A forgetful God!

The God Who Forgets

 Matthew 28:1-10

At Providence House Sister Elaine liked to tell
a story about a bishop
who made fun of an old woman
because she claimed that when she prayed to God,
God spoke back.

Now the bishop had devoted his whole life
to the study of God,
and he was sure that if God spoke to anyone,
it would not be to such as she.
But she insisted.
“It’s true. God speaks to me.”

“Prove it!” said the bishop.
Arrogant. Almost angry.
“Ask God what are my greatest private sins.
If you return knowing these then I will believe
that God speaks to you.”

The woman agreed to do so and they parted.
The following day she returned
and the bishop greeted her with a smirk.
“Well, did you ask God what are my most secret sins?”
“Yes,” she replied. And the look on her face
was so intense,
so knowing
that the bishop hesitated but asked it anyway
“And what did God say?”

“God said….”
The old woman spoke softly but with assurance.
“God said . . . he couldn’t remember them.”

The Easter message:
God forgets!

Every time a woman arrived at Providence House—
in her prison-issued trench coat
$20 in her pocket
a curious blend of exhaustion and bewilderment
and hope on her face—
she was almost at a point of Easter.
She had passed her Maundy Thursday with its dark betrayal
passed the judgment and even the crucifixion
and now she waited . . . waited . . . waited
for the stone to roll away
for freedom from the tomb
for resurrection.

Such a stone is heavy and not easily removed.
Easter is sometimes much more than three days coming.
But every time a woman arrived,
prison lingering in her eyes,
she mysteriously brought us a whiff of Easter.

She carried good news
of the God of forgiveness
and new beginnings
and hundredth chances.
The God of resurrections.
The God who forgets.

Kayla McClurg lived in the community of Providence House in New York for five years. Their work has inspired resurrection for thousands of women.

By: Kayla McClurg
Season and Scripture: Easter A, Matthew

Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Ghandi's worldview

Mahatma Gandhi listed Seven Deadly Social Sins that he considered to be most spiritually damaging to humanity. This list is more relevant today than when he wrote it more than a half century ago, don't you think?


Here's the sins he identified as most heinous:

Politics without principle.

Commerce without morality.

Science without humanity.

Knowledge without character.

Wealth without work.

Pleasure without conscience.

Worship without sacrifice.

Adequate substance for a Sunday reflection.

Two Men

One flying home in his blind rush,

Agendas whirling,
Time demanding,
Wheel in hand,

Thinking of lunch and after,

Work, football, family, obligations,

Weary with the constant press.

One limping along with one concern,

Eating something,

A next meal's hope

Balanced now atop a makeshift cart,

Once a baby carriage,

Piled high with cans,

Weary of the day-to-day nothing.

One glancing in a rearview mirror,

Then into tired, empty eyes,

Catches sight of the canner

With his limp and

His valiant struggle to right His load,

Considers their common burden.

One surprised by the car,

The lowered window, the offer,

"Mister, can I buy your cans?"

Of course, where should I put them?

A cash exchange, a brief moment of

Human contact to lift a burden,

A tear in the eye of each.

Two men,
A few words, smiles,
A small amount of cash,
Exchanged together with connection,
Without obligation;
Pure concern, pure gratitude,
Relief for both.

There's a Wideness in God's Mercy

We sang this hymn during the memorial service for my good friend Bob Glaze back on February 6. I saved the service bulletin and have thought of these lyrics often since then. Certainly, Bob lived these sentiments.

There's a Wideness in God's Mercy

There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.

There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Savior;
There is healing in His blood.

But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be more loving
In the likeness of our Lord.

[Lyrics: Frederick William Faber]

Sunday prayer

God, who is Creator, care-giver and challenger, the heavens truly declare your glory, and the skies your handiwork, though we must confess that most of the times we city dwellers are shielded from that knowledge by the bright lights with which we surround ourselves. Our artificial lighting comforts us in the darkness and allows us to pretend that our creations and our work is all that matters. But this summer some of us have ventured out to the desert or mountain top or some deserted beach and looked up and seen your glory splashed across the skies. Some of us have even stopped to think that the mist which stretches across the night sky which we call the Milky Way can be resolved by a good telescope into hundreds of billions of stars.

Then we have asked with the psalmist, O Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him, or the daughter of man that you might care for her? Yet you have made us but a little lower than the angels and set us the task of nurturing and caring for our small part of creation. And that’s the problem. We have taken the garden you have given to our care and used its waters for sewers, its land for a garbage dump, and its creatures for target practice.

It’s really no surprise after all, Lord. How can we be expected to nurture the creation when we won’t even treat each other with respect? When we tell the poor to get a job, and won’t pay a living wage, when we tell the sick to get well, and refuse them health care, when we tell the prisoners to reform, and refuse them employment when they do. How can we ever love our neighbors when our response to those who strike out against oppression is to shoot first and ask questions later?

But that’s why we’re here this morning, Lord. We have heard rumors of the good news which says it is possible to alter our course. We have heard stories of Jesus and the amazing power of his love – power to change people like Peter and Paul, Magdalene and Helena, Augustine and Luther, Wesley and Asbury, Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King, Jr., and even some of our neighbors. Power to recreate us in your image.

So we pray for the gift of your Holy Spirit to come upon us, that we might not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of our minds and hearts, that we might live out the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We know you can do this, Lord. You can do it right now, if only we would pray sincerely and with full attention the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Dr. Tom Downing
First United Methodist Church
Dallas, Texas
July 27, 2008

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The beauty of reconciliation

Wonder if reconciliation across all the "dividing lines" of our world is even possible?

Disturbed by all the hatred?

Concerned about some of your own feelings of alienation and despair?

Take the time to sit back, possibly grab a beverage, relax and just watch this amazing story brought to you by YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZjZQ6KkiUk.

I'd really appreciate your reactions.

Peace.

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Fundamentalism, a very real problem

Fundamentalism is a problem, a very real problem.

The notion that we can arrive at and possess “the truth,” objective, absolute truth, runs counter to just about every real life, human circumstance or experience I can imagine. Not only is absolute truth beyond my reach, in reality I never even come close to it.

On an autobiographical note, I was reared in a religious tradition that assured me that absolute truth was attainable. All I had to do was read the Bible and it would be mine. Early on I came to realize that was not true! Ironic, huh? I've spent the last 30-plus years unraveling that childhood conditioning.

We move to a new level of absurdity when we promote the idea that this “attainable” truth can be gleaned from a particular source. Most onerous in this regard would be to focus on any one of several “holy books.” And, it’s not so much the books, but the conviction that my particular reading of these sources leads me to “truth” that cannot be challenged, must be defended and, even worse, must be propagated as a part of my life mission.

Fundamentalism, with its sharply contrasting black and white approach to issues, renders life largely, if not completely unworkable in a pluralistic, complicated world such as ours.

The particular brand of Fundamentalism doesn’t matter so much. The outcomes of the pursuit of such a system end up being about the same no matter what the particulars of the various sources.

Islamic Fundamentalists blow themselves up and kill innocents with great confidence and in the name of Allah for the sake of their Truth. Such extremists live to murder infidels as a sacred obligation before passing on to Paradise.

Jewish Fundamentalists refuse to recognize the claims of their Palestinian neighbors, claiming the Truth of the great land promises laid out so clearly in their Hebrew Bible. No concession can be tolerated for those who seek to block the certain eternal truths of the promises of their God.

Christian Fundamentalists preach a black and white message, are quiet certain about the truth of their Gospel and seem absolutely unquestioning in their approach to the Bible. With absolute confidence they murder doctors who perform abortions, regard homosexuals as perverts or objects of disdain, if not extermination, and consign those with differing opinions to Hell’s literal lake of fire.

In general, Fundamentalists don't do much to promote the positives of their various religious heritages.

Unfortunately, Fundamentalists are missionaries by definition. They must spread "the truth," their truth, no matter the cost. If called on, they willingly die def ending the truth about which they are completely certain. No room for conversation or new understandings.

Fundamentalism is a problem.

Too often it leads to death, literally and spiritually. Death is never good.

It cannot aid us in solving our most pressing problems today. In fact, it only adds to the problems we face. Dividing communities into warring parties, Fundamentalism stands over against almost every value necessary for human reconciliation and community building.

Fundamentalism is a problem, a very real problem.

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Sunday Meditation. . .

"The God whom Jesus bore within him was not the God of one nation. The reign of God which he meant to establish was not a new imperialism with the chosen people on the top of the pile. The gospels show us Jesus in the act of crossing the racial boundary lines and outgrowing nationalistic religion. He recognized the religious qualities in a pagan; he foresaw that the Kingdom of God would cut across the old lines of division; he held up the hyphenated and heretical Samaritan as a model of humane kindness. Every time a wider contact was offered him, he seized it with a sense of exultation, like the discoverer of a new continent. That world-wide consciousness of humanity, which is coming to some in protest against the hideous disruption and hatred of the War, was won by Jesus at less cost under the tuition of God and the Kingdom ideal."

(Walter Rauschenbusch, A Theology for the Social Gospel, 1917, page 161)

Cuttin' across the lines: Party time in the community. . .

There is no way I can describe it to you.

But, I'll give it a shot just the same!

Dr. Jim Walton, our partner in the delivery of community health, wellness and medical services to inner city Dallas, takes care of over 20 severely injured patients. All have experienced terrible brain and/or neurological injuries. As a result, all are unable to walk and, in some cases unable to move much at all.

Dr. Jim makes house calls. You heard me.

Jim is a modern day Marcus Welby.

He practices medicine in this manner for at least two reasons.

First, he loves his patients and he gives them what he knows they need most, himself on their terms. So, he visits their homes, usually accompanied by one of our Community Health Workers and/or Charles Senteio, Director of Central Dallas Ministries' Institute for Faith Health Research-Dallas.

Second, he wants to keep these special patients out of the hospital for their own benefit and for the sake of the hospital systems in Dallas.

None of them are insured.

None of them can pay for their care.

None are eligible for public health benefits. Most, if not all, are undocumented immigrants who have been involved in serious accidents since coming to Dallas.

Jim's special work saves our local hospital systems hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars by caring for these special folks in their homes. Even more important, his patients do very, very well under his watchful and committed care.

Stick with me. The story gets even better.

On last Friday, Dr. Jim and his patients had a party.

More accurately, they were invited to a party.

The party was thrown for them by the "Homemakers Club" at Roseland Homes, a public housing development where we manage the community center for the Dallas Housing Authority.
Now, get the picture.

Latino patients, who almost never get out of their homes, make it over to the community center with some of their family members for a party. The cooks are the matriarchs of our community, assisted by a number of younger helpers and by members of our medical and community development staff.

You should have seen it!

Black folks, brown folks, white folks. . . young, old, in-between. . . all having a fine party. . . just because! Some meeting for the very first time. Others, old friends.

It was an absolute delight for us all!

Dr. Jim was loving every moment, for his patients; for his partner in the endeavor, Ms. Charlie Mae Ransom; and for the improving health and the maturing connectedness of the community.

I learned during the event that the Roseland homemakers have invited these special patients, now their new friends, to come to lunch every month for a party.

What an amazing place this is turning out to be!

Hope and healing are everywhere. Thanks to so many community builders.

You ought to drop in some time soon. I promise the experience will lift your soul!