Nouwen: Choosing LIfe

Nouwen: choosing life

“The most important question is not "Do I kill?" but "Do I carry a blessing in my heart or a curse?" The bullet that kills is only the final instrument of the hatred that began being nurtured in the heart long before the gun was picked up.”  Henri Nouwen Daily Meditation, Choosing Life, Henri Nouwen Society, August 30, 2018, from Bread for the Journey HarperSanFrancisco 1997.

Remi Walle unsplash

Nouwen reminds us that at the root of most of the factions and killings is a life or events where love left a person’s heart. Those involved in shootings often no longer feel  or perceive love. Sometimes the love is present but because of mental illness they cannot perceive it. Sometimes living in a culture of violence  takes that love away. Sometimes poverty may lead to a loveless life. There are so many factors. Our ministry in the outside world is where ever we are where ever we go to bring love to the people we encounter. This may not be easy, but we do not have a choice if we care about the world we leave for our children and grandchildren. How we treat, how we greet people on the street, at the grocery store, at the gas station, at the food pantry could prevent one act of violence by giving that person a hint that they are loved and valuable.

How do we keep love in our own hearts to share? There are a multitude of ways. We know that love is something that only multiplies if it is given away.

 All of the spiritual exercises and disciplines have been developed over centuries by people trying to connect us to the God of love.

 How do  we keep the God of our understanding as the God of love rather than the angry or wrathful God that some have been led to believe in? My experience is when we stay grateful, when we live a life of gratitude, when we keep realizing what gifts we have been given and how we are cared for even in the most difficult times, love stays with us. For Christians it is the light of Christ living in our hearts.

It also helps to be around others who are sharing love, others where we can so easily see the love, the light of Christ in their hearts. Love is contagious.

Joanna.  Joannaseibert.com   

Charleston:Trees

Trees

“My great grandfather told me this long ago and I never forgot it: trees are the keepers of secrets. The Creator gave them this honor because they are infinitely patient and trustworthy. So if you have a burden on your heart, something that has bothered you for a long time, something you wish you could finally let go, then take it to the tree. You will know the right one when you see it. It will be an old tree with many branches. Go stand beneath it and tell your story. Then when you walk away what you have said will stay there, in the safe-keeping of the old tree, and you will be burdened by it no more.” Bishop Steven Charleston, Facebook page, September 1, 2018

My grandfather and my father introduced me as well to the spirituality of trees. My grandfather took me on nature weeks each week along the Mattaponi River and its marshlands on his farm. My father was a forester and planted millions of trees. I still grieve to see trees cut down.  I often like to imagine what secrets old trees have as I briefly touch them passing by them on visits to others and their homes and businesses.

All of my children spend much more time outdoors than I do. I don’t remember teaching them this. Maybe in some way possibly through genetics my grandfather whom they never knew and my father whom they barely knew taught them. This may not be true, but I will still treasure this in my imagination.

I do know that we meet God in the outdoors so much easier than in most indoor places. Sitting and standing by trees changes the tension in our bodies. Our minds slow down to a slightly lower speed. We are grounded to the earth. We begin to live in the present moment, and we meet the God of our understanding in that present moment. We do not obsess about the past. We may remember our mistakes, but have the desire to move on, trying to learn from them. We surrender to the moment and for a few seconds stop worrying about the future. For a brief moment we become the person God created us to be.

We know from biology class that trees save our lives by changing our carbon dioxide waste into life giving oxygen for us to breathe again. Trees also save our lives mentally and spiritually by being a constant reminder of a God who has provided for us beauty beyond our imagination.

Outside my window is a canopy of trees that have become like old friends. The sun is almost up. I will wait  until sunrise and look out so I can see them in all their glory before beginning this day.

 I give thanks for all who have led me outdoors to the trees. Perhaps I can do the same today for someone else.

Joanna.   Joannaseibert.com

John McCain

John McCain

“But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,

and no torment will ever touch them.

In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,

and their departure was thought to be a disaster,

and their going from us to be their destruction;

but they are at peace.

For though in the sight of others they were punished,

their hope is full of immortality.

Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,

because God tested them and found them worthy of himself.

Those who trust in him will understand truth,

and the faithful will abide with him in love,

because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,

and he watches over his elect.” Wisdom 3:1-5, 9.

WBUR. Meghan McCain at National Cathedral

Like many Americans I have spent the last several days watching memorials to Senator John McCain. In particular, I watched the service at the National Cathedral all Saturday morning. I became awed with that Cathedral  almost thirty years ago when our friends Joanne and Allan Meadors introduced us to it through the National Cathedral Association, and we were hooked. For twenty years we visited it at least twice a year, often staying at the College of Preachers on its grounds. I am still reeling from this memorable service on Saturday morning at such a familiar sacred space. 

Former Senator Kelly Ayotte read these favorite words from holy scripture recommended for the burial office from the Book of Wisdom.

 What a tribute that a man can so inspire us so much in his death by how he lived and even how he planned his burial service.  I can barely talk about it, much less write about it.  I  like most of you stayed in tears at most of Meghan McCain’s  tribute to her father. This is a real sign of greatness when a man so involved in politics can be so cared for and loved by  his children. 

The entire service was inspiring, a remembrance of an icon of someone who made mistakes and owned up to them, who dared to cross the aisle at the senate to listen to others of another party, who learned to speak his own truth and face the consequences.  Many believe that he was molded by his five years of captivity.  Most of us cannot imagine what that was like. McCain is a role model for us of someone who turned his trials into gold.

I see many lives in captivity, not the way McCain was, but caught in the captivity of an addiction. I also see daily ordinary men and women who have learned from and come out of that life into what Christians would call a life of resurrection, a new life beyond anything they dreamed. Many who knew them in the past can no longer recognize them physically, mentally, or spiritually.

John McCain’s service was a service of resurrection, a reminder for all of us that there is another way to live and we can begin that journey before death.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com