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Quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides. Rowan Co., KY.
(*photo
credit)
February 1,
2010 Proclaim Salvation For All
Two
months ago in Copenhagen the challenge was placed by the poor
nations; if we are to save this world we must all be willing to
share in a radical manner. Response was mixed but the one hundred
billion dollars per year in 2020 was a good beginning. What we are
all coming to through kicking and screaming is that "Salvation is
for all, not just the privileged." However to understand and
champion this universal outlook is itself a privilege of grace.
They say
"hindsight" is an exact science. We do look to history of both
longer- and shorter term, for possibilities as how to act now. The
Lord has given us a glimpse as to what lies just beyond the horizon,
but to reach that goal up ahead involves taking risks. In Luke
4:21-30, Jesus' message turns an astonished hometown audience into
an enraged one. We might wonder why people so suddenly wanted to
kill him. Jesus does not cater to the hometown audience as though
they are privileged to dictate how to act or what to say.
Jesus
goes out to people everywhere, for all enter his arena of love. For
selfish people, thinking globally is to diminish local privilege.
Jesus speaks directly to the heart of the matter; he never minces
words; his heart goes out to people in distant places well beyond
the area his immediate ministry -- which is beyond his hometown.
Does saving all mean sharing limited resources with people
throughout the world? Yes, all are to be saved, not just our own
folks. Increasingly, in recent world conferences, differences in
rich/poor viewpoints have become more pronounced. Do we preserve
high consumption rates among a few, or do we share health, food and
other benefits with the great masses?
Just as it
was risky for Jesus to deliver his message two thousand years ago,
so a prophetic voice calling for the saving of all is a risky
message today. Silence is not golden under such circumstances. One
must share, and that means turning luxuries into essentials for
others in Africa. We are anointed by the oils of Baptism to be a
prophetic people, and that means we should not remain silent. To
be true is to speak, even when what is spoken is not well received
or even provokes violent responses.
People in
local communities and parishes are asked to share radically with
others. One parish in Tennessee changed its building program and
assisted a poor parish in Haiti. Some individuals curb their food
budgets in order to share with people in India. In speaking of a
prophetic outward vision, one must challenge those who hear or read
these words. Where is the need the greatest? Are people hungry for
Christ in our local county or community? How do we go out to all
the world except through this radical sharing with them from our
surpluses?
Prayer: Lord teach us to proclaim the need to share radically
with our neighbor and to encourage others to do the same.
A candle to set the dark night aglow.
(*photo
credit)
February 2, 2010 Candles and Other Energy Sources
Each year
on Candlemas Day we are carried back to the rich tradition of
using candles for special events and seasons: birthday candles,
altar candles, candles at Baptism, Advent candles, blessed candles
lit during storms, dinner candles, candelabras, Christmas wreath
candles, and on and on. We realize that the light of a candle
(candle power) is quite small, and yet this flame has been
satisfactory as a source of light for generations of our
ancestors. Along with the various types of candles are a host of
associated emotions: commitment, anticipation, protection,
conviviality, solemnity, and intimacy to name but a few. Candles
when lit symbolize enlightenment in a special way. "Light a candle;
don't curse the darkness." Enlightenment gives us direction on our
way and light by which to read. Although candles are a weak source
of illumination, they are strong symbols of how we ought to act.
However, candles have some inherent weaknesses that we ought to
recall:
Candles
are expensive. Conservative candle users limit the time in
which they allow them to burn. In former times, the differences in
the ordinary monetary offering for a "low" Mass (two candles) and
that of a "high" Mass (six candles) were partly based on candle
costs. Remember blessed candles used in such services were made
from beeswax -- and that can be expensive. So are modern sources of
energy costly, especially if we are to choose nuclear power
operations at price tags of six billion dollars and rising per
powerplant, along with uncalculated additional environmental costs.
"Clean" coal demands more and more taxpayer money as well.
Candles
are dangerous. One cringes to think that the Swedish girls
would wear rings of lit candles on St. Lucy's Day, or Germanic folks
may light candles at the Christmas tree (heavens forbid). All too
often candles have been left burning after a meal or services, with
some drastic results. Thus certain energy sources are dangerous,
even when forgetting the dangers to the environment associated with
fossil or nuclear fuel sources.
Candles
are temperamental. I recall the process of the unsteady hand
(my own) attempting to light or extinguish candles at the high altar
using a taper-holding device. Candles can easily topple or drip or
fail to catch, or their wick can get buried in the molten wax;
sometimes they cease burning or fail to start. In much the same
way, many renewable sources of energy seem perfect from a distance,
and then the clouds block the sun and the winds cease blowing when
energy is needed. Energy production can be challenging even from
renewable energy sources.
Candles
are finite. They can give only so much light. All energy
sources are finite whether in the materials and finances needed to
install or in the resulting useful energy produced.
Prayer:
Lord, as the light of day extends, help us to bless the light You
give us to help find our way in the world.
Earth's magnificence. Corbin sandstone
boulder as substrate
for life. Carter Co., KY.
(*photo
credit)
February 3,
2010 Take and Receive Abundant Blessings
Through
the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God
deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other
illness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. (Blessing on St. Blaise's Day)
Once a
year we ask a special protection for our continued good health,
realizing that we are always subject to mishaps and illnesses that
afflict human life in general. Seeking protection through the
intercession of the saints is an age-old communal exercise, but
more; we place ourselves within God's familial embrace and realize
that many blessings are always forthcoming.
Today we
use a blessing of St. Blaise who was a fourth century Armenian
bishop, but little is known about his life. Legend has it that
Blaise saved the life of a boy with a fish bone stuck in his throat,
the son of a woman who brought food and candles to him while he was
imprisoned for his faith. That gesture of good will extends to us
today.
Why is
this the most popular blessing in this country and in many Christian
communities worldwide? Part of this is due to the deep-seated
practice that goes back to the eighth century. People have always
had a fear of sudden diseases and life-threatening accidents that
can occur either to themselves or others when they least expect
them. Choking from food is always a great fear, for we know of
cases in restaurants and hear how people save others from death
through quick action. We desire protection from such accidents --
and from such diseases as H1N1 flu that could strike with dramatic
suddenness. Calling on the saints can be a public sign of the
constant need for divine providence and heavenly assistance. St.
Blaise's Day is celebrated by the Russian Orthodox on February
11th.
Rather
than hoping that this blessing goes by the wayside of "progress," it
may be better that blessings be extended to others. One person, a
Baptist, observed that a female Catholic soldier always blesses the
Humvees in Iraq. Someone asked him why he awaited her blessing. He
said that he noted that all the blessed vehicles returned, and he
knew a good thing when he saw it. Certainly, that answer borders on
the superstitious, but it also includes the acknowledgment that
blessings help us all find the divine Providence so necessary for
ordinary daily living. The world would be a better place if more
blessings were asked and more given. We are part of a needy family
that could use the spiritual and moral support of others, especially
those who have accomplished the journey of life and are crowned with
victory.
Prayer:
Lord, we seek your special protection, especially in times of
epidemics and troubles. Guard us and help us to do your will. Give
us good companions to help us on our journey of life, and open our
eyes to look out for blessings given and opportunities to give
blessings in return.
February 4,
2010 Obtain "Tobacco Days: A Personal Journey"
Most
books take a long time in formation. In 2002, when completing my
directorship of public interest groups after thirty- two years, I
considered a project to examine how my family was engaged in wars of
the past two centuries, and thus I conceived of a trilogy that would
involve war memories of the Civil War and Second World War, the
Franco-Prussian War (1870) and the "Tobacco Wars" of the early
twentieth century in our part of Kentucky. Through research during
my sabbatical I prepared two essays on the first events. However, I
became increasingly puzzled by my family's participation in the
Tobacco Wars in and near our home county. In fact, the failure to
surface specifics about the domestic squabbles (everyone remained
silent) caused me to turn my attention to the concept of tobacco
itself. How did this beautiful and yet mesmerizing plant enthrall
and overwhelm our family and neighbors in a mere lifetime? And this
story included all for better (economic) and worse (health
deterioration and death to certain individuals) aspects of the
tobacco culture.
As the
facts began to reveal themselves, it was painfully apparent that my
gradual change of attitude took place over eight decades and that
each of these spans of time triggered a difference in outlook. I
moved from seeing tobacco as an unqualified good, through realizing
the damage misuse can do, to a more neutral view that the substance
can be a good as teacher and, if alternative uses occur soon, as a
healer. In addition, tobacco use as a lesson on deliberate
corporate misuse is something much needed by a consumption-ridden
culture like ours; furthermore our tobacco story needs to be shared
with other people who are going through their uncritical love affair
with tobacco use. Millions die each year and the numbers are rising
at an alarming rate.
Tobacco
Days is a gentle story of someone spared by the unhealthy
effects long enough to lay a case out to others. This applies to
those who are in health policy, administration and care, and to
those who want a loved one to break an addiction, which can harm
both the smoker and nearby relatives and associates. The purpose of
the book is often more serious than the rather humorous manner in
which the story unfolds, but sometimes when we chuckle we are
striving to prove a point: Stop current tobacco use. All the while,
my admiration for the tobacco plant is undiminished. Beyond my
lifetime, tobacco could be a source of protein for a hungry world.
Tobacco can be redeemed -- and that makes this work theological as
well as scientific, political, economic and social.
The book
is being published by Brassica Books. Details on how to
obtain a copy are given in the Publications
section of this website.
Prayer:
Lord, help us to get this book into the hands of a few who are
smoking themselves to death. If only a few can be encouraged to
change from this practice we will have achieved something.
Ice of a small stream. Franklin
Co., KY.
(*photo
credit)
February 5,
2010 Realize That Weather is Important
On
Weatherman's Day, let's consider that each of us is to be a
"weatherperson," not just certain gifted or tv-friendly and
presentable individuals. On venturing outside we want to know
exactly what is happening today weatherwise. Will winter let up
today? Are there any new signs of spring? We may return and check
the weather maps on the Internet, television or newspaper; we
listen to weather reports when planning trips. If a storm front is
coming, we prepare for it, or postpone the travel for safety's
sake. With each passing year, weather maps are more accurate, as
meteorological science becomes more sophisticated. The maps can
tell us the patterns of the next few days with reasonable accuracy
-- and we tend to pay attention before confronting the "elements."
Some of
us experience mood changes when the barometer takes a sudden dip --
and with time learn that our important life decisions must take
weather into account. We weather-sensitive people should not decide
matters when the barometer is low or changing --- and maybe some
ought to refrain from decisions when temperatures are too low or
high (this century has already had record high summers). Know
exactly what the environmental conditions are when we choose certain
life-altering actions. Most of the time I must go out of doors each
morning just to get a "feel" as to what the day is to be like (yes,
my outdoors inspection says it will snow today as this is being
written), Farmers make daily decisions for planting and harvesting
based on the immediate weather conditions.
I doubt
whether the home-bound or those working from their place of
residence are as interested in weather as those who must go outdoors
to work or travel or play. Even the home-bound must go to the
doctor or other places and want to know about road conditions. The
weather enters into our scheduling of events. What if that rare trip
is slated for next weekend but a major storm is expected -- and
cancellations and delays could be reasonably expected? Think
ahead; we can't change the weather, but we can change our
weather-dependent activities. In the past, the word "journey" had
involved a hardship component, and this has never completely
disappeared, even though travel is more comfortable than in times of
stagecoaches and sailing ships.
Longer
term weather predictions as to how cold the rest of winter will be
or how hot we may anticipate this coming summer being are somewhat
problematic -- even for the professional forecaster. Those who
guess by wooly worm color or the thickness of animal coats or
groundhog shadows are right about half the time -- as are the rest
of us. We need not know that much about the future even though
climate change seems here to stay and affects us deeply. Tomorrow
will bring weather that we must prepare for.
Prayer:
Lord, teach us to be observant to the signs of the heavens as
Jesus tells us; help us to know what is coming and to realize that
this influences the way we act here and now.
Tree gall against winter landscape.
Clyde E. Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary.
(*photo
credit)
February 6,
2010 Consider Lenten Diet Changes
Lent is a
perfect time to change our ways. Each of us should consider our
current eating habits, some of which could be moderated according to
the threefold legs of good diet: nutritious, low-cost, and
locally-grown foods:
1. Grow
your own fresh salad vegetables this year. During this non-growing
part of the year I have enjoyed homegrown kale, mustard, collards,
radish tops, turnips, carrots, garlic and spinach. These veggies
replace costly store-purchases, are local and are highly
nutritious. Consider growing them throughout the year using
protective cover and add others that grow well in your
micro-climate.
2. Omit
soft drinks and go to water, fruit or vegetable juice, herbal drinks
or even coffee and tea. Soft drinks are expensive, contain
excessive levels of refined sugar, and generally are supplied from
distant bottling plants with no responsibility attached for picking
up and reusing the containers.
3. Use
locally-grown herbs for spicing. This is low cost and saves on the
purchase of salad dressing and various seasonings;
4.
Prepare steamed veggies (cabbage, carrots or turnips) for breakfast
using Quick Eggs (fat and cholesterol free and low calorie)
along with a sprinkling of oatmeal. Local free-ranging chickens are
a fine source of eggs, but eat eggs sparingly.
5. Choose
snack foods wisely. These are part of the diet of people who prefer
to eat at irregular and frequent times. Fruit, carrots and celery
are good snacks along with nuts of various types. Salty and fatty
chips are to be avoided. Unsalted popcorn flavored with garlic and
chili powder is a special treat.
6.
Prepare a different soup each day and use leftovers as part of the
creative mix. See "Special Issues" on this website.
7. Eat
belly fillers; one example is to eat a quarter of a strong onion
along with cottage cheese at one of the meals.
8. Limit
intake of bread, crackers and other carbos to a reasonable degree --
one or two slices per day. Limit pasta dishes and pancakes to
weekly or a few times a month.
9. If you
are not vegetarian, at least watch and reduce the meat intake.
Locally-obtained venison is highly nutritious and comes at lower
cost than expensive, distantly-grown beef or chicken.
10.
Rearrange daily food intake. Make breakfast ample and the supper
sparing, and eat increasingly smaller meals in between.
Prayer:
Lord, teach us to be watchful not only in prayer but in the things
we eat as well.
Color amidst winter forest floor. Pipsissewa,
Chimaphila maculata.
(*photo
credit)
February 7,
2010 Be Willing to Do the Lord's Work
Here I
am! Send me. (Isaiah 6:1-8)
God sends
us as messengers of Good News and yet some do not listen through the
noise all about them; some excuse themselves for lack of hearing or
a false humility; and still some seek to escape the responsibilities
directed at them and direct their attention to other business,
allurements and distractions. However, the Lord calls and
perceiving this becomes our critical moment. Granted, we are
unworthy, we recognize our escape mechanisms, and we realize that
the time is short.
In the
stillness of winter when the snow falls, dampens outside noises and
forces us to stay put, we have a precious moment to stand before God
as Isaiah's moment of grace appears. If we are people who thank God
in a spirit of ongoing gratitude, we find the gifts given deserve a
recognition that goes beyond mere words; the call is to specific
responsible deeds whether these be caregiving to others, fulfilling
our current ministry, moving to other fields of service, or
allotting free time for the benefit of our fellow human beings in
need. God is powerful and willing to share power with us; we must
be willing to see the deeds we can perform as powerful God-given
instruments of change.
God
calls, gives us the grace to respond, and helps launch us into the
deep of those in great need. Even amid difficulties and risks we
are willing to say with Isaiah, "Here I am." Unless this is a very
special call, I cannot abandon my present locality and move to
distant places. However, the call is to be totally dedicated.
Jesus calls disciples at the Lake of Galilee; his apostolic call is
for them to leave everything and follow him, even to go to distant
places. We also receive God's call. "Here" includes
Calvary-made-present in our world, an entry into the sacred divine
moment, NOW, and space, HERE.
The task
ahead is daunting. Jesus says, "Put into the deep water and lower
your nets for the catch" (Luke 5:4b). The risk of failure is always
present. However, God, who has given us all good gifts, will shower
us with the tools to undertake the tasks ahead -- if we but truly
trust in divine assistance. By saying "present" to God's unique
calling, we launch into the deep and open ourselves to make Christ
present to others. But launching involves risk and vulnerability on
the turbulent sea of life. Our forebears decided to move out of
their home security to a new life. In following the Lord, we see
the fruits of our labor as being from God and that success depends
on working with the Lord at this time.
Prayer:
Lord, teach us to leave the comfort and safety of our supposed
securities, our couch, our nest, our inner room, and move out into
the harsher and more uncertain depths. Help each of us to say "Here
I am! Take me as I am," and to do so eagerly and with enthusiasm.
Thimbleweed, Anemone virginiana.
(*photo
credit)
February 8, 2010
Are We Willing to Accept Regulations?
The Economist puts
more faith in business than most. Yet even the stolidest defenders of
capitalism would, by and large, agree that its tendency to form cartels, shuffle
off the cost of pollution and collapse under the weight of its own financial
inventiveness, needs to be constrained by laws designed to channel its energy to
the general good. Business needs governing just as science does. (The
Economist 12/19/09 p. 38)
Healing involves
knowing the cause and seriousness of an illness, remaining in isolation to avoid
harming others, and taking measures needed for healing. We cannot expect
miracles to cure what we have caused through deliberate neglect or
thoughtlessness. We are not to pollute air through some sort of "right to
pollute" and then expect God to right the wrong we have done or are continuing
to do. Knowledge of wrongdoing includes realizing the harm, begging
forgiveness, and taking corrections.
Wrongdoing towards
our wounded Earth includes: pollution of air and water, excessive emission of
carbon dioxide, salination and erosion of fertile land, and toxic contamination
of land through use of pesticides and industrial chemicals. Glaciers are
melting; oceans are expected to rise and storms to increase. We assure
ourselves that technical remedial measures exist and that we (the affluent) can
evacuate to higher grounds and build higher sea walls (all costing billions of
dollars).
Some may suggest
paying for added climate change expenses through a tax on the savings that
shipping companies make by using the shortcut of an ice-free Northwest Passage.
Far-fetched? However, climate change realistically could be reduced through
some practical measures suggested at the recent Copenhagen Conference: renewable
energy and efficiency measures; transparency in programs to cut pollution; and
giving a value to forests, thereby compensating poorer nations for reducing and
eliminating deforestation (currently causing 20% of climate change emissions).
However, few openly question a consumption-based economy that is the root cause
of these environmental problems.
Do citizens
(especially affluent ones) have the will to change? Certainly some people want
to simplify their lives, and want to spread the message of energy efficiency and
to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. However, the critical
question is: what about the vast majority? What about Chinese, Indians and
others who want cars, spacious homes, electrical appliances, and more meat and
processed foods? What if two billion more want to be like Americans? Yes,
measures by individuals are beneficial, but not enough. Doesn't a free society
demand a radical sharing of responsibilities?. Are we willing to join with
others and do this? Will we accept increased regulations?
Prayer: Lord
teach us to act as a community and curb the excesses that harm our
Earth, and take the needed remedial steps.
A red-bellied woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus.
(*photo by Sally Ramsdell)
February 9, 2010
Demand Proper Financial Regulations
Our economy is
connected with our environment; to expect those of us engaged in seeking to heal
our wounded Earth to refrain from being critical of the economic system that
encourages wasteful consumption is erroneous. Citizens can and must regulate
and reconstruct the economic system in which they must live and thrive. The
question is not one of patchwork regulations for a corrupt system involving
banks and financial institutions outside the law; regulations ought to be
directed to confronting economic illness with authentic healing. Some desired
regulations include:
Break up the
banks: The old economic ways are simply not good enough: "Too big to fail"
is failure; the truth is "Failed when too big." Small is more than beautiful;
it is far more practical in economic terms. Big banks are unhealthy and damage
our democracy. Limit the size to which banks can grow.
Limit financial
activities: No federally insured banks or institutions should be allowed to
engage in reckless speculation. In reply to the argument
that there will always be speculation (and other forms of gambling), the answer
is that speculation can be strictly regulated if not abolished so that all will
be unharmed.
Limit pay levels:
Why should some in this world have a "right to wealth" when others do not have
enough to live on? Every effort should be made on the part of government to
avoid bonuses for ALL, for there are other more healthy incentives for
doing one's work. People should be able to make higher salaries; they simply
should not be allowed to keep them.
Prohibit
derivatives and exotic financial instruments that are not related to the
common good and defy normal regulation. Why can such economic game play even be
allowed in a rational society where many are not properly fed, sheltered,
educated and provided with access to health care?
Tax the Rich:
Why should the tax burden be on lower income citizens? In Kentucky (and
elsewhere) the highest income one percent pay the smallest proportion of taxes.
Certainly a speculation tax called for by some is only a start. Most can live
well on $100,000; the remainder should be taxed for the needy.
Jail the tax
cheats and those who slip immense sums of money to overseas tax havens.
Apply sanctions to the nations that are tax havens and encourage such illegal
transactions.
The first few ideas
are provided in an editorial by Robert Weissman in Public
Citizen News, November/December, 2009, p. 3.
Prayer: Lord,
we are overcome by a holy anger over what has occurred in our land during the
last two years. Help us not to be blinded but through proper legislative action
to change a system that has threatened to
destroy our democracy.
Starling, Sturnus vulgaris.
(*photo by Sally Ramsdell)
February 10, 2010
May We Hear the Cry of the Poor
Happy those who
hunger and thirst for what is right;
they shall
be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)
Is it safer to be
silent about our discontent, or ought we to begin to spell out our feelings in a
special way? Our discontent involves both the current "free market" economy
and the gurus who promote it and intimidate us to be silent about the system's
weaknesses (joblessness, undervalued resources, greed, unjust tax patterns).
Since we can change the world faster and more profoundly through blessings than
through curses, let us attempt a positive spin on what lies ahead -- not cursing
the possible darkness that could envelop this world. Here are positive elements
that are emerging:
The poor will rise.
The less-wealthy nations are realizing power in uniting and in rejecting the
colonial "divide and conquer" approach of past ages. In union is strength.
Demanding financial support in times of global climate change is simply asking
those who sinned through wastefulness to pay for what went wrong -- the
temporary effects of sin and wrongdoing. The demand that they are not to
continue in their sin but to make recompense for the after- effects of
wrongdoing in the past is a Christian and just demand.
Affluence is
exposed as impoverishing. This impoverishment works in several ways.
Excessive wealth used for consumer goods impoverishes our Earth by excessive
draining of resources that are needed for meeting the essential demands of the
poor; affluence impoverishes the spiritual aspects of individuals by turning
them into materialists; and affluence makes practitioners selfish and
insensitive to the needs of others; lastly, affluence is an inherently bad
example for those aspiring to be wealthy.
Changes will come
quickly. A world of rapid communication has a way of hastening the demand
for justice; the Internet is catalytic. What is lacking among so many cannot
go unnoticed with television cameras and microphones. People cry and we are to
hear the cry of the poor for we are Christ's ears. We must challenge social
acquiescence or a consent without protest. Injustice in all its forms needs to
come to light so that, with a pure heart, justice can be distributed to all who
are in need.
Just taxes are
required. In Kentucky, the top wealthy one percent has the lowest tax rates
in our commonwealth; many of our taxes are quite regressive and affect the poor
in the hardest way -- and our state is not alone. Not only are current tax
systems unjust, they impoverish all by cutting educational, health and public
service benefits. "No new taxes" is a propaganda slogan generated by those who
ought to pay their fair share.
Prayer: Oh
God, Source of all justice, inflame our hearts so that they may not rest until
they rest in You. Help us never to be satisfied until justice comes upon our
world.
Finches enjoying the blessings of a
winter birdfeeder.
(*photo by Sally Ramsdell)
February 11, 2010
Give Thanks for February's Blessings
If finding a dozen
things to be thankful for in January seemed to be a challenge, what about in
February? However, here are a few that may tap your own creative wellsprings:
* A Lenten time
to reflect and meditate with fewer distractions;
* Lengthening
daylight, becoming ever more noticeable with each passing day;
* The dawn's
color with its sweeps of gray and blue. Sometimes the red streaks enter and
tell us of the weather changes ahead;
* Poetic
inspiration that seems to be better suited for this month, maybe because its
shortness makes us aware how passing our own mortal lives are -- and how much we
more we must do today;
* The birthdays
of great people born in this month, all of which could deserve some special
remembering;
* The aroma of
wood smoke from the neighboring residences that still burn a renewable
resource for heating and cooking;
* The sound of the
mourning dove that gives a sense of reunion with the great outdoors and the
need for new life;
* The sight of
the first robins as they move about the lawn and seem to be shivering
from the cold;
* The warm
indoors that makes us comfortable and sheltered form the sharp external
breezes.
* The first
outdoor work opportunity on a sunny day. Things come to mind such as
initial spading of the garden plot, planting of the first peas, gathering of
fallen tree branches, and grounds' clean-up that was not completed in the
autumn;
* The vigor of
basketball games of all sorts being played or observed, or the other indoor
sports such as racquetball and squash; and
* The early
flowers -- snowdrops, crocuses, and forsythia bushes (add, in addition, the
brave dandelions that give needed color to the raw landscape).
Prayer: Lord help us
during this holy season of Lent to always rejoice and give thanks, even when
this seems to be a challenge. It is far easier to beg than to thank You for
gifts already given, but help us do both.
A nest in February, freshly-filled with
snow.
(*photo
credit)
February 12, 2010
ODE TO THE FEBRUARY-BORN
When winter
extends itself in frosty clime,
and spring
won't come, nor poems rhyme.
Such is the
shortest month sublime,
but longest,
by far, in psychic time.
Sing out winter's
final dirge,
Fault the
neighbor's mall-led splurge..
Exercising urge,
fasting purge,
Greenhouse
starts, when spirits surge.
A birthday rite,
a feast of light,
When days get
longer, an hour less night.
Hear the mourning
dove, bird-starved delight.
Listen! the
tree sap's finding height.
Pouring molasses
in January's a chore,
but molasses
in February is still slower.
Winter, winter,
may it ebb away?
Modest
delay, oh fibbing February!
And deep down
when I think this month's a crime
I find the
finest born came at this time.
There's George,
Tom Edison and Honest Abe,
and many
years ago, Paul Rothkrug, a babe.*
God made the
February-born doubly great,
for these
learned early to smile and wait,
To defer to those
who come by late,
to stand for
justice in place of hate.
* Dedicated
to the late Paul Rothkrug on his birthday, though it could just as easily apply
to other February-born.
Prayer: Let
us find every month an ideal time for something, and make the best of what we
have with each opportunity. There is a time to be born and a time to die, and
let us be comfortable with the times that avail themselves for important
happenings.
Tree swing covered in snow.
(*photo
credit)
February 13, 2010
Protest Acquiescence
You are the ones
who destroy the vineyard and conceal what you have stolen from the poor. By
what right do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?? (Isaiah
14b-15a)
Injustice abounds in
our world. What do we do? If injustice is against me as a person, the Spirit
may direct me to silence; if against another, we must protest in every way we
can. Even Mary, the other women and John protested by standing beneath the
cross; the other apostles in all their bravado and posturing ran and hid; the
women were the protestors; the apostles the fearful ones.
Permit me to repeat a
previously told story (February 10, 2007) of once attending a global
consciousness-raising game play: ninety percent of the audience were given a
simple rice meal and ten percent a steak-and-gravy feast. We ninety percenters
were to reflect as though we were the poor. So what did I do? Why the only
Christian thing: I organized part of the majority and went over and seized the
steak dishes and divided them equally; thus none would have too much and "pig
out," and none were to go home somewhat hungry. Some other players (the
privileged ones) complained that we spoiled the event. I protested that we
made it a success. Why should we tolerate such differences and remain politely
silent while others hurt themselves by overindulging?
Protesting injustice
is needed if we are to rid this world of the many obvious injustices: lack of
food and essential human needs; overly wasteful affluence; the privileged going
undertaxed; and a rampant militarism. Yes, all too often we persist in acting
out the part of passive observers of events as though they are inevitable. We
are silent with a deafening silence, for if we say something we might be
declared out of order. Looking at Isaiah's words we ask whether it is we
who destroy world resources and conceal this from the poor? If we allow such
conditions without protest we are the ones who are party to the injustice.
A misdirected
scriptural passage relates to Jesus' saying the poor will always be with us.
Taken out of context this is made to justify ongoing poverty. However, our
failure to address this persistent poverty means that we will be challenged over
and over -- and this means the problem will stay with us until solved. The
possibility that all injustice will not be eliminated does not stop us from
taking the positive steps needed at a given time. Even with all the work ahead,
we must protest injustice with all our limited strength. In and through
protest, we affirm the need for improvement in time -- and are willing to work
for it, not to be complacent about the status quo.
Prayer: Lord,
teach us not to fear standing beneath the cross of injustice, and to show by our
public stance that we are with those who suffer with Christ. When we can help
remove that cross, give us the energy and
courage to do so.
Remnants of summer against a wintery
sky.
(*photo
credit)
February 14, 2010
Blessed Are the Poor
Blessed are you
who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are
now hungry, for you will be satisfied.
(Luke 6:20-21)
In this Year of St.
Luke's Gospel, note how often the poor are mentioned: the infancy narratives,
temptation of Jesus, Good Samaritan, Lazarus and the rich man, hard saying to
pharisees and others, and even Jesus' initial proclamation of his mission to his
home town audience; the refrain continues throughout and even through Luke's
companion volume the Acts of the Apostles.
Homily-givers,
especially on Valentine's Day, are tempted to say what is pleasing and
soothing. "Why bite the hand that feeds you?" Is the homily meant to increase
our popularity, or does spiritual leadership demand more? We can deny our
privileges, excuse ourselves as doing some things with the poor, or simply
escape to other issues. But face it: we are privileged with special gifts:
national security, good roads, health care systems, educational facilities, a
secure food system, adequate potable water, instant communications systems, and
on and on. As privileged with many gifts, we must see gifts as serious
responsibilities, opportunities to share, and as resources to respect and use
properly. But this is not enough for a homily.
How can those who
suffer so much be blessed? First, sufferers often have a sense of gratitude for
the simple gifts given; the poor are often more receptive to seeing that they
could have been overlooked and yet are somehow remembered. Some sufferers do
not have such a grace of insight, and yet intuitively they know that comfort
awaits them in a blessed future. . Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose hope is the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5-8). While the poor often include
imperfect people who are conniving, subservient, deceitful and even greedy,
still a sizeable number are trusting in God, for how else can they survive?
They can understand a spiritual blessing, while others more or less fortunate
rely on seeking comfort in real or imagined material goods. And the more
materials possessed, the tighter the grip the average possessor holds on his or
her material things.
Do we seek to
encourage the wealthy to give up what they regard as theirs and allow this to
become a double blessing? On the level of "should" one must say that when a
person becomes convinced that the resources do not belong to him or her alone
but to the commons, the moral imperative to liberate the rich of possessions is
present. Give it up freely and generously. Such a recognition of improper
ownership by the wealthy is a spiritual grace so often overlooked by those
seeking to hold tightly to the status quo of wealth and poverty. Liberation is
needed.
Prayer: Lord,
we are torn by our own unrecognized riches and a persistent poverty that is
often beyond our limited horizons. Make us a blessing to the
poor and to become one with the poor.
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