it'a rather like that old saying ' the road to hell is paved with good intentions '
not that i necessarily agree, but i'm pointing out that intentionality, while a noble mindset, only takes one so far
there's an implicit need for action
follow-up

compassion is like that
we sit and see starving children, or watch them killed in the horror of war, or ..
and our spirit cringes
we feel that
and, hopefully, we want to do something to alleviate their hurt, snatch them out of their terrible condition ..
then the ad is gone, and we go back to the movie ..

see Jesus ? in each case there was a follow-through on the compassion
even at 9.36, while he didn't ' do ' in the sense of physical, he did ' do ' in that he prayed and counseled his disciples to be praying
   that's doing, by the way
   praying is doing

compassion + doing something = the Christlike Way

even if it's just a little
do something !

i used to wonder at this lady that would put a 5 or a 10 in somebody's hand ( not publicly, i just watched closely ) .. wondering how on earth could $5 help ? it's $5 ..
that lady wasn't well-off; she was struggling ..
but she did something
and Jesus was watching her, and blessing her ' something '
.. maybe multiplying it like what he did with the 5 loaves and the 2 fish
smiling allthewhile

kinda like that woman in the temple that offered a coin while the pharisee gave a large amount
and Jesus, seeing her heart, blessed her, for although it was barely a coin, she gave it out of her poverty ..

intentionality, like compassion, is worth much
but apart from follow-through, ' doing ', it falls short
and that, my friend, is also one of the definitions of  ' sin ' ..
   as in ' to fall short '

how many many many times have i .. ?