Today is Mary’s 85th birthday. I’ve had the joy of knowing her – and singing alongside her – for about three decades now. Her birthday falls ON “Birthday Sunday,” the first Sunday of the month where we pray (and sing!) for those in the congregation celebrating birthdays in the coming month.
Leon chose an anthem arrangement of It Is Well With My Soul for us to sing, as it’s a favorite of Mary’s (the rest of the choir loves it too). She sang a beautiful solo on the first verse, and it was all I could do to come in singing when the rest of us joined in because it was so moving.
It is a hymn that bears special meaning, and when you know the story behind it, you can really understand why this song touches the spirit so deeply.
Horatio Spafford and his wife had already lost much – the death of a son, followed closely by the great Chicago fire and destruction of his business – all in the same year, 1871. Two years later, Spafford was planning a trip to Europe for himself and his family. A last minute problem with his business delayed him, but he sent his wife and children on ahead with plans to take another ship and meet with them in a few days.
The ship carrying his wife and four daughters was struck by another ship and went down. His wife survived, but his daughters did not. Spafford immediately went to join his wife, and it is said that he wrote It Is Well in the area where the ship carrying his family went down.
The melody, written by Phillip Bliss, is called Ville du Havre – after the name of the ship that went down.
After the tragedy, the Spaffords had three more children, with one dying of scarlet fever. They eventually moved to the Holy Land and led lives devoted to service.
Their story is incredible, as is their faith. It’s hard to imagine having such soul-ripping events – and still be able to say it is well with my soul. I don’t doubt that the Spaffords had moments of deep anguish and despair. But the words strike right at the core of what is most essential, and beautifully so:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, (it is well), With my soul, (with my soul) It is well, it is well, with my soul.
(And the final verse:)
O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend; even so, it is well with my soul.
You may also find the hymn listed as When Peace Like a River.
Peace can be like a river – sometimes quiet, sometimes turbulent and nonexistent. But whatever my lot, there is refuge in God’s promise. This line that doesn’t appear in every hymnal:
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life, Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
Sometimes that’s all it is, and all it takes; just hearing that whisper. We can cling to it as we would a raft in a turbulent river and hold on, knowing that somewhere at the end of that rope is peace, even if we can’t quite grab it yet. This is the promise of God, the promise of Christ, the promise of Love.
Happy birthday, Mary. And thank you for giving us a gift with your voice; a beautiful and heartfelt reminder that while hearts may be breaking and we may feel we’ve given up, it is still well with my soul.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. John 3:16-21
The good news of Christianity is that we are forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ; Jesus suffered and died for our sins and rose from the dead.
This is wonderful news!
But…I’ve always had a teeny, tiny problem with this. If God loves us so much, why did God demand a sacrifice to forgive us? That just seems a bit…conditional.
Forgive me if my sick sense of humor wanders into the realm of the near-ridiculous as I can’t help but imagine a hypothetical (and somewhat Monty Python-esque) conversation….
God the Father: Sheesh. LOOK at them, will you? I’ve given them commandments, guidance, a burning bush, manna from heaven, and STILL they screw up. I’m done with humans; they’re all fit for nothing but the burning pit of hell!
God the Son: Oh, come on, they’re not THAT bad. Give them a chance. Maybe eventually they will figure it out.
God the Father: Hm. I don’t know…but maybe I could be persuaded IF they made a big enough sacrifice. But it would have to be big – I’m really not happy about them.
God the Son: I don’t think they are capable of appeasing you. Tell you what – how about I do it for them?
God the Father: Hmmm. Well, let’s see. How about you become one of them? Like, become human.
God the Son: I can do that.
God the Father: And…not in a life where you’d be a crown prince or anything. I know! How about you become…hmmm, how about a carpenter?
God the Son: OK, I’ve always wanted to make things out of wood.
God the Father: You can teach them what they really need to know: How to treat and love one another. I gave them commandments, but they still mess it up. Oh, and throw in some miracles and healings so that they pay attention.
God the Son: I can definitely do that. Hey, how about turning water into wine? That sounds like a good start.
God the Father: But, in order for me to forgive them and bring them home to me, you need to die a horrible, dreadful, painful, excruciating death.
God the Son: Um. Ahhhh, you sure about that? Well. OK, if you insist.
[end of conversation]
Image: Detail of Dali’s Christ of St. John of the Cross, 1951
WAIT! Don’t call me a heretic just yet, but I can’t help but wonder. Permit me to offer an alternative (hypothetical, of course) conversation:
God the Father: I’m upset. I know I gave them free will, but this is getting ridiculous. Look at how my people are behaving!
God the Son: They’re NOT behaving.
God the Father: Exactly my point! I’ve given them commandments, prophets, examples – I mean, look at King David, for Your sake, he sent his best friend off to be killed in battle and still I blessed him. Why don’t they believe I love them? Why don’t they ACT like it?
God the Son: I think it’s called “human nature.”
God the Father: Yes, but I made them in our image and likeness! I set up this glorious world and they keep messing with each other. I just don’t know what to do to show them how much I love them, and how I would LIKE for them to treat each other. They love living in the darkness! They need to see the light!
God the Son: Light… LIGHT! I have an idea! I could go down there…
God the Father: Hmmm, that’s a thought! You could show them how to live, how to love one another, how to forgive…
God the Son: Yes, and add some miracles so they’d pay attention. I am the light of the world, after all.
God the Father: Absolutely. But – they are fickle. How many prophets have they seen doing miracles and issuing warnings? And still they’ve ignored them!
God the Son: Well, I have an idea that goes beyond anything any of the Prophets did. Let them kill me.
God the Father:WHAT?
God the Son: Seriously. They need a really, REALLY BIG example of just how much they are loved. They really won’t believe it any other way. If they think that the ultimate blood sacrifice – me – has been given for the forgiveness of their sins, they’ve got to listen, don’t you think? That would be a real, heavenly, cosmic slap-upside-the-head!
God the Father: Hm. Wow. You know, that’s really not necessary for us to forgive them, but –
God the Son: I know. We’re going to love them no matter what, and do everything possible to get them all home to heaven one day, some way. But this will be a shortcut. If they follow me, they are following God. If they look at how I live and see me as an example, follow me and accept my sacrifice, they will be bringing home the Kingdom of Heaven on earth!
God the Father: You know, this could be a way to bring all of my creation into my fold – not just the children of Israel.
God the Son: Can you think of a better way to show them that God suffers with them? Like, right along WITH them, when they suffer?
God the Father: No, I can’t. But…are you sure you want to do this? You know I don’t require anything to love and forgive humanity; but I want them to realize how much they are loved, and for them to show and live that love. Doing it like this will wake them up…but…it’s gonna be bloody. And really, really painful. Those Romans are a real piece of work. Sometimes I wonder if the whole free will idea was a mistake…
God the Son: Well, you said yourself how off track they are. They have ignored the commandments and have been hurting each other. And the Romans are bad enough – and what about those Pharisees and Saducees? They’ve missed the point! Anyway, do you think the people would pay attention to anything less than a really, really BIG sacrifice?
God the Father: Good point. But you know…seeing the Son of God die a horrible death can’t be the end of the story.
God the Son: We’re thinking the same thing —
God the Father: Well, of course – we ARE God, after all! After you’re “dead” and “buried,” you’ll come back to life! Resurrection!
God the Son: Yes! Their bodies die, but they’re not sure about what happens after that. I can show them that death and sin are conquered. Rising from the dead? They’ve GOT to pay attention to THAT! That will show them that through me, they have life eternal.
God the Father: Perfect. If this doesn’t wake them up, I don’t know what will.
God the Son: One last thing: In the Torah, there are a LOT of commandments. Maybe we could just…simplify it. You know, love God and love your neighbor. They do have short attention spans.
God the Father: You’re right. I always have had fun with Words…. Let’s get the Holy Spirit in on this plan and get started.
~~~~~~~~~
So, there you have it. This might raise an uncomfortable question: Did Jesus have to die?
We’re so used to saying yes, He had to die for our sins!
But wait – did Jesus have to die because God the Father demanded a sacrifice? Was it atonement?
Or did he have to die because we humans just would not believe or accept God’s love for us any other way?
You decide.
*disclaimer: The warped theology presented here is purely the musing of this author and not to be interpreted as any official stance produced from her Jesuit education (it’s not completely their fault I’m a bit heretical), Catholic school studies or 30 + years in the Episcopal church.
Music has saved me on many occasions throughout my life. If you read my post from December 2023, you’ll know that I lost my best friend and music partner without any warning. No, I haven’t felt like writing any blog posts. You wouldn’t want to read them anyway; what can I say? Everything sucks. Having Bubba for a friend and creating music with him enriched my life in ways I’ll never be able to describe. Losing him so suddenly – it’s indescribable.
I could barely make it through the Christmas Eve service at church. In fact, I didn’t. I couldn’t. I got through the Eucharist, but couldn’t face another minute, and certainly couldn’t face the candlelight singing of Silent Night. My wonderful fellow choristers totally understood. I left, cried all the way home, walked to my brother’s house next door, and wept and drank with another bereaved friend.
I didn’t sing, or play, or anything for quite a while. I felt (and still do feel) like an empty shell. I couldn’t even face choir for over a month. I knew I wanted (and needed) to go back, but just couldn’t – and the choir loft is a safe harbor for me.
Then, one day, a text from Leon (our director). Our choir members were invited to sing The Seven Last Words of Christ with our friends across the street, the First Methodist Church choir.
Yes. Yes, I need that. My first venture back into singing anything since Bubba died was in the First Methodist choir room, not even my own loft – perhaps because that loft and pipe organ has Bubba’s influence everywhere. (I did return to my own loft and church the following Sunday.) I went to practice, and escaped from my own thoughts by diving into sight-reading something I’d never seen or heard before, and joining voices with others who love to sing.
I found myself smiling for the first time in nearly two months. I had something to wrap my brain around, a bit of a challenge, and a fairly new musical environment. I had a musical distraction, and that’s just what I needed. I’d been writing a lot since Bubba’s death, but writing is a solitary activity. I love making music with others, even if I can’t make music with Bubba any more.
We sang the Seven Last Words on Palm Sunday at the First Methodist Church, and will present it at Epiphany Church on Good Friday. I love being a part of creating such beautiful music, and Theodore Dubois’ rich work is moving and very healing. Being partially deaf makes it matter even more that I’m in the middle of it. Being invited to join in this was a gift at the perfect time; it helps, and it gives me hope. And God is so efficient. Just as this was a blessing for me in my own circumstances, I know that God uses this musicial event to bless others in many other ways. Wouldn’t it be amazing to know them all?
After Good Friday, I’ll sing I Know that My Redeemer Liveth on Easter. And then, I’ll have to find another musical challenge because it helps to keep the pain to a dull roar when I’m focused on music. I’m committed to playing for a couple of events in the summer, and ordinarily it would be Bubba and me, but I no longer have that option. Part of me wanted to back out, but I hear Bubba giving me THE LOOK and telling me “don’t even think about it!”
So I take out the 12 string and just play and sing and listen. It hurts, but it is well with my soul. Once again, God saves me through music.
Eulogy for Joshua “Bubba” Murrell, given by Brenda Lowry at Church of the Epiphany, New Iberia, LA on December 19, 2023.
How could one possibly distill the essence of Joshua “Bubba” Murrell? It’s a daunting task… in a beautiful poem (which I’ll read shortly) written by a friend, Gene Dugas, Bubba is described as a Teacher, a Brother, an Artist and Friend. I’ll add to that – he was also a Mentor, a bit of a Mad Scientist, and a Mystic.
Bubba was a Teacher. He had so much knowledge about so many things, and was happy to share his knowledge. We’d been friends since the early 80s, but we didn’t really get close until a little over a decade later after he’d moved back home to New Iberia. And that happened because I needed a teacher. I called him, needing some help with a song I was writing…and that call sparked a long friendship and musical / creative partnership. He was a Mentor to sooo many young musicians – AND to me and many other friends.
He was a Brother of the heart to me and many others. He became part of my family – and Gene, Jody, Phillip, and so many of you can say the same. He was always there for you (although often running a bit late). He was the guy who’d show up at family gatherings with something reallllly interesting…like a potato gun. Remember when potato guns were a thing in the late 90’s? Well, my husband David had built one; a perfectly engineered, pristine, gleaming potato gun made of PVC.
Bubba was inspired by this…so he created a Vegetable Relocation Device. A potato gun, yes, but painted in camoflage, with a laser scope and “magazine.” Then, these guys figured out you could shoot a potato with a flaming tail if you nailed steel wool to the potato. One evening they launched a flaming potato across the road….and caught the cane field on fire. Oops.
Bubba was an artist. He was an incredible musician who could play almost anything. We’d go to the NAMM shows (that’s a big music trade show) and Bubba would play everything he could get his hands on, and ask a million questions about software, new innovations, etc. His Grammy award was for production/engineering and he could team his technical gift with artistic vision. He composed instrumentals of rich, haunting beauty. He was a woodworker. He enjoyed playing with creative software – creating AI images, and virtual theme parks – just for fun. From Bubba, I learned that the creative process isn’t always about being serious – that it’s ok to be messy, and ok to have fun and be silly (and we all know…Bubba could be really, really silly sometimes.)
He never lost touch with his inner child. He approached the world with wonder, awe and curiosity. Now, his inner child was sometimes his OUTER child as well, but there was always method in his madness. He had a collection of stuffed animals because he found that they were more effective (and less costly) than acoustic foam in adjusting the acoustics of any space. Bubba was NEVER afraid to dive in and FIND WHAT WORKED. I’m surprised we don’t have a giant stuffed rabbit tucked up in the choir loft here to help with acoustics. (Several years ago we added harmony vocals to the Women at the Well material. We used his bathroom as a vocal booth, and I stood there and sang Gospel while looking at a Happy New Year teddy bear.)
Bubba at the Bike Festival in Abita Springs, La.
Bubba’s technical genius meant that he understood how things worked, and often improved on them. He’s probably rewiring the PA system in heaven right now. He took great care of our computer network at hoh-PAK, sometimes staying VERY late to work out a glitch or put Microsoft in its place. He configured and installed the sound system here at Epiphany, and kept our pipe organ tuned and repaired.
To some people Bubba could appear scattered (and late), but his mind worked in different ways and moved at warp speed. I’ve seen him hyperfocus – for example, when producing Terrance Simean’s Live! Worldwide CD…when working on our Blue Merlot CD…when moving the pipe organ that his dad had built from St. Peter’s church to its new home at the Community of Christ Crucified in St. Martinville. Bubba disassembled that organ, and oversaw the moving of it – pipe by lovingly wrapped pipe – and consequent reassembly, tuning and tweaking.
He was a bit of a mad scientist…Bubba tapped into this almost otherworldly river of creativity. He was a conduit for ideas and problem solving, and he shared those ideas freely. On more than one NAMM show occasion, we’d see an idea that Bubba had suggested to a company at an earlier show (for instance, a short guitar capo) being released as a new product. Were they inspired by Bubba, or was it one of those ideas floating around the cosmos, with several people tuning in at the same time? Either way, he was a visionary. He wanted – needed – to get ideas out there, and he had an endless supply of them.
What was SO much fun about playing music with him was that we both believed that the music should lead. Sometimes we’d work on specific projects – without him, the Women at the Well program would not have reached as many people as it did – and sometimes we’d just sit and play. Some of our fun projects over the years included Blue Merlot, a series of library and school concerts and presentations, Women at the Well concerts and tour, countless gigs as duo, trio, and full band, parody songs, silly songs (such as Yoo Mama Wears Army Boots) and improvisations that will live on in my heart.
Bubba was a Mystic – He had the soul of an artist, filled from a deep well of spirituality and nurtured by never-ending curiosity. He had a deep faith. I already miss our long conversations about God, life, salvation, and eternity. But he now knows the answers to the questions we would discuss. Whenever I’d feel a bit adrift and uncertain in my faith, I’d tell Bubba, “I’m a little weak in faith right now. Can I borrow some of yours?” and he’d always say yes…and he’d carry me through.
I’d like to share Gene Dugas’ beautiful poem with you. It’s called The Man with the Beautiful Mind:
The Brother, the Artist, the Teacher, the Friend; His knowledge and talents seemed without end. He heeded God’s call and left this world behind; The man we all knew with the beautiful mind.-
The Brother was faithful, funny and true When you needed him most, he’d pull you through With love and kindness he’d give of his time – The man we all knew with the beautiful mind.
The Artist created a wonderful place That was heard, seen and felt when you entered his space. The sounds the sights and colors divine From the man we all knew with the beautiful mind.
The Teacher was patient, thoughtful and fair. Never greedy or selfish, his knowledge he’d share. He took us along on his wonderful ride: The man we all knew with the beautiful mind.
The Friend was so special to each and to all But his time here was done, so he heeded God’s call. He will surely be missed and we’ll shed a tear, But he left without pain, without sorrow or fear. So let us rejoice, and cherish the ride That we took with the man with the beautiful mind.
Above all, Bubba was a friend. A friend to me, to my family, to all of you who loved him. He loved us back, and his faults are washed clean by his Savior. I’d like to share a thought Bubba wrote just a few months ago, about the word Godspeed. God invented light; God moves faster than light. God moves at the speed of love. We will miss you, dear friend; Godspeed. And we know that since your arrival…heaven will never be the same.
Oh happy day! Tomorrow, one of my dearest friends is getting married. No, not a daughter or granddaughter of a friend, but Charlotte herself. I am filled with joy for her and Paul, and I am not alone in this feeling; everyone in their circle(s) feels the same.
This isn’t a first marriage for either of them. It’s one of those wonderful love stories, where two people who’d been married in the past (and weren’t even looking for a relationship) wound up falling in love. They grew close while working together for their church. While you’d think a “second marriage” would be small and quiet, I doubt if there will be a spare seat (or a dry eye) tomorrow in the First Methodist Church, and I wonder if the walls will be able to hold that much love and joy. We all want to share this happiness with them, and wish them well in this sacred space.
Charlotte asked me to sing, and of course I agreed. It’s a gift that I can give, and I am honored and happy to do something for this sacred day. I’m not alone – friends Cathy and Kerry have made magnificent new curtains and sheers for the Fellowship Hall (where the reception will be). Kerry will be playing the organ for the service. Other friends created and furnished invitations. Everyone wants to do something for the happy couple (in addition to squealing with delight and jumping up and down, which is what I did when Charlotte told me the happy news)!
We’re always happy for couples that wed, but there’s something extra special about this kind of situation. It’s unexpected, and it reminds us that God can surprise us with love in the most unexpected ways. But isn’t that a God-thing? Whether a marriage, or a new friend, or a kindness done by a stranger, or the companionship of a pet, God slips love into our lives when we least expect it. It makes me wonder if we don’t often tend to guard our hearts, and it takes the surprise element for God to kind of whack us on the head (figuratively speaking, of course) and say “HEY! Don’t forget – I love you!! And there ARE good things in this world! See???”
The love between Charlotte and Paul is a magical web that is drawing in all of their family and friends, blessing all of us. It’s a God-thing, for everyone who will let themselves be touched by it. In writing about it, I hope that it touches you in some way, whether you know the happy couple or not.
I’m glad I’ll be singing tomorrow, because for me, it’s a way to “cut lose” with some joy. Sometimes I feel so much love and joy I just can’t shut up. So once again, I am reminded of words from one of my favorite hymns:
Since Love is Lord o’er heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?
Best wishes, Charlotte and Paul, for many joyful years to come. We love y’all!
Last week, someone sent me an article with the shocking title “Church of England considers abandoning Christianity.” Well, the CoE has done some wacky things, but this?
I ignored the sensationalist headline and read the article. There is upset that the CoE wants to use more “gender neutral” pronouns. This, the author says, goes against Jesus’ teachings, as He referred to God as “Father.”
I’m a bit wrung out with pronoun quibbling these days, so please forgive me for rolling my eyes a bit.
I can understand where the author is coming from. I also think there is a lot of energy going into something that is….well (IMHO), a bit petty. (Now, if you want to talk about some of the other things the CoE has focused on recently, go right ahead!! But this post will focus on the pronoun discussion. God’s pronouns, that is.)
I’ve never had a problem referring to God as “He.” (I also don’t freak out if you refer to God as “She…” and please bear with me before you scream “heretic!”) I don’t have a problem (at least not yet!) with so-called gender neutral language as long as it doesn’t get cumbersome. To me, “God” doesn’t imply gender one way or the other.
In my mind, to assign a pronoun to God is to attempt to humanize that which cannot be humanized. And it’s natural for us to do that, for how else are we going to wrap our simple brains around the idea of God?
“But Jesus called God his Father!” Yes, and how can we possibly argue with that? Of COURSE God is our Father! God is also our Mother. God is much, much more than we can imagine. And isn’t that glorious?
Jesus alone intimately knew the nature of God, and – I would suspect – realized that our feeble human brains could NOT possibly comprehend this nature. “Abba” summed it up. So did Father. (I wonder how the audience would have responded to Mother)
I also wonder about the response if Jesus had said “Father and Mother.”
Although…perhaps his listeners would have gotten that. They would have been familiar with this creation story in Genesis:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
I’ve often encountered the supposition that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, feminine in nature. One could say that to categorize aspects of God as “male” and / or “female” is simplification. It is, but our human brains need simplification. And we naturally understand the aspects of male and female.
When you get down to it, we can’t fully know the mind of Jesus; but we can follow Him and study God’s word. While we can never (in this life, anyway) fully understand the whole nature of God, we can know that God is both Father and Mother, Creator and Birther, Redeemer and Comforter, a Glorious Mystery. We believe in the Trinity, and know that God is all of these and so much more. I really don’t think God will be offended if someone uses a wrong pronoun. Those pronouns are for our comfort. Remember: God often calls us to step out of our comfort zones.
This is just my opinion, but…to sum up God with a pronoun is like putting limits on what is Limitless, Eternal, and Beyond all Knowing.
Y’all keep on quibbling about pronouns, I’ll just continue to work on my relationship with God and pray for this broken world.
This is the message of the movie Sound of Freedom, which was released on July 4. Although I rarely go to the movie theater, I went yesterday afternoon with a group of friends to see it.
Sound of Freedom is based on a true story and on real people. The main character, Tim Ballard, is a Homeland Security agent who winds up rescuing a group of children who have been trafficked – no, let’s just say what it is: Sold into slavery. “Trafficked,” while certainly accurate (and useful as a broad term), is a bit too vague for what really happens. Slavery is more accurate; the selling of the body and soul of a human being, whether for labor or sex.
I’m not writing a movie review here, but I will say that the film was extremely moving and incredibly well done. The difficult parts (what am I saying? The whole movie is difficult) are handled in a sensitive manner – no children were exploited in the filming. The casting is amazing. Having a decent bit of acting under my belt, I can say that I stand grateful to and deeply impressed by the actors who were cast as the most vile and heinous of villains. They were horribly, dreadfully believable , and brought home the fact that yes, scum like this exists.
And that’s why it’s important to see the movie. It becomes impossible to ignore the fact that there are millions of people (and many of them children) being bought and sold throughout the world.
Shockingly, the movie has met with some controversy. I’m astonished at the online articles that approach the movie with a “yes – but” attitude. There is the token requisite “of course, child sex slavery is bad” followed by the “BUT….” It isn’t entirely accurate! Gasp! It didn’t happen exactly that way! And someone associated with the movie has read “QAnon!” Conspiracy theorists! Misinformation!! In real life, Tim Ballard’s daring mission was funded by Glenn Beck. Right wing extremist!! “Dangerous conspiracy theory!” “Cultural war battleground!”
Ah. OK, so if a movie takes some creative license and doesn’t stick exactly to all the facts, it’s bad. And if I don’t like something that one of the filmmakers or actors believes, the movie should be condemned. Right. (Darn, I was really looking forward to another Tom Cruise action flick….)
Really, Satan, is that the best you can do to attempt to discredit this?
And why in the world is this even becoming politicized? Do you really mean that we can’t all agree that exploiting and selling children as sex slaves is EVIL? Seriously?? Critics point out that “most children trafficked aren’t taken this way.” Does it matter how they wind up being bought, sold and used? (Perhaps one of the reasons for the politicization is that open borders do carry an increased likelihood of trafficking of all kinds. Hmmmmm, maybe we should look at that?) The tragic fact is that there are more enslaved humans today than ever before.
Sound of Freedom has made $125 million (so far) at the box office. This indie movie – with a measly budget of $14.5 million and a limited number of theaters – has used the power and artistry of the big screen to move and inform audiences in a deep and profound way. Yes, it’s a hard subject. Yes, it will hit you in the gut. Yes, you might cry.
A friend made the observation yesterday that we all want the same thing: To live as we wish, and to be secure in our homes and to rear our children as we see fit. The only disagreement is “how do we get there?”
There was a time (not that long ago) that I would have agreed with him. Now, I’m not so sure.
I’m constantly hearing that someone else knows what’s best. “Trust the science.”
“It takes a village.” “Think globally, act locally.” “We’re all in this together.”
Heck, I’ve said all of that (and more) at one time or another. But now I’m starting to see these catchphrases as…feel-good fluff.
I don’t think that we “all want” to be able to live our lives, worship God, and rear our children in peace, according to our values. Sure, many of us do, and I would hope that it’s the majority. But if you can see what’s going on in the world, consider this: There are those who want to destroy this vision entirely, and they hide behind nice-sounding phrases.
These phrases include “gender affirming care at all ages.” (Nice speak for irreversible, destructive hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery – i. e. mutilation.)
How about “minor attracted person?” (That one’s simple: Pedophile.)
Then, there’s “body autonomy.” (Note: refers only to abortion, but not to making other health decisions.)
“We want to do the right thing.”
Yes, we do. The question is: Who’s your authority for the right thing?
Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he wrote these words from God about you: These people honor me with their words, but I am not really important to them.Their worship of me is worthless. The things they teach are only human rules.’ You have stopped following God’s commands, preferring instead the man-made rules you got from others.” Mark 7:6-8
Watch out for those nice sounding phrases, and give them some deep thought before using them.
I was listening to early morning talk radio when a caller made me say “yes. Thank you for reminding us all.” The topic was the Great Question of Why is the World and the Country Going the Way it Is and What Can We Do? His response was something I’ve written about before.
We can be kind. Really, truly kind. We can be Christlike. We can show love.
Sadly, an oft-repeated response to this attitude is “thoughts and prayers are useless! It’s not that simple. Pollyanna! We need ACTION! We need new laws! We need a revolution! We need…” something.
We need God.
Really, truly, that’s all we need.
We need God because we are humans, and are broken, imperfect beings. Our society used to recognize this. The problem is that we no longer do. Everywhere we look, we are being told that the world is filled with victims, and “it’s not their fault.” We are told that we deserve XYZ. We’re told that entry level and part time positions deserve a “living wage.” We’re told it’s OK for some to do all the work and others to do none. For some, nothing is their fault; for others, it seems like everything is their fault! We’re told we can be “part of the problem, or part of the solution.”
And then we’re told – by someone or a multitude of someones – how we should fix it. We need to support X, agree with Y, take a class, put a sticker on our car and stand in solidarity with the Thing Of The Week!
Frankly, it’s exhausting.
Whatever happened to simple kindness? Whatever happened to treating people as you’d like to be treated?
Whatever happened to loving our Creator with whole heart, soul and being, and loving our neighbors as ourselves? Sounds overly simple? Are you thinking of “well, I do that, but as for these OTHER PEOPLE….” You’re missing the point.
None of us can change the world…yet we ALL can change the world.
See God in every person you encounter, for God is there. (I know, sometimes God is hard to see in certain people!!) It’s difficult; we are often stressed and rushed. But if we take the attitude that “these other people will NEVER do that!” then we’ve already lost.
Is there so much going on in our minds, in our lives, and on that blasted phone that we don’t have God present in every breath?
If we did, we might pass on that spark of peace to someone else, and you never know what effect that will have.
All any of us can “control” is ourselves – and that’s hard enough. We are misguided when we think that just one more regulation, one more law, one more company or organization, one more control, one more governmental program, more money, a bigger budget, etc. etc. etc. will make things better. These are lies and false promises, and I’m not being political here – this is spiritual warfare. “Good vs. evil” may be trite, so think of it as “God focused living” vs. “Hate focused living” if you like.
It’s not always easy. We can be going along peaceably, being kind, and then the customer non-service representative with some company sends us into a meltdown (I’m guilty). We can be accosted by a neighbor demanding we sign a petition / trim a tree branch / get rid of the dog. We can tune into media and be blamed for something we have no idea what they’re even talking about….
This is where we really need God. I can’t do much of anything about those situations – except try to inject some love and Christlike action into the situation. Will it change things? You never know. Maybe one time in a hundred it will…but that’s a start.
Actually, she’s spoiled rotten. But I’m still going to arrange my schedule tomorrow to bring her to church for the Blessing of the Pets, because hey, it’s that time of year!
Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, known to most as Christians’ favorite garden statuary (with the possible exception of a statue of the Blessed Mother appearing in most Catholic yards) and as the guy who wrote that prayer about “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
Interestingly, there’s no evidence that he wrote that prayer. But he did write the Canticle of the Sun, a lovely prayer / song praising God through the gifts of nature, such as Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Nature.
I’m not going to go into Francis’ background here – there’s plenty of information on the internet and beyond. What resonates with me about St. Francis is that he saw God’s presence in all of creation and lived that way. He came from a wealthy background, saw the futility of it, turned to a simple life and found peace there. He even preached to the birds.
I don’t spend a lot of time on social media, but I do enjoy Quora. There, people ask various questions… and any member may answer. Some answers get upvoted and viewed a lot. One this morning asked the question “Where do dogs go when they have passed? Do they go to heaven?”
Someone answered with a story about the heartbreaking loss of their dog Scooby – and then a few days later receiving an email from someone who knew him and his dog but was unaware that Scooby had died. Out of the blue, the writer felt compelled to share a dream she’d just had about Scooby that sent a clear message: “I’m ok, can you let them know?” – along with a certain toy and setting that she was unaware of but that the writer of the post recognized immediately.
I shared that post with a few pet lovers. We all agreed that it wouldn’t be heaven without our pets. After all, they give us unconditional love here on earth. We are blessed to have these loving, amazing creatures.
I hope I can manage to get home in time to get my SweetGirl off to church. She really doesn’t need a blessing, especially as she IS one…but it’s a nice way to honor what St. Francis saw hundreds of years ago – God’s hand in all aspects of God’s creation.
a samaritan woman 