I had another post ready to go, but then read this post entitled People Who Care Only Son wrote on his blog last night. I'll let him speak here today.
This Thanksgiving I’m thinking quite a bit about my Grandparents who passed away in the last few months. In the past on holidays we have been overwhelmed with the number of places we were expected to go. But now that that is over we are really missing it. It has made me think that I shouldn’t take people who truly care about me for granted. It is so important to know that there are people out there who truly love and accept me no matter what. With friends I am tempted to worry that they might not like me as much if I say certain things or if I truly open up. But with family it is different. I am thinking about my Grandma E who was always delighted to see my family when we came regardless of my political views or whether we said a couple of stupid or annoying things or even if the kids were cranky. So if you have people who truly care about you don’t take them for granted. In this life that is a very precious and rare thing.
How many people live their entire lives and miss this lesson? It is all about love.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2009
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Another chapter of Sunday musings
Slept like a rock last night. I felt better today than I have in days. Sleep is NOT overrated! Got lots of work done around the house today.
My friend AMH from my year at VTS called today; she is being interviewed for a position at the church T and I attended on the Mississippi Gulf Coast when he was at Keesler AFB. We chatted about my impressions during the time we were there (we liked the parish a lot). After we hung up, I remembered some of the folks I was friendly with in this parish and wrote a bunch of emails just to say hi. The one and only time I was asked to be a godparent was in this parish. The Episcopal Church is a small church, to be sure.
Recalling the reason I did not leave on time yesterday from work...can't really give details without violating the privacy of those involved. Just be sure that you have everything you want legally done with your affairs taken care of before you are incapacitated. Some innocents will suffer since in their case that wasn't done.
This job is really making me think about things I'd never, ever considered before. Certainly, to make sure all is in order at all times just in case is a true act of love.
My friend AMH from my year at VTS called today; she is being interviewed for a position at the church T and I attended on the Mississippi Gulf Coast when he was at Keesler AFB. We chatted about my impressions during the time we were there (we liked the parish a lot). After we hung up, I remembered some of the folks I was friendly with in this parish and wrote a bunch of emails just to say hi. The one and only time I was asked to be a godparent was in this parish. The Episcopal Church is a small church, to be sure.
Recalling the reason I did not leave on time yesterday from work...can't really give details without violating the privacy of those involved. Just be sure that you have everything you want legally done with your affairs taken care of before you are incapacitated. Some innocents will suffer since in their case that wasn't done.
This job is really making me think about things I'd never, ever considered before. Certainly, to make sure all is in order at all times just in case is a true act of love.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
James and True Religion
Today's NT reading is James 1:16-27. Much of James’ letter frankly bristles with indignation toward the rich; see especially 2:1-9 and 5:1-6. This is a bountiful section of Scripture, filled with symbol and warrant. Verse 1:27 really caught my attention, so I want to reflect on it.
Luke Timothy Johnson (Sharing Possessions, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981) posits that according to James, the way we respond to others is the hallmark of our faith. He states that Leviticus 19.18 is so important for James that the letter “can be read as a reflection on the implications for Leviticus 19.18 for the Christian life”(pg.102). Action in love to address the needs of others is required. We do not use the standards of the world, as James understood the term, to determine worthiness of human life. In that day, there were no societal programs to assist widows, orphans, or others who fell on hard times. Their lives were worthless, expendable. But if one saw with the eyes of Christ, those who were worthless in the eyes of the world were seen as lively and worthy.
Of course we have widows and orphans today. Now days they are known as welfare recipients, illegal immigrants, the homeless, or residents of parts of New Orleans. Our society still sees those who need help as unworthy. “Damn it, get a job!” we say so helpfully. “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! Do it yourself!” But not everyone has the internal or external tools to live by society’s admonitions. Society sees them as Other. To stand with Other is to stain oneself, according to the world.
But James says otherwise. The world’s standards of determining worthiness do not apply to those who follow Christ. It is not up to us to determine worthiness at all (thank God!). Our faith nudges us to look upon each other with love, and act that way. It only follows to care for the widow and orphan in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. And those actions cannot be separated.
Luke Timothy Johnson (Sharing Possessions, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981) posits that according to James, the way we respond to others is the hallmark of our faith. He states that Leviticus 19.18 is so important for James that the letter “can be read as a reflection on the implications for Leviticus 19.18 for the Christian life”(pg.102). Action in love to address the needs of others is required. We do not use the standards of the world, as James understood the term, to determine worthiness of human life. In that day, there were no societal programs to assist widows, orphans, or others who fell on hard times. Their lives were worthless, expendable. But if one saw with the eyes of Christ, those who were worthless in the eyes of the world were seen as lively and worthy.
Of course we have widows and orphans today. Now days they are known as welfare recipients, illegal immigrants, the homeless, or residents of parts of New Orleans. Our society still sees those who need help as unworthy. “Damn it, get a job!” we say so helpfully. “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! Do it yourself!” But not everyone has the internal or external tools to live by society’s admonitions. Society sees them as Other. To stand with Other is to stain oneself, according to the world.
But James says otherwise. The world’s standards of determining worthiness do not apply to those who follow Christ. It is not up to us to determine worthiness at all (thank God!). Our faith nudges us to look upon each other with love, and act that way. It only follows to care for the widow and orphan in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. And those actions cannot be separated.
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