One Year of Blogging

Today marks the end of the first year of the John 13:34 Blog. This whole venture began when I was placed on "imposed exile" by leaders of the Episcopal Church. Blogging has been an amazing adventure of faith and a source of comfort in the midst of all of the chaos. There have been just under 29,000 page views in twelve months and folks have logged on from every continent on the globe - except one (I am still hopeful!). I have received comments from as far away as Australia and reconnected with old friends who are living across the globe.

To be honest, I never believed that I was a good writer. I have struggled with putting pen to page all of my life; since the Ninth Grade when I was placed in an advanced English Class at Montclair High School with a teacher by the name of William Macaluso who was the spitting image of the YMCA Jesus (okay, that maybe a bit of an exaggeration - but pretty close none-the-less). I can still remember, as if it was yesterday, Mr. Macaluso reading long stretches from Saint Paul's epistles to teach the members of the class about the proper use of the comma.

A year into this discipline and I have become a better writer, critical thinker, improved communicator. While I would never wish the past twenty months on my worst enemy, there have been many blessings and good fortune. My thanks to all of you who have inspired me on good days and dull ones to sit down at my desk here in the basement on Valerie Lane and fire off a thought or two. I am grateful for your support, love, and willingness, from time to time, to respond and tell me what you think - even when you do not agree with me.

I promise to keep this Blog alive day after day with interesting and fascinating thought from the world of spirituality, music, Bible study and the journey of life. There will be regular features that will continue to be produced like The Weekly Round-Up, Wednesday's column on prayer, and, of course, pictures of the Hudson High School Swing Band (only during marching season, I promise!). I have been ruminating about a Monday forum on ethics. This concept has not yet fully materialized, so if you have ideas or suggestions, please share them with me. I heard recently that the systems and communities that will thrive in the coming decade are those that are communicating, collaborating and adapting. So, your voice is important to this process.

Here's to a new year of creative thinking, opinion and shared reflection. Again, dear reader, my thanks to you.

Love One Another - Brian

Two Choices

My friend, Peter, a devoted fan of the game of baseball, sent me this magnificent and compelling story the other day. I thought it was worth sharing with my readers. Baseball is a wonderful game, but sometimes there are greater lessons to be learned on the diamond. Each and every one of us has to make choices each and every day. The question before us is; will we choose to offer abundant life to others or not? This story of a young boy named Shay reminds us of the importance of offering the gift of life even to the least of these.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.  Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team. 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

Now, my dear readers, you and I have two choices:

The first is to take this information as information, delight in it and not learn from it.

The second choice is to take this story, glean its truth, and then go out and make difference today in somebody’s life.

I will leave that decision up to you. In the meantime,

Love One Another - Brian

"Lord, teach us to pray...." How Does God Speak to You?

Richard Rohr is a Franciscan, a popular retreat master, speaker and writer. He is cofounder and animator of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The piece below came from his book entitled Radical Grace: Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr.

Prayer Advice

"In order to discover the right rhythm of prayer for us, the prayer that works with our temperament, we must listen to the ways that God speaks to us. How do you best slow down and enter into the dialogue of revelation and response? It is different for each of us.

"You may need a holy spot, perhaps a place where God has spoken to you before. Maybe it's out in nature, maybe it's a certain chair or before the Blessed Sacrament. Maybe it's in the last pew in church. It's that place where you can return to and sort of settle back and seek God's face. That's the simplest form of prayer: Each day simply seek, for a moment, if possible, the face of God. Know that you have looked at God eyeball to eyeball, and you have let God look at you.

"If you are more the thinking type, ideas will lead you into that revelation-and-faith dialogue. Use a book, if that is your style. But don't think that reading the book itself is the dialogue. You have got to end by talking to God from your heart, person-to-person, with ordinary words like you would talk to everybody else. Speak out of what you are really feeling, not what you think you are suppose to be feeling. If you are feeling depression, failure, competition, that's what you bring to God. Everything is data. There are no such things as distractions."

Those are good words to ponder for the middle day of the week

Love One Another - Brian

Sabbath Rest

Tuesday is the weekly Sabbath Day for the John 13:34 Blog. Thanks for checking in. Back at it again tomorrow.

An Astute Critique of the Recent Decisions by the Church of England

Linda Woodhead is Professor of Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University. Her main interest is in documenting and analyzing religious change in modern societies, relating it to wider social changes, and thinking through practical and political implications. Here, Woodhead gives some very thoughtful reflection on the recent events in the Church of England. Her article, which appeared on the Modern Church website (www.modernchurch.org.uk), is entitled: It's believing in the common good that’s got the Church of England into this mess over women bishops.

“The historic churches have come to love the idea of the common good. It's there at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching, and it shapes the whole ethos of the Church of England. It seems to have been the guiding principle of Rowan William's leadership, and it shapes the way decisions are taken from parishes up to Synod. Unity at all costs.

“It's been a disaster. It's a charter for minority views to hold everyone justice. 'Mrs X is not happy, her conscience is troubled' becomes the trump card when you are seeking the common good. The fact that Mrs X may be wrong, or supporting an injustice, become matters of secondary importance.

“This goes together with a characteristically Anglican ethic which elevates gentleness and peaceableness and proscribes any form of anger. You can be saddened, but you can never have a knockabout row. It's not a good recipe for testing views and arriving at the truth.

“You can see how it plays out in the way meetings are run. Taking a vote is seen as divisive, unfraternal. You have to come to a common mind. What this means in practice is that he or she who speaks up - or runs the meeting - often wins the day, regardless of whether anyone agrees. Protest is difficult, for it appears strident and 'selfish'.

“You can see the same principle at work it in the way Rowan has considered maintenance of the unity of the Anglican communion a greater good than support for the cause of women and gay people in the church. Even the slow death of the church in Europe is considered a price worth paying for the ever-receding goal of the common good.

“The very constitution of synod has been set up according to this principle. Not first past the post but a 2/3 majority in all houses. This is why 72.6% of synod members can vote for women bishops, all but two dioceses support it, and 6 lay votes can defeat the measure. Don't complain or celebrate though, because we should all maintain the image of one happy family.

“But isn't 'oneness' Christian? Shouldn't the church be showing the world a higher way? Yes it should. But it's actually rather hard to find Biblical support for 'Christianity unity' or the common good. John 17:21 'they all may be one' is made to do an awful lot of work. There's rather a deal more in Jesus' teaching about hating father and mothers, and setting brother against brother. 'Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I came to bring not peace but a sword.'

“Human society is made up of groups and individuals who pursue their own interests, often selfishly, and who sometimes act hatefully and abusively. Even when individuals are good, society is likely to be full of conflict. People will only come to a common mind in the Kingdom of Heaven or behind the philosophers' fanciful 'veil of ignorance'. This is why argument is necessary, and why democracy seeks not the common good, but the best and most proportionate compromises and reconciliations of interests. Contestation, debate and democracy aren't infallible ways to truth, but they are the best way we have.

“Being principled shouldn't consist in imposing your will on everyone else, but in having the humility to accept what the majority believes to be right - even if they're not. You can campaign to get them to change their minds, but you can't bind them forever with your own purity of conscience.

“This is even more true when you're talking about an established church. If the Church of England wants to continue to claim a privileged relation to state and society, then it surely has to take seriously the settled and conscientious views of state and society -- including the view that women are equal to men and capable of wielding power responsibly.

“The longing for unity goes back to the very origins of Anglicanism. It is understandable in the light of the era of civil conflict and war which it sought to end. But the imposition of uniformity never worked, and the dream of Christian unity was never realistic.

“Clinging to an impossible ideal of unity discounts justice, and paints honest disagreement as dishonorable troublemaking. You can see the fruits of this state of mind in where the Church of England has ended up in its treatment of women.”

Love One Another - Brian

The Sunday Musical Offering - The Day Thou Gavest Lord is Ended

With this being the last Sunday before the season of Advent, and since I usually offer only secular pieces on my Sunday blog post, I decided to end the liturgical year with one of my all-time favorite hymns: The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ending.

During his lifetime, John Ellerton (1826-1893) wrote a large number of hymns and translations, and a glance at the index of almost any hymn book will reveal at least four or five of his works. Ellerton's contributions to English hymnody are best represented in Hymns Ancient and Modern and The Methodist Hymnbook (1933) which both include his original hymns (“The day thou gavest” and “This is the day of light”) and his translation from the Mozarabic Breviary of the fifth century of “Sing alleluia forth”.

Two hymn tunes of Reverend Clement Cotterill Scholefield (1839-1904) have been set to poems by Ellerton; the hymn tune 'Irene' is often coupled with Ellerton's “When the day of toil is done” and “The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended” is set to Scholefield's more familiar tune 'St Clement'.

This is a wonderful three minute video of a hymn festival which took place in Stratford-upon-Avon in the year 1989. A very different time, to say the least: a Church full of people, both young and old, singing their praises to God. What has happened in less than thirty years? (Save that answer for another post this week…)

In the meanwhile, enjoy this treasure: splendid music, superb poetry, stirring voices, God praised! Can you ask for anything more?

Love One Another - Brian

The Weekly Round-Up for November 24, 2012

A busy week with the holiday and long weekend. The Church of England voted against allowing women bishops. It was a rough start to the "fiscal cliffs" talks in Washington. The nation's foodbanks are alarmed as the drought which has plagued much of our country for the past year has put a dent in supplies. A blessed cease fire in the Israel/Palestine. The United Nations reported that new infections of HIV have dropped by half in the past decade in twenty-five of the poorest and middle-income countries, many of them in Africa. The Weekly Round-Up begins now....

The Best Editorial of the Week
The Telegraph, London

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Buy Up the Debt to Abolish It

Second Best Editorial of the Week
Frank Bruni, The New York Times

The Siren and the Spook

The Third Best Editorial of the Week
Jang Jisheng, The New York Times

China's Great Shame

This One Will Make You Think
Water Over Rocks How Things Change, Blog

History's Call to Serve

This Will Make You Think, Too!
Sarah Bessey, The Intersection of a Spirit Filled Life

In Which We Will Subvert the System for Good

This Will Make You Think As Well
Anantanand Rambachan, The Huffington Post

A Diwali Meditation on Free Speech

And Now A WORD from the Monastery
Geoffrey Tristram, ssje.org

Spirit

Best Political Writing of the Week
Mattea Kramer and Chris Hellman, BillMoyers.com

Why Washington's Fiscal Cliff is a Myth

Sad News from the World of Music
Brian Wise, wqxr.com

Steinway to See Its Landmark Hall

The Best and Worst of Religious Blogging This Week
Various Writers and Sources

The Trinity in Gender Debates

Texas Mega-Church Pastor: Obama's Re-election Will Lead to the Reign of the Anti-Christ (Worst!)

The Story in in the Glacier: Chasing Ice

The Night Indianapolis Stood Still

"I Dream of a Church" in Kentucky

The Art of Evangelism: How to Change the World (Best!)

What People Experience in Churches by the Barna Group

British Churchgoers tweet with the Vicar's Blessing

The Cuteness of Children in Church (NOT!)

Top Ten Books Every Pastor Should Read

Church Uses Facebook for Sacramental Scrutiny at its Peril

Moneyball and the Future of the Church, Part 1

Tectonic Shifts in American Religion and Spirituality

The Failure of the Megachurch

Best Writing on the Economy
Thomas Friedman, Center for Economic and Policy Research

Our Economy is Being Killed by Employers Who Cannot Do Arithmetic

News from the Church of England on Rejection of Women Bishops
Various Writers and Sources

CofE Refuses to Allow Female Bishops

BBC: Synod Votes Against

The Guardian: Women Bishops - A Long and Boring Suicide Note

Hot Dogma! CofE Women Bishops Round One

NY Times: Crisis in the Church of England

After the Bishop's Vote - I Am Ashamed to be a Part of the Church of England

NT Wright: Women Bishop's: It's About the Bible, Not Fake Ideas About Progress

Most Viewed Site at the John 13:34 Blog this Week
Monday November 19, 2012

All That God Does Is Done Well

Always End With Animals, Children of Even Adults Having Fun
YouTube.com

Love One Another - Brian

Black Friday 2012

Today, America celebrates Black Friday, yet another uniquely American tradition that pits citizen against citizen in a frantic and frenzied rush to purchase items they do not need in an attempt to find some sort of self-affirming affirmation. I have only ventured into this post-Thanksgiving melee once in my life and having done so vowed that I would never do it again. It is a craziness that does not measure well with my recovery.

One of the tools of Debtors Anonymous is awareness. "We maintain awareness of the danger of compulsive debt by taking note of bank, loan company and credit card advertising and their effect on us. We also remain aware of our personal finances in order to avoid vagueness, which can lead to compulsive debting and spending" (DA pamphlet). I have been more aware then ever before of the serious illness that affects our nation in regards to money, debt, and the serious 'evil' associated with advertising: "You must have this! You must have that! You cannot live without this product!" etc.

I have buried more people in my vocation as priest than I can remember and I am struck by the fact that in every case I have never placed in the ground a person's body with their "stuff". And yet, a majority of Americans live as if they cannot survive without the latest electronic gadget, designer clothes, or $19 women's boot currently on sale at Macy's today (heard about that on the Today Show this morning).

And how is all of this stuff being paid for? While there may be individuals who have planned ahead and secured cash to make their purchases today. The vast majority of Americans will fall prey to that the evil of credit cards. The false reality is that credit cards provide us with some toxic sense of “instant gratification”.  The ability to get something we want right now without having to wait and save for it.  I am just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to instant gratification.  But instant gratification goes away about as quickly as lunch in a Chinese restaurant. One hour after your purchase – you are hungry again! 

Americans often rationalize or more like fool themselves into thinking that we can pay-off credit card balance in the next billing cycle but it seems it never happens. I know this is true for I have heard countless stories of this way of thinking at support groups. Here is an alarming fact: in the United States the average household credit card balance is $14,750 (RebelCapitalist.com). The truth on this Black Friday is that we are not doing a good job of paying off those balances and we are paying a heavy price for instant gratification. And the retailers simply play into the dysfunction in which many of us live.

Here is another reason to boycott Black Friday.

Robert Reich is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, and served as the Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. Yesterday in the Huffington Post, Reich wrote the following article:

“A half century ago America's largest private-sector employer was General Motors, whose full-time workers earned an average hourly wage of around $50, in today's dollars, including health and pension benefits.

“Today, America's largest employer is Walmart, whose average employee earns $8.81 an hour. A third of Walmart's employees work less than 28 hours per week and don't qualify for benefits.

“There are many reasons for the difference -- including globalization and technological changes that have shrunk employment in American manufacturing while enlarging it in sectors involving personal services, such as retail.

“But one reason, closely related to this seismic shift, is the decline of labor unions in the United States. In the 1950s, over a third of private-sector workers belonged to a union. Today fewer than 7 percent do. As a result, the typical American worker no longer has the bargaining clout to get a sizable share of corporate profits.

“At the peak of its power and influence in the 1950s, the United Auto Workers could claim a significant portion of GM's earnings for its members.

“Walmart's employees, by contrast, have no union to represent them. So they've had no means of getting much of the corporation's earnings.

“Walmart earned $16 billion last year (it just reported a 9 percent increase in earnings in the third quarter of 2012, to $3.6 billion), the lion's share of which went instead to Walmart's shareholders -- including the family of its founder, Sam Walton, who earned on their Walmart stock more than the combined earnings of the bottom 40 percent of American workers.

“Is this about to change? Despite decades of failed unionization attempts, Walmart workers are planning to strike or conduct some other form of protest outside at least 1,000 locations across the United States this Friday -- so-called "Black Friday," the biggest shopping day in America when the Christmas holiday buying season begins.

“At the very least, the action gives Walmart employees a chance to air their grievances in public -- not only lousy wages (as low at $8 an hour) but also unsafe and unsanitary working conditions, excessive hours, and sexual harassment. The result is bad publicity for the company exactly when it wants the public to think of it as Santa Claus. And the threatened strike, the first in 50 years, is gaining steam.

“The company is fighting back. It has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board to preemptively ban the Black Friday strikes. The complaint alleges that the pickets are illegal "representational" picketing designed to win recognition for the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) union. Walmart's workers say they're protesting unfair labor practices rather than acting on behalf of the UFCW. If a court sides with Walmart, it could possibly issue an injunction blocking Black Friday's pickets.

“What happens at Walmart will have consequences extending far beyond the company. Other big box retailers are watching carefully. Walmart is their major competitor. Its pay scale and working conditions set the standard.

“More broadly, the widening inequality reflected in the gap between the pay of Walmart workers and the returns to Walmart investors, including the Walton family, haunts the American economy.

“Consumer spending is 70 percent of economic activity, but consumers are also workers. And as income and wealth continue to concentrate at the top, and the median wage continues to drop -- it's now 8 percent lower than it was in 2000 -- a growing portion of the American workforce lacks the purchasing power to get the economy back to speed. Without a vibrant and growing middle class, Walmart itself won't have the customers it needs.

“Most new jobs in America are in personal services like retail, with low pay and bad hours. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average full-time retail worker earns between $18,000 and $21,000 per year.

“But if retail workers got a raise, would consumers have to pay higher prices to make up for it? A new study by the think tank Demos reports that raising the salary of all full-time workers at large retailers to $25,000 per year would lift more than 700,000 people out of poverty, at a cost of only a 1 percent price increase for customers.

“And, in the end, retailers would benefit. According to the study, the cost of the wage increases to major retailers would be $20.8 billion -- about one percent of the sector's $2.17 trillion in total annual sales. But the study also estimates the increased purchasing power of lower-wage workers as a result of the pay raises would generate $4 billion to $5 billion in additional retail sales.

“This seems like a good deal all around.”

(Huffingtonpost.com)

And finally, dear reader, I will leave you with this reflection which a friend of mine living in Vienna, Austria posted on Facebook early this morning. Yet another idea to ponder about finances and how we handle our money and life choices. There is much to consider here today at the John 13:34 Blog - but then again, I did not go shopping.

Love One Another - Brian

 

Thanksgiving 2012 - Our Humble, Thankful Hearts

The words found below were originally written in 1782 by Matthais Claudius a German poet, otherwise known by the penname of “Asmus”. His poetry was set to music by the likes of Franz Schubert (Der Tod und das Madchen). Most people today know Claudius for the words of a majestic hymn sung in most churches on Thanksgiving morning.

We plow the fields, and scatter

the good seed on the land,

but it is fed and watered

by God's almighty hand;

he sends the snow in winter,

the warmth to swell the grain,

the breezes and the sunshine,

and soft refreshing rain.

Refrain:

All good gifts around us

are sent from heaven above,

then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord

for all his love.

He only is the Maker

of all things near and far;

he paints the wayside flower,

he lights the evening star;

the winds and waves obey him,

by him the birds are fed;

much more to us, his children,

he gives our daily bread. Refrain

We thank thee, then, O Father,

for all things bright and good,

the seed time and the harvest,

our life, our health, and food;

no gifts have we to offer,

for all thy love imparts,

and, what thou most desirest,

our humble, thankful hearts. Refrain

“Our humble, thankful hearts.”

Thanksgiving reminds me that I must keep things in perspective. Each one of us will face difficulties in our life journey. There will be great pain, trials, health issues, natural disasters, struggles with family members, and even death. This is the very nature of life. The Creator of all things never promised that life would be easy. But, in the midst of the struggle, God’s faithful people find that place where we can lift up our voice and say with confidence, “All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above, then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all his love”

I am very grateful this year for the love which my family shares with each other. I am thankful for my wife Kathy and my son John; for my sisters and their families; for Kathy’s family in Mississippi; for my parents.

I am grateful for extended family and friends who over the course of this past year have showed me a love that is fathoms deep, wide, and like God’s love “will not let me go.” I could not have made it this year without the love and support of so many persons here in Northeast Ohio, across the nation, and around the globe. Thank you and thanks to God for you.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have to teach senior adults about my love for music and the Scriptures. I met a beautiful older African American woman this week at the Johnson Center in Garfield Heights, Ohio. She was one of the first Americans to sing at the famed La Scala Opera House in the early sixties. Now, beset with early stages of Alzheimer’s, this dear woman came out of her shell to abundant life on Tuesday when she heard the music of Mozart, Verdi and Bizet. I thank God for the gift of music and how it can touch the inner soul bringing joy to the individual.

I am grateful for the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces and today are protecting us a long way from home and in harm’s way. May we never forget their efforts and valor; nor cease in offering opportunities to say, “Thanks.”

Finally, I give thanks to God for the extravagance of God’s love found in the person of Jesus Christ whose every prayer was a thanksgiving and whose every gesture was a gift of new life. Jesus’ hands touched our human bodies and made them whole; his words touched our minds and healed our confusion; his friendship touched our hearts and healed families, communities and the world; his love overcomes our darkness. Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ. May the year ahead be spent faithfully living into his values, his mission, and his vision of how we are to live and move and bring about a different sort of Kingdom.

May you have a very Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.

Love One Another - Brian

The Week of Thanksgiving - Giving Thanks for Others

Thanksgiving is a time to pause and acknowledge our gratitude to God for the many blessings we have received over the course of the past year. If we are grateful to God, it seems to me that we should also take time to be grateful to one another. Ours is an age when people do not reach out and express their gratitude – it is almost taken for granted and this is a great shame.

Recently, I was at the local supermarket early one morning. While going through the check-out line I expressed my gratitude to the older women who was serving me. She had gotten up early for her shift. The look of surprise on her face was telling and expressed a deeper truth that her job did not receive much appreciation. She valued the small gesture of offering thanks and returned the kindness.

A simple yet powerful story….

A group of men were sitting around one day reminiscing about things in the past. One of them said: “I am grateful for my teacher, Mrs. Wendt. For thirty years ago, she taught me about Tennyson and he has been the joy of my life.” One of the other men asked, “Did you ever write to her about that and thank her?” He said, “No, I never did.” He was encouraged by the group to do so and after diligently finding his former teacher’s address; this is the response he received:

My Dear Willie,

I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the leaf of fall, lingering behind.

You will be interested to know that I taught school for forty years, and yours is the first note of appreciation I have ever received. It came on a blue, cold morning and it cheered me as nothing has for years.

What an awesome letter. Look at the power those two letters had. Dear readers, you and I need to Stop, to Think, and to Thank – reaching out to others by writing a note, or paying a visit, or calling someone and simply saying "thank you" for something that they did in our life. Jesus was continually thanking his Father for all that God did and for all that was given to him. As disciples of our Lord, we should do the same: thanking God and thanking others.

Love One Another - Brian

Sabbath Rest

Tuesday is the weekly Sabbath Day for the John 13:34 Blog. Thanks for checking in. Back at it again tomorrow.

The Week of Thanksgiving - "All that God does is done well"

Next to Easter, Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Growing up in the New York City, Thanksgiving Day meant the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with those marvelous balloons, fantastic marching bands from around the country, and at the very end Old Saint Nick. I still believe that the Holiday Season begins when Santa Claus arrives on the stroke of Noon at Broadway and 34^th Street. Old traditions die hard!

Thanksgiving was and still is about attending church and offering thanks to God for the year of blessings, known and unknown. In High School, there was a marvelous Thanksgiving service always held at Saint James’ Episcopal Church in Montclair, New Jersey. The massed choir was a delight to sing in for the small choir at the church I attended never had “the horses” to sing such repertoire. So, the opportunity to make a joyful noise unto the Lord was always met with great expectation and anticipation.

Thanksgiving is about a plentiful table – turkey, stuffing, sweet potato pie, string bean casserole with crunchy onion topping, ham, pies with ice cream, and don’t forget the “canned” jellied cranberries – surrounded by family and friends from near and far. After dinner, my parents would finally allow us to play Christmas music on the record player – Andy Williams, Andre Kostalantez and, my favorite, the fabulous organ being played from the Radio City Music Hall (I do not believe there were any more groves on that LP!)

Happy Memories of days gone by.

This uniquely American holiday is a time to give thanks to our loving God for all the many blessings of our lives. Thanksgiving reminds me that I must keep things in perspective. Each one of us will face difficulties in our life journey. There will be great pain, trials, health issues, natural disasters, struggles with family members, and even death. This is the very nature of life. The Creator of all things never promised that life would be easy. But, in the midst of the struggle, God’s faithful people find that place where we can lift up our voice and say with confidence, “All that God does is done well.”

There is a story found in the Talmud of a rabbi who lived many years ago. This rabbi was walking through the country travelling from one town to the next with three possessions – a lamp, a rooster and a donkey.

Late in the afternoon, the rabbi came to a village where he had hoped to find lodging and when he went there and asked for a place to stay, the townspeople, seeing that he was a Jew, ran him out of town and into the nearby forest. The rabbi did as he was always known to do, and his reaction to the situation was to say, “All that God does is done well.”

He found a tree, under which he could sleep that night, set himself down, turned on his lamp and was reading from his holy book when a terrific gust of wind knocked down the lamp and broke it to pieces. The only thing the rabbi could do now was to go to sleep. Again, he was known to say, “All that God does is done well.”

A few moments later, in the utter darkness of the forest, some wild animals came and chased away his rooster which was followed an hour or so later by thieves coming and stealing the rabbi’s donkey. Before he finally was able to get to sleep that night, the rabbi uttered those same words, “All that God does is done well.”

The next morning when the rabbi awoke from his sleep, he went back to the village where he had been thrown out. He discovered to his surprise that through the night an enemy army had come into the village and had killed everybody. The rabbi knew that if he had stayed in the village that night he too would have been killed. He also learned that the enemy army had passed close to where he had been sleeping and if they had seen the light, or the rooster had crowed, or the donkey had brayed, the rabbi would have lost his life. His response…. “All that God does is done well.”

The story, in some respects is about how God can bring out of evil and wrong something good. It reminds me how often the Spirit moves and protects us when we have no earthly idea what is happening. You can think of all the angles in this story – why this or why that? But, so much in life, and with God, is not rational.

“All that God does is done well.”

Life is about keeping things in perspective. The past twenty months have been an ordeal filled with roller-coaster rides of emotion and turmoil. It has been tough and painful. But in the midst of all the trials, grace abounds. Friendships endure. New beginnings are all around me. The opportunity to serve God, and use the many gifts and talents given to me, has never been greater. Life is difficult but God is faithful. In the end, “All that God does is done well.”

More tomorrow on Thanksgiving and being thankful. I hope you will join me.

Love One Another - Brian

The Sunday Musical Offering: OSUMB Concert "To Boldly Go"

"To Boldly Go" was the half time show performed at the OSU vs. Cal football game on September 15, 2012. Songs include "An American Heritage", "The Planets: Jupiter and Mars", "Apollo 13, the main theme", and "An American Heritage (reprise)" Arranged by the very talented Jim Swearingen.

The Ohio State University Marching Band performed their annual concert at the Veteran's Memorial Auditorium on November 11, 2012. The Band played music from eight half time shows presented at Ohio Stadium during the 2012 football season, along with Band standards performed during the pre-game show.

Love One Another - Brian

Prayers for Peace in Israel/Palestine

The news coming out of the Middle East this week is alarming on all fronts. At least 23 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed since Israel assassinated Hamas' military commander on Wednesday. As I write these words, and monitoring the events on the BBC News, the Israeli military have just given the British news service updated figures: A spokesman says that since the beginning of the operation, 550 missiles have been fired into Israel, 184 of which have been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system. More than 600 targets in the Gaza Strip have been hit by the Israeli military. Such news brings to mind the scriptures: "an eye for an eye." There is another way.

While I have no authority to speak or influence  the leaders of Israel or the Hamas movement to cease their monstrous actions, I can and will be praying without ceasing for peace and good will amongst all parties. The President of the United States currently has his hands full on domestic issues; but that does not mean that other former Presidents, and other world leaders, cannot get involved trying to bring the parties to a table to negotiate some sort of peace.

Meanwhile, I urge all of my readers to stay up to speed on the events happening in the Holy Land. The BBC News has an excellent newsfeed which can be seen here. The following prayer was written by the Palestine/Israel Ecumenical Forum, an international, inter-church advocacy initiative for peace in Israel and Palestine.

God of faith, hope and love:  “You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  We turn to you in the midst of displacements and dispossessions, of land-grabs, house-demolitions, the Wall, Israeli settlements, humiliations at checkpoints, separation of families, restriction of movement and residency rights.  “Because you are near us we will not fear.”

God of faith, hope and love:  Creator of the universe, “heavens declare your glory and the skies proclaim the work of your hands.”  We believe in you as a good and just God for all.  Keep us steadfast and patient with our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters.  Thank you for your holy Word which is a source of life for all human beings and we pray it will not be used as a cover for injustice and oppression.

God of faith, hope and love:  “Lift up your hand O God, you are the helper of the fatherless and hear the desires of the afflicted and listen to their cry.”  Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide us and bring us to your holy mountain, to the place you dwell.”  Make Jerusalem - the spiritual core of our vision and life - open to all and shared by two peoples and three religions without exclusivity.  Only then will we see in Jerusalem “a new earth” and “a new humanity”.

God of faith, hope and love:  “You promised those who trust in you to dwell in the land.”  Help us to love and see your face in the enemy so we all can be liberated from hatred and injustices.  We pray the day will soon come when the occupation and violence will end, and we can live together as two peoples in this land, based on respect of religion, equality, justice, freedom and pluralism.

God of faith, hope and love:  “Surely you are our help, the One who sustains us.”  In the absence of hope you still give us hope and make us not give in to evil.  Help us continue with hope in a creative, non-violent, peaceful resistance, and keep those in authority in the ways of justice and of peace, “so righteousness will shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”  We commit ourselves to you who created every human being in your own image. 

God of peace, accept our prayers, for the sake of our suffering and risen Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Love One Another - Brian

"Lord, teach us to pray...." Laziness and Cowardice

I usually have to read the writings of Thomas Merton at least twice before I understand it! But, that is a small price to pay for the blessings received from his inspirational words and thought. This selection comes from his reflections entitled "Thoughts in Solitude" and describes two of the great enemies of the spiritual life. Merton writes,

"Laziness and cowardice are two of the greatest enemies of the spiritual life. And they are most dangerous of all when they mask as 'discretion'. This illusion would not be so fatal if discretion itself were not one of the most important virtues of a spiritual man. Indeed, it is discretion itself that must teach us the difference between cowardice and discretion. If thine eye be simple... but if the light which is in thee be darkness...

"Discretion tells us what God wants of us and what God does not want of us. In telling us this, it shows us our obligation to correspond with the inspirations of grace and to obey all the other indications of God's will.

"Laziness and cowardice put our own present comfort before the love of God. They fear the uncertainty of the future because they place no trust in God.

"Discretion warns us against wasted effort: but for the coward all effort is wasted effort. Discretion shows us where effort is wasted and when it is obligatory.

"Laziness flies from all risk. Discretion flies from useless risk: but urges us on to take the risks that faith and the grace of God demand of us. For when Jesus said the kingdom of heaven was to be won by violence, He meant that it could only be bought at the price of certain risks.

"And sooner or later, if we follow Christ we have to risk everything in order to gain everything. We have to gamble on the invisible and risk all that we can see and taste and feel. But we know the risk is worth it, because there is nothing more insecure than the transient world. For this world as we see it is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:31)

"Without courage we can never attain to true simplicity. Cowardice keeps us 'double minded' - hesitating between the world and God. In this hesitation, there is no true faith - faith that remains an opinion. We are never certain, because we never quite give in to the authority of an invisible God. This hesitation is the death of hope. We never let go of those visible supports which, we well know, must one day surely fail us. And this hesitation makes true prayer impossible - it never quite dares to ask anything, or if it asks, it is so uncertain of being heard that in the very act of asking it surreptitiously seeks by human prudence, to construct a make-shift answer. (cf James 1:5-8)

"What is the use of praying if at the very moment of prayer, we have so little confidence in God that we are busy planning our own kind of answer to our prayer?"

(Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude, pages 33-35)

Love One Another - Brian