If At All Possible...

Romans 12:9-21

One of my favorite songs is "Let There Be Peace On Earth". If you're not familiar with the words It begins with the line, Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. In my opinion, no truer words could be sung, especially in times of unrest.

The unrest I mentioned doesn't necessarily have to be the kind we've been seeing on the news; civil disobedience, genocide, war. Unrest can also describe how one is personally doing; not getting enough sleep, stresses of meeting deadlines, unhappy with the life choices made so far. Either way, unrest is exactly what it sounds like: not at rest.

Another way to say that one is not at rest is to say they're not at peace, either with themselves, people around them, or God. Peace is a funny thing. When asked how people define peace, the most common answer by far is "not at war." For some reason we've come to associate peace and war as two words dependent on each other. If we're at war we have no peace, if we have peace we're not at war.

However, peace is so much more than lack of battles with missiles and guns. Peace is that place where all things are in sync with one another, that place where one does not feel unsettled, rushed, out of place, emotionally or spiritually uncomfortable, or for any other reason out of place.

Peace is not an easy thing to achieve. It takes a consciousness, or active participation, as to what is going on around us and how our words and actions affect those things. If we're having a bad morning and treat others as though they're the reason it's bad, how do you think they're going to react? But, if we're having a bad morning and treat others with kindness, my guess is that you'll be calmer a lot sooner.

How we treat others and ourselves is in direct correlation to our
physical peacefulness. By the same token, how we treat God directly affects our spirit. Today, if at all possible, take a look at how much peace you have in your life, then take notice at how your own words and actions are directly responsible for that peace, or lack thereof.

Remember, in order to have peace in this world it has to begin with you.

Going Back Home

Jeremiah 15:15-21

Yesterday, while performing my duties as a hall monitor during lunch, I had a conversation about youth and young adults within the LGBT community. I was a little apprehensive at first, but as the conversation ensued I was glad I had it.

As a project for graduation, one of our high school seniors is going to start a Gay and Straight Alliance (GSA). It's a club in many high schools and colleges which invite people from the LGBT community to understand that there are straights who accept them without conditions.

I was talking about this idea with my hall monitor partner, forgetting that she was raised an evangelical Christian. She began by asking questions about why such a club is needed, to which I blabbed a few statistics: over 80% of teens who come out are bullied at school, 26% of teens who come out get kicked out of their homes, etc.

She had no idea there was an issue, but after thinking about it she recalled when her niece had told her family she was a lesbian their first reaction was anger caused by betrayal and they kicked her out of the house, causing her to live on the streets. My hall partner began recalling how her niece soon turned to prostitution and drugs, to which I told her that's the normal pattern for youth and young adults who end up on the streets.

I also reminded her that's what happens when we forget to accept people for who they are, instead of who we're told they need to be.

She thought for a while in silence, and continued the story about her niece, remembering that after a few months her parents went looking for her and brought her back home, where they apologized for not understanding and vowed to try harder to be accepting. Today her niece is living a successful life and is in a very happy relationship.

I hold firm to the belief that God does not "kick us out" for any reason. The God I believe in understands that sometimes we need to leave on our own to search for our personal truths. The good news is that God will always be there to hold us tightly in God's arms when we do decide to come home.

Doing The Right Thing

Psalm 26:1-8

On the way to church yesterday my wife and I had a conversation about what's going on in the world. It would seem that everywhere we look there is trouble. War, disease, man-made and natural disasters all seem to dominate the news media. My wife and I like to think and live as positively as possible, but sometimes that can become difficult when it seems the rest of the world is always in a negative place.

Our conversation began to focus on what we could do about the things which are in the world. At first we thought the problems to be so big that there wasn't possibly anything we could do. However, as we continued to talk I came to the realization that if we try to fix the problems of the world alone, they'll never get fixed.

There is a tendency to look at the things which are happening in the news and simply shake our heads and complain. Sometimes we offer our words of discontent and rarely act on them, choosing instead to believe our actions won't matter.

Sometimes.

As my wife and I came to agree on yesterday, if everyone does a little, greatness will be achieved.
The actions you take affect the actions of those around you, which in turn will affect the actions of those around them. A ripple effect of good actions has to begin somewhere, and as the song says, let it begin with you.

As today's Psalm remind us, we can find justice when we surround ourselves with goodness. When we begin to ensure the right things are done for the right reasons, and make living in such a way that can only make others want to live the same way, righteousness and justice is not far behind.

Have We Forgotten?

Isaiah 51:1-6

I came across an interesting reading this week. It's a sermon by Ellen Lippmann, a progressive Jewish Rabbi, which speaks about humanity's connection to God. The sermon title is called "The Thread That Binds Us" and starts out this way:

The rabbis of the Talmud are speaking. They say,
“There are 613 commandments given by God to Moses.
David came and reduced them to 11 principles.
Isaiah reduced them to 6 principles.
Micah came and reduced them to 3 principles.
Isaiah came again and reduced these to 2.
Amos came and reduced them to one.
Finally, the prophet Habbakuk came and based them all on one principle.”

Rabbi Lippmann goes on to explain that in this teaching the Jewish people are reminded that both tradition and progression live in harmony and that our place in humanity is to recognize that the people we are today is a direct correlation to the people who came before us.

This morning my wife and I were discussing a book review we saw in the newspaper. The book is based on the idea that World War 1 never happened. In the utopia which follows, several things are assumed: Adolf Hitler goes into the health food business, Vladimir Lenin comes to the United States and becomes a university professor, and Richard Nixon is an evangelical minister.

I must admit, I had a chuckle at the ideas represented by the author (Richard Ned Lebow - "Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives"), but my wife took it seriously and said that if we follow this train of thought we can truly envision a better world today.

That's the problem, isn't it? Most of us are cynical and believe that if someone is bad they are bad, and nothing can change that fact. But, imagine if you can (and as I did) that war didn't exist, that there was absolutely no reason for people to "rule" over others. Imagine what kind of a world it would be if instead of money and power, love and justice guided our every thought.

Less we forget, the stories of history don't only teach us about domination, it also teaches us about peace. Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr. are just a few of those people who lived for one purpose - to be the image of their God in whatever situation they were placed.

I think it's time we do the same.

We Need An Answer

Psalm 138

The mainstream news outlets are filled with the events happening in Ferguson, Missouri. For a little more than a week now there have been daily clashes between the police and the citizens of that town, mostly in reaction to the shooting of an unarmed young man by a police officer. The young man was black and the police officer is white, which only served to exasperate the situation.

Or seemingly so.

History teaches us many lessons, one of which is that sooner or later people who are oppressed will rise as one and fight for their freedom.

I don't know much about the town of Ferguson, all I know is that for the people of that town to be as persistent as they are in their quest for justice, a terrible injustice must have been done. I also know that one such incident would not be enough to cause the scenes I've been seeing, but rather a series of events led them to be in the place they are.

I don't want to debate whether or not one side is correct or not in the actions they are taking. What I do want to focus on is how we might move forward from here.

There seems to be one thing the people of Ferguson want before they stop rioting - justice. They have said over and over that they want the police officer who shot the young man to be arrested and processed in the same way anyone else would be if they were in the same situation. Then, they want answers; they want to know what happened and they want to know in a the most transparent way possible.

It would seem that only after there are some answers, instead of excuses and non-information, peace will come.

Today's psalmist reminds us that sometimes our souls need answers in order to feel peace. Our lives can be filled with things that clutter our ability to feel joy, and sometimes those same things can block our ability to feel love from others, ourselves, or from God.

Maybe things aren't as extreme in our lives as they are in Ferguson. Maybe the things which cause our own unrest are as simple as a misunderstanding with our best friend or a life-partner who doesn't seem to be caring enough. Whatever the issue, though, if it's enough of a problem to keep us away from peace, it's enough of a problem to keep us away from God.

Call out to God, just as the people in Ferguson are calling out to their leaders. Let people know you're in need of answers, and don't stop until you find them. Then, when you get your answers, do your best to find understanding - an understanding of how your lives have gotten to where they are and how you can move forward from there.

Never Rejected

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

One of the people I work with mentioned to me yesterday that this "thing" with Robin Williams is really bothering her. I knew what she meant, but I asked any, "What thing?"

Her reply was nervous, saying words like, "You know, the thing. The thing that happened the other day. The thing. You know."

She couldn't say the words, so I said it. "Are you talking about his suicide, or his issue with depression?" She was silent for a while before quietly saying, "His depression."

As I mentioned the other day, depression for most people leads them to a place where they truly, deeply believe that they have nothing to offer and nobody cares. Taking the final step towards making the decision to take their own lives isn't much of a stretch when they get to that point.

So, what can we (those who care) do when we find ourselves in front of someone with depression? The truth is, most times you won't know when you're in front of someone who is suffering with depression. They might look sad, maybe distracted or disconnected, but we won't necessarily know they are depressed.

My answer is to do what Paul is trying to remind the churches at Rome to do: remind everyone you know that they are never alone.

You don't always have to use words to do this. Sometimes just sitting with someone in silence is as loud a reminder about shared love as is a tight hug and strong words. Sometimes sending someone a message just to say "hi" is as strong as a a well-thought out card with words written inside. Sometimes telling a relative or a friend to tell someone you said hello can speak louder than if you told that person yourself.

The important thing to remember is to do these things all the time with everyone. We will never know if someone is depressed, but we will know when our love is appreciated. Nobody walks the paths of their life's journey alone. Nobody.

What The World Needs Is More Philos

Genesis 45:1-15

As I write this the news of Robin William's apparent suicide is still reeling through all news sources. Social media, mainstream media, web media, everyone from Huffington Post to the Onion to Twitter to Facebook directly pushed the news to every known outlet that the person I consider to be the most brilliant comedian to walk this earth had most likely taken his own life.

Many were surprised to hear that he had been battling with severe depression. After all, how can someone who brings so much happiness and joy through laughter be depressed?

One of his better-known quotes states,

"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone, it’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people that make you feel alone."

In and of itself, this quote probably gave us the keenest insight into the life-force of this wonderful man.

Unfortunately, many, if not all, people who suffer from depression feel the same way. Depression is a disease in which people suffer from 2 things: the idea that they have nothing to contribute to life, and the belief they are alone in that struggle. In other words, they believe they have nothing to give, and nobody cares.

In my 16 years of intentional ministry I've met more than my share of people from all ages and walks of life who find themselves in such a place. When I'm entrusted with being in conversation with them, I do my best to reassure them that they are always loved and there is always a reason to go on in life. I also do my best to assure them that they are surrounded by loving friends and family members who want to be a part of their lives - all they have to do is let their friends and family in.

Of course, that's sometimes easier said than done.

People need to know they're loved. When was the last time you told someone you loved them without it having to be a special occasion? When was the last time you told someone you love them just because it was something you wanted to say? When was the last time you told someone you loved them, and really meant it?

Love, the kind that comes from being in a close relationship, the kind that comes from a deep friendship, the kind that comes from sharing family ties, is what every person longs for. It's time we do our part and let those in our lives know they are never alone and they are always loved.

One Can Never Have Enough

Psalm 133

I'm not sure if I shared this with you yet: we lost our pet cat a little more than 2 months ago. She was 15 years old and suffering from kidney failure as well as anemia. We tried to save her, but unfortunately her symptoms were too advanced so we put her to sleep. It was a very difficult decision for our family to make, but it's one we made together.

As you might imagine, losing a pet after 15 years of constant companionship can put a strain on the family. We have 2 other pets, a dog and another cat, but Muffin was special to us as she was the first pet we chose as a couple.

last night my wife felt the loss of our Muffin and she had a difficult time falling asleep. She has a stuffed bear that actually smells like Muffin as well as has "fur" just like our lost pet, so she hugged it to find some comfort. I knew my wife was hurting and so I reached out to also hug the stuffed animal, trying to offer what little comfort I could for my wife. Eventually we fell asleep, and this morning my wife was in a much better mood.

Love is a funny thing. It comes in all shapes and sizes, conforming to one's needs as necessary. Sometimes it is poured out, filling us to until we're overflowing with it and sometimes dribbling into us slowly, filling us as needed. One thing is for sure, though - love never leaves us empty.