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-d@le
|Mood: coffee with cream
|12.03.08 10:40 am
|
CHRISTUS VICTOR!
I tattoo theological concepts onto my body (i know, here come the jokes)
I have an anchor on my right shoulder based on Hebrews 6:19
A sacred heart on my left and on my left fore arm is "Christus Victor"
It's an idea coined in Gustave Aulen's book by the same name.
He refers to Christus Victor as the primary view of Christ during the first thousand years of the church.
I had ordered Aulen's "Christus Victor" just a few weeks back and was reading it last week during the holiday break.
Yep, it's deep but well worth the effort (one of those books you have to read at least 3 times)
The character of Christ is like a diamond with many sides and angles to look at. At the core of the book Aulen is bringing out a side we may not be quite as familiar with, though would agree that it is very
much the nature of Christ.
Most of us are familiar with the beauty of Christ as the suffering servant, the ransom for our sins, full of humility and humbleness. It's beautiful, and this is what we may have primarily heard taught.
But Christ is not so simply explained and just as the diamond has many facets ~ even more so does the Christ of the universe. Different periods of time have emphasized different attributes of Christ.
In Christus Victor we see another one of these facets; That of a a strong, victorious, conquering messiah who has spoiled the strong man's house, bound the strong man, and taken away from the strong man his spoils of war (namely me and you)
As St John Chrysostom said in his Easter Sermon:
Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth, and encountered
Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?
Christ is Risen, and you, O death, are annihilated! Christ is Risen,
and the evil ones are cast down! Christ is Risen, and the angels
rejoice! Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Chrysostom states it plainly;
Christ began overthrowing hell 2000 years ago (thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven)
When He returns he will bring this to completion.
In the mean time we work for the kingdom, and pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven" till he returns.
Christ Victorious!
May the Lord give you peace!
Friar Dale Hall, CJ
Associate Pastor
The Vineyard of Chattanooga
&
Director of Franciscan Vocations
The Company of Jesus
-d@le
|Mood: hot chocolate
|12.01.08 4:11 pm
|
My favorite verse in "O Holy Night"
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
This harkens to a kingdom coming where slavery is at an end,
a time when there will be no human trafficking, and where God's justice reigns.
We pray and work for this now, until he comes.
-d@le
|Mood: egg-nogg
|11.21.08 10:04 pm
|Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.
-Mother Teresa
Now this is turning my american/capitalistic point of view on it's ear. Often we think a money-bomb will fix everything
(& money does help take care of a lot of things)
But perhaps money is the wrong starting place, do you wait till you have money or do you start serving and caring first- without money if necessary...and go from there...?
-d@le
|Mood: lemon tea
|11.09.08 8:36 pm
|
People might have confused me for some long haired homeless vagabond standing at the lectern of Burks United Methodist Church today if it hadn't been for the large power-point slide overhead which said "Reverend Dale Hall ~ The Vineyard Church of Chattanooga". (how funny) I had some very sweet older ladies come make complimentary comments about my tattoos, I graciously accepted, it was surreal for me as well as them no doubt.
It was a 10 year celebration of the Interfaith program, a homeless shelter that goes from church to church one week at a time. When I first heard of Interfaith I was running a shelter program at another social service agency in Chattanooga, unfortunately turning homeless families away at times because we were so overwhelmed with need. So I was glad to hear of Interfaith, it's a great program. Our church has supported Interfaith for years hosting families and giving special love offerings on Christmas Eve. I also sat on the board of Interfaith for a couple of years.
They'd asked me to read a scripture for the celebration, Matthew chapter 25 about giving food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, and so on. The irony is that this was also the scripture I'd chosen for the message at the Vineyard this Sunday too. It was a nice celebration and reception.
At the reception I had the opportunity to chat with alot of people, even the mayor of Chattanooga- Ron Littlefield. I'm not much of a hob-nobber and seldom find myself in a room with important people or political types, but it was a bit of a privilege to spend a few minutes chatting about something we both are passionate about ~standing in solidarity with our citizens in need, especially the homless families and children of Chattanooga.
-d@le
|Mood: coffee & cream
|11.07.08 3:43 pm
|
pray, hope, wide awake...
-d@leus
|Mood: Arabica
|10.16.08 1:52 pm
|
Christus Victor was the most dominant view of Christ's person and mission for the first thousand years of the church.
Later St. Anselm focused more on the substitutional death of Christ which still is the predominant reference in our theology today about Christ. It is valid but rediscovering the view of the early church, the church fathers, and the first thousand years of church history can really speak to us today.
In fact, rediscovering Christ as Christus Victor is rediscovering that what we call "kingdom theology" actually has an ancient reference and connection in "Christus Victor". A victorious Christ, unstoppable in justice, grace and beauty.
Read some of Psalms 45 here:
2You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!
4In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
5Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
Though this is written for a "king", as scripture it takes on being written for "The King" -the King of Kings to be exact. And what a beautiful description of Christ-
Graceful, strong over wickedness and darkness, a scepter of justice and uprightness, beauty...
I read this psalm this morning and was inspired by it's wording
-d@le
|Mood: coffee & chickory
|09.30.08 5:46 pm
|A financial crisis is upon us...
When I was at the monastery, while I was in the church praying or just being still and quiet, the phrase "consider my servant Ezekiel" came to my mind. I'd taught through Ezekiel about 10 years ago, so I grabbed my bible & went there.
Ezekiel was a non-conformist, many in his day thought he was plain crazy. He lay naked in the street for months, he played army men in the dirt acting out the coming siege and fall of Jerusalem, while in exile God told him to pack his bags as if he were leaving town (he was in a prison camp at the time) no doubt people watched him & said "Where the heck does he think he's going?" "...crazy, uh-huh..."
He saw visions people couldn't believe and he was sent to a hard headed, obstinant, proud people.
As I drove back home from Conyers I stopped at 4 different exits trying to find gas. The hurricane has made gas scarce, but ethanol has made food scarce, and third world countries have had riots over shortages of rice. I was reminded of Ezekiel chapter 4 where food and commodities were being rationed, some people in the world can't find food, and here I can't find gas. Nothing quite like this has ever happened before- Odd. Strange days indeed.
Something has changed, something has changed and we can never go back to the way things were before.
Chapter 6 Ezekiel talks about the idols of Israel, golden idols, idols made of gold, gold...
Chapter 7 verse 19 says
"They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the LORD's wrath."
Gold is the idol of Wall Street, the idol the United States bows down before. But this idol has just been destroyed, it is a false God. It will not be able to save on the day of wrath.
We are frantic seeking to pass or oppose a bill in congress trying to bail out the economy. For or against- you probably have an opinion of Wall St. & Congress. Some of the current event sites I read were talking months ago about an economic crisis in September 2008, others said we won't fully see the crisis in full force till February 2009. Now that September is here I have a little less scepticism towards these sites, I now cautiously await next February. The idol cannot save, it has been destroyed.
I am not a doom and gloomer, but I think things have changed. We have to change with it- and stop putting our trust in anything else but the Lord, to do otherwise is foolish. The idol cannot save, it has been destroyed. The beginning of wisdom is to respect the Lord as God. Things have changed and we can never go back to the way things were before. But if that means being on a right and true path, then isn't that a good thing?
"With stammering lips and an unknown tongue will he instruct his people." was another phrase that popped in my mind at the church of the monastery...but that's another post.
Love it, hate it. Agree or disagree ...
These were my thoughts from a visit to the monastery.
-d@1e
|Mood: columbian
|09.07.08 3:35 pm
|
St. Bonaventure writes in the book Major Life of St. Francis, about an incident when Francis is coming down from a retreat at Mount Alvernia after just having received the stigmata, (the wounds of Christ in his hands, feet, and side) He was so weak that he had to be carried by the friars, as he proclaimed the message:
"Let us begin again to serve the Lord, for up until now we have done hardly anything."
Like Nicodemas coming to see Jesus, like the call to repent and return -and to return to one's first love in Revelations, we find ourselves with this challenge and encouragement.
Not to live on the successes of yesterday, nor to be hindered by yesterdays failures; simply a call "Let us begin again..."
Kind of like Paul, leaving behind everything else to apprehend what we've been apprehended for.
-d@le
|Mood: casi celio coffee
|08.20.08 3:12 pm
|Maintaining the status quo is boring, in fact it's death.
What has God made you for, what is your reason for living? What's the dream? Jonathan Foreman of the band switchfoot put it this way:
"This ain't my American dream, I want to live and die for bigger things"...
The Apostle Paul said " give generously, teach well, serve, be kind" whatever your gift is, whatever your reason for living, do it fully, do it well!
Saint Francis was once repelled by beggers, hauntingly so. But after conversion, after finding his reason to live, he was so filled with compassion that he served and took care of lepers, even kissing the leper's hand.
I don't want to live and die for the status quo, I want to live and die for bigger things...
-d@1e
|Mood: columbian
|07.15.08 9:23 am
|I've found within me a renewed desire for prayer, and particularly, reading scripture. I've been in the psalms for a couple of years now, and I love them. I retreated to the psalms for a time, particularly falling in love with them and their place within fixed hours of prayer- or the daily office.
But just recently have I felt a new desire to return to the rest of scripture.
last night I read some of Job and have taken his words as a prayer to keep in memory:
I know that my redeemer lives
and on the last day
HE will stand upon the earth
Though my skin be destroyed
yet in my flesh I will see God
I myself will see Him with my own eyes
I and not another
How my heart yearns within me!
This is the prayer of man understanding his own mortality,
This is my prayer, or at least one of them...
-d@le
|Mood: decaf
|06.22.08 10:43 pm
|
I have been keeping the Divine Hours for going on three years now. Also known as the Daily Office of prayer, this has revolutionized my prayer life and I keep falling in love with "the hours" continually.
Deep strength comes from prayer and from connecting with God, Augustine said "Prayer is the souls breathing"...
-d@le
|Mood: columbian with cream
|05.12.08 1:42 pm
|
Merton writes on Conversion of Life ~ conversatio morum
It is concerned simply with the heart of the monastic vocation (or Christian life) to prayer and penance, to liberty of spirit, to freedom from vain preoccupation...In St. Benedict's mind it is simply a formal commitment to live unto death as a fervent monk...
...It is in this life that (we) can devote (ourselves)... to the labor obedientiae and will therefore more quickly and surely divest himself of his own will in order to follow Christ and become like Christ in His passion, so as to share His glory. The characteristic of the false monk (outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict)...is rooted in their own will.
St. Francis, along with St. Benedict encourages us to live out our vocation daily, to pick up the cross daily, and to lay our own will down daily. This seems so hard for us in the 21st century, especially in our individualistic society. But I will say it cannot be any harder today than in any other age, in times past they no doubt struggled as much as we do for place, position, importance, or at least to bristle against others when they do the same.
But Merton also quotes St. Ephrem in this chapter giving us great insight :
He who desires to please the Lord and to become a son of the Lord must above all get rid of anger and firmly hold on to patience and silence...In tribulation...need...sickness and conflict...struggle with evil spirits...insults from other men...in all these things he must...rejoice, and love, and exult, and be fervent with zeal...and approach Him with perfect conduct.
OH how hard! maybe you find yourself where you know more about the job than your boss- yet you have to find peace in the circumstance, or perhaps someone is arrogant towards you -do you respond in kind? (or perhaps with a little passive aggression?) Maybe the younger treats the older with disdain and "uncoolness" how does the older respond? Can we control another's will or impose our own?
But we are called, as a third order, to model something different than what the world models. We are not to be rooted in our own will ~ but the will of the Father. To divest ourselves of our will in order to follow Christ and to do HIS will. Therefore we can't hold anger against those around us who are inconsiderate, disrespectful, or self serving. We are called to firmly hold our patience and silence and peace in all circumstances; tribulations, needs, sickness, conflict, struggles, insults...and to reflect the image of Christ with joy, love, and zeal, not holding others sins against them...
We have been forgiven, we should forgive-
We have been loved, we should love.
May the Lord give you His grace for conversatio morum
May the Lord give you peace!
Friar Dale Hall, CJ
Director of Franciscan Vocations
The Company of Jesus
-d@le
|Mood: columbian
|05.05.08 1:08 pm
|
Just a short thought from Merton's The Monastic Journey:
"...for St. Benedict both action and contemplation are necessary in the monastic life. Both go together. As St. Bernard says, "Mary and Martha are sisters and they must live together in peace in the same house"."
Merton later contrasts the mistakes young monastics make upon entering the monastery. He says to he who expects to only retire to a life of contemplation upon entering the monastery is in for a rude awakening, and that life- even in a monastery is full of laborious activity.
The apostle James encourages us towards faith and works , knowing that a life too fully given to one or the other is not the idea Jesus set forth in the gospels. For me, I can see John chapter 15 in clarity here. there is a need to be connected to the vine (contemplation) in order to produce (action) the fruit. Jesus explains the need to produce fruit for the kingdom and promises us the ability to do so only through connection with Him.
You, probably like me are a little more one or the other, either a Mary or a Martha.
I'm a bit more of a Mary, which is great unless there is a task to be accomplished. I can sit in my church for a solid hour in silence easily, but I have learned to make myself work a bit to get necessary things done, I hate paperwork or solitary tasks, I love counseling and praying with people, meeting people, chatting, etc... -then back to the contemplation.
As monastics, and as an order, and simply as followers of Christ- we are called to a life of action and contemplation. St. Francis lived in the world and ministered continuously, St. Benedict obviously gave us the challenge to "work and pray".
May the Lord give you strength to do both!
-d@le
|Mood: kenyan
|04.27.08 4:14 pm
|
On the Divine Office of daily prayer Merton says:
"In the Psalms we are constantly contemplating, in mystery, the great reality of our redemption in Christ. We are thanking God for that redemption, we are pleading for the whole Church, and for those who do not know God. We are begging God to forgive sin, and to save those who are immersed in the darkness of sin. We are begging that we may all come to the vision of His glory, and that Christ may be glorified in us.
More than that, we come to realize that it is Jesus Himself, praying in us, Who continues, in our Divine Office, His work of redeeming the world."
It is amazing to me that God gives us this opportunity to partner with Him this way, that He would use us, use our prayers, and in doing so continue His work of redeeming the world.
Therefore we are challenged to pray for those who may seem or feel far away from Him, as agents of the grace of God.
-d@le
|Mood: black coffee
|04.16.08 2:36 pm
|
Here's some Thomas Merton-
"The monk, a man of prayer, must learn that through his prayers, through the blessing that is spread abroad by the presence of a monastery (or faith community) the world is sanctified and brought close to God. He must rejoice in the fact that by his hidden union with Christ he enables all things to come closer to their last end, and to give glory to their creator.
The monk must see the monastic community as Christ, living visible and present in the midst of His creation, and blessing ..all the surrounding country and all the things which the monks touch and use leading all things to unite with us in praising God...The material things which surround us are holy because of our bodies, which are sancified by our souls, which are sanctified by the presence of the indwelling word" (Merton references St Bernard's sermons on the dedication of a church here)
Truly we are to be his hands and feet - the representation of the body of Christ in our world today, the church is to be the salt of the world, our prayers are to bring the world closer to God - somehow...
The idea of sacred and holy isn't that odd when we look at celebrity culture today. Look no further than Graceland or a guitar played by Elvis, or Johnny Cash and you get the idea. We say "wow". I was at Wheaton College a couple of years back and went to the CS Lewis Center there where they have Lewis' writing desk, some personal effects, and one of his pipes. I was somewhat in awe, & wished I could smoke that pipe.
But as Merton speaks of "all the things which the monks touch and use leading all things to unite with praising God" being "holy", I feel this is best portrayed by a musical instrument that was used to lead people into song and worship, or a canvas or paintbrush used to create a work of art...but it's not limited to that, it extends to the shovel used to create a meditation garden or mabe that old pot or pan that served up such hospitality to so many.
In the old testament Temple there were vessels specifically used in the temple, yet even the old bucket used to haul water had a "holiness" attached to it because it was used in service to God by a servant of God, and therefore sanctified and holy too somehow in some small way.
May God through our prayers and service bring the world closer to himself,
May we each and as a community be sanctified by him, to him, & for him in all that we do.
-d@le
|Mood: decaf with soy
|04.13.08 10:26 pm
|
The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy-the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of other men. A weird life it is to be living always in somebody else's imagination, as if that were the only place in which one could become real.
-Thomas Merton
-d@le
|Mood: black-out of cream
|03.17.08 10:54 am
|
Praying With St. Patrick:
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.
-d@le
|Mood: plain coffee
|03.01.08 2:30 pm
|
For us and for our salvation Christ came down from heaven and became a man,
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
The prophet Isaiah saw many visions of Jesus’ passion and suffering-
Here’s what Isaiah records in chapter 50
The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom,
so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
and opens my understanding to his will.
Here we see Christ gentle, loving, encouraging the weary, & desiring to do the will of the Father.
The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me,
and I have listened.
I have not rebelled or turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat me
and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.
I did not hide my face
from mockery and spitting.
Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a flint,
determined to do his will.
And I know that I will not be put to shame.
-Isaiah 50:4-7
He was not rebellious
He came to do what had to be done, they beat him, pulled out his beard, spit in his face, mocked and slapped and punched and whipped him.
And he took it, he took every last injury, every last punch, he took all the fury hell and man could give, determined to do it for us because it was the will of the Father.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried
How is it that He had this much love for us and we have so little humility or love for others. We think we’re right all the time, we get offended at others who don’t see things our way, we get hurt, we get upset, we never say we’re sorry, we never take the wrong, and we poorly reflect Christ.
He wants more, he wants more of me & you, he wants more of your heart, he wants you to be more like him; to comfort the weary, to listen for Father God, to determine to do His will with love and humbleness towards others, to truly be His disciple, to follow Him...
-d@le
|Mood: need to detox
|02.24.08 9:52 pm
|
Global Warming & Media- Its Not Easy Being Green
I'm concerned;
I find myself backed into an either/or corner. You either totally take that global warming is a man made disaster or you don't. But their are concerns at least as big that neither side is addressing and Global Warming has become a myopic debate...
What we're not talking about is the level of pollution on earth, the poisoning of our waters by pesticides and herbicides, the fact that we aren't suppose to eat fish from rivers and streams because of mercury or other pollution.
We're not talking about extinction of species because of loss of habitats, mutations of species because of poisons, coastal crisis, depopulations of fish and other wildlife.
Blind eyes do not want to see...
-d@le
|Mood: Sumatran
|02.22.08 10:36 pm
|
The Church is Turning Green
The church traditionally has been close to the earth for centuries,
How is it, however, that the church lost it's way during the industrial age, and the scientific age, & into the modern age?
These ages did not deliver what they promised, in fact -just the opposite. All we're left with is the problems we've created and a few modern conveniences...
The church however is beginning to find a part of it's soul once again, the garden -the earth was given to us to tend, to keep, to enjoy. And in doing so we connect with one of our most ancient callings.
God looked out on His creation and called it "good". Indeed, it is...and beautiful, and lovely, and fully alive.
I'm going to a conference on the environment tomorrow, & The Vineyard is formulating what we can do as a community of faith to keep and enjoy God's green earth. It seems so right, it seems so natural.
-d@le
|Mood: iced decaf
|02.06.08 10:25 pm
|
Sometimes haunted
I am a leper
rotting
dying
decay
O death...
it is dark
cold
lonely
condemning
is all lost?
is there light?
a hope
a chance
forgiveness
healing for a leper?
He says
come to me as you are,
I don't even have my whole self
to give
I am incomplete
Where else can I go?
There is only One
Hope
-d@le
|Mood: decaf hazelnut-cinnamon
|02.04.08 2:27 pm
|
O Lord, who has mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of Your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore You,
a heart to delight in You,
to follow and enjoy You,
for Christ's sake,
Amen
--St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)
-d@le
|Mood: cinnamon hazelnut
|01.20.08 2:54 pm
|
A Prayer for the Sanctity of Life
Heavenly Holy Father
all human life is sacred
created in your image and likeness.
human life is precious
because it is your gift-
your love is infinite.
We ask for your forgiveness
Where we have not treated life as sacred
We pray for the unborn babies
Life is precious
We pray for mothers
Who feel trapped by circumstance and Chaos
Send people to love them, support them,
& to be Christ to them in a difficult time
(May we be those people)
Not to condemn but to love
Heal the wounds Lord
Help us to do the right thing
Show us the way
Let your love be victorious
And let it light the path
For change
D. Hall January 19, 2008
-d@le
|Mood: hazelnut
|01.17.08 9:58 pm
|
John Chrysostom 4th century
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death,
for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
-d@le
|Mood: coffee & cream
|01.10.08 9:47 am
|
How can churches positively effect our environment:
Our first meeting on the environment at The Vineyard of Chattanooga went well, it was actually a part of a research project on southern churches response to global warming.
There were lost of different opinions as to what is effecting the earth, how politics plays a part, the social justice aspects of being good stewards & how climate change effects the poorest peoples.
There was consensus on care for the environment being a mandate of a christian life as stewards, just as much as caring for the poor, and other just causes.
Until the last 100 or so years the church championed the environment. Modern man in all his wisdom believed his science & industry would save him, but not so. Time for the church to get back to our roots, listen to the words of Isacc of Syria (3rd century)
What is a merciful heart? It is a heart on fire for the whole of creation, for humanity, for the birds, for the animals...for all that exists. By the recollection of them the eyes of a merciful person pour forth tears in abundance. By the strong and vehement mercy that grips such a person's heart, and by such great compassion, the heart is humbled and one cannot bear to hear or to see any injury or slight sorrow in any in creation. For this reason, such a person offers up tearful prayer continually even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth, and for those who harm her or him, that they be protected and receive mercy. And in like manner such a person prays for the family of reptiles because of the great compassion that burns without measure in a heart that is in the likeness of God...
If you truly seek what is right, it is an easy choice on behalf of the environment & how pollution and diminished resources can negatively impact the poor.
We'll have another meeting to formulate some ideas on how we as a church can begin to care for the environment and postively effect our world. Recycling, planting trees, & reducing waste are good starting points.
-d@le
|Mood: as cold as it is -HOT coffee is great!
|01.03.08 4:38 pm
|
One thing you notice as you visit a monastery is the emphasis on both corporate and individual prayer.
Monks pray scripture, pray the psalms, meditate on scripture, even as a group they are praying individually and even as they pray individually they pray as a group.
The hours of prayer are kept by monks and regular people worldwide.
If you visit the site -sacred space- run by Irish Jesuits you will read this at the end of the daily office of prayer:
"When you pray, you are never alone
500 people prayed with Sacred Space
each hour during December 2007"
So, any time I've clicked onto sacred space and prayed the daily office, about 500 people have been joining me at the same time in prayer - & this is just sacred space! multiply that by hundreds and thousands as people all over the globe are keeping the daily hours of prayer...very cool...I'm by myself here praying but I am praying along with thousands of believers.
And so if you believe in life after death, and if you believe that your relatives, and the saints from all time have an awareness in the afterlife, and you believe that they indeed are in the presence of God and probably communicating with God, then you can multiply the number of people "praying" to God by an unknown number of millions or more. Then the idea of individual and corporate prayer takes on another dimension.
give it a try sometime
One strong feature of Neo-Monasticism is that, as all other monastic movements, it is a return to prayer. Neo-Monasticism is, above all,a prayer movement.
-d@le
|Mood: Irish Cream
|12.27.07 4:24 pm
|
A medieval monastic advent liturgy says
"Vigilate animo,
in proximo est Dominus Deus noster-"
Wide awake now!
The Lord God is so near!
Who can sleep on Christmas eve?
All the excitement and anticipation of what is to come
On Christmas morning
The prophets of the old testament looked forward to Christ’s coming
Desiring to see that light break forth upon the dawn of the horizon
Psalm 126 says
When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things
Even so they looked for the coming of the Lord, almost unable to sleep, With all the excitement and anticipation of what was to come and we look forward to his return
"our mouths filled with laughter, our toungues with songs of joy!"
Paul said in the book of Romans - Be wide awake now! for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here.
Vigilate animo,
in proximo est Dominus Deus noster-
Wide awake now!
The Lord God is so near!
& so we keep vigil this season- candles lit, songs sung and prayers are on our lips & we cry -even so, come Lord Jesus!
-d@le
|Mood: christmas blend
|12.12.07 8:29 pm
|
Tonight I sat in the house alone, with all the lights out, no TV, no noise,nothing...realizing something, at least being reminded...
God doesn't care, is not necessarily impressed, by any achievements I may have, letters after my name, titles, respect of others. Niether is he repulsed by my failures, disappointments, or mediocrity.
When this life is over, and even before then, all that really matters is if I can find myself in His presence, with no merits of my own- just Him.
-d@le
|Mood: Sumatran
|11.30.07 3:21 pm
|
Robert Webber described the church now emerging in terms of ancient yet future:
It is very true that the church must be relevant to the time and our outreach relevant to redeeming the culture we find ourself in. Similar to the scriptures being translated into the languages of the people which has it's roots in the earliest centuries. I find myself in a church that expresses music and worship in a style indicative of the culture of our day. Music at my church, The Vineyard of Chattanooga is rock based and guitar and drum driven -and sounds kind of like Cold Play or perhaps Fleetwood Mac for those who are more in tune with older rock music. The point being that the church reaches the culture which it is in.
But along with the new treasure we cannot help but to bring out the old, and the old treasure is very good indeed. This would be Webber's focus on the "ancient" in ancient-future. We as a third order keep the tradition, scripture, liturgy and hours of prayer which is about as old as the church itself. In this way we enrich not only ourselves but also the world around us (salt of the earth)
Along with the ancient traditions, service to the outcast and seemingly unimportant further season our society. It's hard, inconvenient, we say we want to do it but often don't...but we miss The Lord and do not let His light shine when we are too busy or self absorbed to stop and serve "the least of these"
I worked at the Salvation Army for years and have heard every hard luck story on the planet, so today when I recieved a phone call at my church with someone in need I prepared myself mentally. However as I talked with a young vetran returning from Iraq, and as we've been wresting with the scriptures "when you've done it to the least of these you've done it unto me" -as our Advent sermon material I knew God did want us to help- to simply live the gospel...and it is always humbling.
-d@le
|Mood: stuffed -like the turkey was
|11.22.07 8:08 pm
|
Thanksgiving Day was awesome-
Our whole family spent the morning volunteering at the 6th annual Grateful Gobbler Walk for the Homeless in Chattanooga.
I was at the very first walk in 2001, it was held in the spring that year, our launch point was the UTC campus, there were about 50 of us & a small radio station covered the event.
Today there were hundreds, indeed thousands participating. My own church had about 25 people there volunteering for the event as well as doing the walk. I smiled all the way home very happy and pleased that so many people were there.
There is so much more yet to do, to raise awareness, to serve, to seek to end homelessness. But it's a step in the right direction. I guess that's why we call it a "walk".
-d@le
|Mood: rice pudding
|11.08.07 7:55 pm
|
Monasticism in the 21st Century:
The renewal of monasticism in the modern age consisted of a return to the original sources of its religious life. Each institute was reformed to the spirit of its founding mission, but also adapted and appropriated to the changed conditions of the times. Likewise, the apostolate of the laity was intensified and broadened so that, through ordinary occupations and endeavors in the world, the Church would more effectively permeate and perfect the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel. As monastics returned to their roots and the laity proceeded forth to the workplace, something of a "third way" emerged - a vocation not unprecedented in the history of the Church.
Today we witness the phenomena and dilemma of this third way, herein referred to as "lay monasticism". Lay monasticism is the resurgence of Christians living midway between the cloister of the monastery and the chaos of secular society - souls who have to remain in the world but do not wish to be of the world. In fact, Secular Franciscans and Benedictine Oblates outnumber their First and Second Orders more than 3 to 1. Yet, many present-day "lay monastics" are coming from outside the Catholic and Orthodox Churches from which monasticism originated.
Lay monastics are characterized by a similar devotion and zeal as the early Christians. Since the first centuries of Christianity, there have been men and women who have sacrificed everything in an attempt to live in radical obedience to the Gospel. As St. John Chrysostom insightfully notes: "The Holy Scriptures do not know any distinctions. They enjoin that all lead the life of monks."
Lay monasticism is equally domestic and itinerant, contemplative and missionary, traditional and contemporary; yet, its degree varies from monastic to monastic. Its form varies according to the particular needs of the individual or community, the intended mission and ministry, their unique station as "lay monastics" within the Church, and the current circumstances of the culture.
Some lay monastics are more solitary while others are more social. Some live alone while others live in community, either in the context of marriage and family, or intentional fraternities with fellow lay monastics. Some lay monastics pray more than others, and some work more than others. What makes them all monastic is that they only undertake activities that are intrinsic to the essence of their monastic calling, yet appropriate to their status as laity.
Lay monastics are not cloistered, but are called to take the "monastery" with them wherever they go; or better said, to live their monastic life within the "cloister" of the world in the "cells" of their bodies. Lay monastics flee the world, but do so to embrace it. They embrace the world, but do so to free it from itself. In other words, lay monastics distance themselves from the "body" of society in order to better unite themselves more intimately to its "soul". Yet, they never fully separate themselves from the "body" in order that they may infuse its "soul" with the spirit of Christ.
Lay monastics are called to a lifestyle of self-sacrifice and service for the rebuilding of the Church and of Christendom - the social kingship of Christ. Lay monastics are Christians who manifest their independence from the world in which they live by making themselves slaves to Christ and citizens of a kingdom not of this world. As soldiers of the Church Militant, they are counter-revolutionaries with spiritual weaponry, crusaders in war that is fought not against flesh and blood. For lay monastics, restoration manifests itself from the inside out and order is restored from the bottom up. Counter-revolution is achieved through small works with great love, and there is no initiative too big that even a little faith cannot fulfill. Evangelization happens one soul at a time, conversion one moment at a time, and both begin with the lay monastic himself.
Lay monasticism is a school of sanctity for the "culture of life"- a society within society - established and governed by an entirely different hierarchy and economy than the "culture of death" seen in this world ruled by Satan and built upon Man. Lay monasticism is a lifestyle formed by the Gospel, enabled by the working of the Holy Spirit, and fulfilled by faithful obedience to its laws through love. It's narrow way is equally a purgation of sins and a foretaste of heaven on earth.
In imitation of the Nativity, lay monastics seek to preserve their innocence as children of God, entrusting themselves entirely to the holy care of the Mother of Our Lord. For if God was willing to entrust Our Lady with the care of Himself for the salvation of the world, we can confidently entrust ourselves and all that we do to Her most faithful, tender, and inexhaustible protection.Veiled in holy obscurity, lay monastics consider themselves dead to this world, seeking neither to advance themselves or make themselves known. Lay monastics preserve enough simplicity and efficiency that they may live from the fruits of their own labor but are equally not afraid to beg for alms.
In imitation of the homelessness of Our Lord, lay monastics embrace the paradox of their vocation as existing midway between two stations within the Church, and they recognize that they must do so in order to help those who are lost and are seeking to find their way. Lay monastics regard no dwelling place their permanent residence, yet feel at home wherever they are. They subject themselves to all creatures and submit all their doings in holy abandonment to the mercy of Divine Providence. In this, lay monastics are both stable and mobile, and are equally self-sufficient and wholly dependent.
In imitation of Our Lord's Passion, lay monastics follow the way of the cross, enduring all of its sufferings and humiliations. They willingly and faithfully bear their own crosses while shouldering the burdens of others, and they never take themselves off this path. With Our Lady, they remain at the foot of the cross, under a shroud of silence and stillness, yet intimately united with Christ in this eternal sacrifice. Like living martyrs, lay monastics offer themselves as a spiritual oblation in union with the Holy Sacrifice of Our Lord, and thus transcend the confines of the temporal order. In doing so, the world is transformed and all creation is lifted toward its eternal end.
Lay monastics are ever learning from Our Lord. As He did on the road to Emmaus, Christ continues to reveal Himself in salvation history whether through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, or Sacred Liturgy. Likewise, lay monastics avail themselves to the needs of all men, sharing the fruits of their contemplation with their fellow pilgrims in hope that all believers may receive Our Lord at the one table of the breaking of bread.
Lay monastics are an active reminder that the Church was established upon a commitment to simple gospel living, liturgical prayer and worship, the necessity of the Sacraments, the teachings of the Fathers, and the example of the Martyrs and Saints. Additionally, they continue the traditions of showing hospitality to the "stranger", caring for the sick, the imprisoned, and the poor, carrying out missions to the "outcasts" of society, and remaining devoted to the development and restoration of culture. Lay monastics, with the Clergy, Religious, and all the Christian Faithful, will help serve in moving the Church forward by actively pursuing its restoration to these foundations.
_______________________________
These are the words of my friend Kevin at MONKROCK.COM
They describe his desire for this communal/monastic life expressed in an order he and friends are developing called TRANSITUS.
This also describes my desire & reason for professing with the order The Company of Jesus, an Anglican/Ecumenical third order.
-d@le
|Mood: columbian & cream
|11.04.07 7:40 am
|
An Unfinished War Poem
Wilfred Owen is my favorite WWI poet, He died so close to the end of the war. His poetry is visceral, and dark, and ugly, and beautiful.
This is an unfinished poem called "As Bronze May Be Much Beautified"
As bronze may be much beautified
By lying in the dark damp soil,
So men who fade in dust of warfare fade
Fairer, and sorrow blooms their soul.
Like pearls which noble women wear
And, tarnishing, awhile confide
Unto the old salt sea to feed,
Many return more lustrous than they were.
But what of them buried profound,
Buried where we can no more find,
Who [ ]
Lie dark for ever under abysmal war?
-d@le
|Mood: Ice Tea
|11.01.07 4:26 pm
|
"Be gone, Satan!;
Never suggest vain thoughts to me.
The cup you offer is evil;
Drink the poison yourself!"
This is what you will find on the medal of Saint Benedict-
.....haha, as Bill & Ted would say "righteous, dude"....
I love St. Benedict
-d@1e
|Mood: iced tea
|09.16.07 8:28 pm
|
I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air..."
The older I get the more I understand...
When I was younger I had more energy, alot of idealism, and felt pretty invincible.
Now that I'm a little older I still have alot of idealism, I don't feel very invincible, and the level of energy isn't the focus as much as is pacing myself so I can last the duration.
Like a boxer in the ring I realize the bout will not be won in the first or even fourth or fith round but in the 15th round instead. I've also realized that since I am in the match, the battle, that means I will sustain a few blows, a few punches along the way. You don't win so much by throwing punches as you do by being able to take a few punches as well...
Sometimes you feel it, even though the warfare may not be flesh and blood there are time that our bodies show the evidence of the fight, sometimes you wake up feeling like you'd had a fight the night before...roll with it...
I'm exhausted, happy but exhausted, If it had not been for Christ taking the punches for me I do not think I could make it...but HE has & he is the strength that keeps me walking.
I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
there is strength in Christ
-dale
|Mood: house blend with cream
|08.20.07 2:19 pm
|
A couple of thoughts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "The Cost Of Discipleship"
"Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It remains an abstract idea, a myth which has a place for the Fatherhood of God, but omits Christ as the living Son. … There is trust in God, but no following of Christ...
He wants to follow, but feels obliged to insist on his own terms to the level of human understanding. The disciple places himself at the Master's disposal, but at the same time retains the right to dictate his own terms. But then discipleship is no longer discipleship, but a program of our own to be arranged to suit ourselves, and to be judged in accordance with the standards of rational ethic."
& from the Book of Luke
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.
to live by God's standard, to stop trying to bend God's will into our own, & to stop trying to make our will happen on our time instead of waiting on Him...
Like clay trying to jump off the potters wheel instead of letting the potter work the clay till HE is satisfied...our discipleship is to begin to trust in God & not try to find the fastest, easiest, & most convenient way(for us)...it is to take on HIS yoke, His burden, & to be made into HIS image.
-dale
|Mood: house blend
|08.08.07 2:13 pm
|
What is discipleship?
That's not easy to answer but we all can see what it should look like...think Obi-Wan & Luke, think Elijah & Elisha, Jesus & the disciples. Discipleship definately looks like someone investing in another person, seeing the world as not centered on self but seeing that the most valuable thing one can do is to make time for another person, passing along what you've learned and are learning, listening, encouraging, being supportive, and saying what you see, seeing the potential in another, passing it on.
-d@le
|Mood: cappuchino
|07.28.07 5:42 pm
|
a few thoughts & quotes on life:
"The hardest thing in life, is letting go of what you thought was real."
~ Author Unknown ~
but it's good to live a real life...better than living under false assumptions.
We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life - those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength."
Oswald Chambers
I think as important is that we are made for other people's valleys, & ordinary hard things of life...loving and comforting others.
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
~ Albert Einstein ~
I totally agree...
-dale
|Mood: pero
|07.13.07 2:21 pm
|TO MANY the saying, "Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me,"[19] seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the day of judgment. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens when the Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who during life made themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great trust to Christ, the judge.
Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul nor hope of everlasting life but in the cross.
Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life. He Himself opened the way before you in carrying His cross, and upon it He died for you, that you, too, might take up your cross and long to die upon it. If you die with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you share His suffering, you shall also share His glory.
Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will, you will not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way of the holy cross. Arrange and order everything to suit your will and judgment, and still you will find that some suffering must always be borne, willingly or unwillingly, and thus you will always find the cross.
Either you will experience bodily pain or you will undergo tribulation of spirit in your soul. At times you will be forsaken by God, at times troubled by those about you and, what is worse, you will often grow weary of yourself. You cannot escape, you cannot be relieved by any remedy or comfort but must bear with it as long as God wills. For He wishes you to learn to bear trial without consolation, to submit yourself wholly to Him that you may become more humble through suffering. No one understands the passion of Christ so thoroughly or heartily as the man whose lot it is to suffer the like himself.
The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will -- above, below, without, or within -- you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere you must have patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown.
If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load, though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man can ever avoid? Which of the saints was without a cross or trial on this earth? Not even Jesus Christ, our Lord, Whose every hour on earth knew the pain of His passion. "It behooveth Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, . . . and so enter into his glory."How is it that you look for another way than this, the royal way of the holy cross?
The whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and do you seek rest and enjoyment for yourself? You deceive yourself, you are mistaken if you seek anything but to suffer, for this mortal life is full of miseries and marked with crosses on all sides. Indeed, the more spiritual progress a person makes, so much heavier will he frequently find the cross, because as his love increases, the pain of his exile also increases.
Yet such a man, though afflicted in many ways, is not without hope of consolation, because he knows that great reward is coming to him for bearing his cross. And when he carries it willingly, every pang of tribulation is changed into hope of solace from God. Besides, the more the flesh is distressed by affliction, so much the more is the spirit strengthened by inward grace. Not infrequently a man is so strengthened by his love of trials and hardship in his desire to conform to the cross of Christ, that he does not wish to be without sorrow or pain, since he believes he will be the more acceptable to God if he is able to endure more and more grievous things for His sake.
It is the grace of Christ, and not the virtue of man, which can and does bring it about that through fervor of spirit frail flesh learns to love and to gain what it naturally hates and shuns.
To carry the cross, to love the cross, to chastise the body and bring it to subjection, to flee honors, to endure contempt gladly, to despise self and wish to be despised, to suffer any adversity and loss, to desire no prosperous days on earth -- this is not man's way. If you rely upon yourself, you can do none of these things, but if you trust in the Lord, strength will be given you from heaven and the world and the flesh will be made subject to your word. You will not even fear your enemy, the devil, if you are armed with faith and signed with the cross of Christ.
Set yourself, then, like a good and faithful servant of Christ, to bear bravely the cross of your Lord, Who out of love was crucified for you. Be ready to suffer many adversities and many kinds of trouble in this miserable life, for troublesome and miserable life will always be, no matter where you are; and so you will find it wherever you may hide. Thus it must be; and there is no way to evade the trials and sorrows of life but to bear them.
Drink the chalice of the Lord with affection it you wish to be His friend and to have part with Him. Leave consolation to God; let Him do as most pleases Him. On your part, be ready to bear sufferings and consider them the greatest consolation, for even though you alone were to undergo them all, the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.
When you shall have come to the point where suffering is sweet and acceptable for the sake of Christ, then consider yourself fortunate, for you have found paradise on earth. But as long as suffering irks you and you seek to escape, so long will you be unfortunate, and the tribulation you seek to evade will follow you everywhere. If you put your mind to the things you ought to consider, that is, to suffering and death, you would soon be in a better state and would find peace.
Although you were taken to the third heaven with Paul, you were not thereby insured against suffering. Jesus said: "I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake." To suffer, then, remains your lot, if you mean to love Jesus and serve Him forever.
If you were but worthy to suffer something for the name of Jesus, what great glory would be in store for you, what great joy to all the saints of God, what great edification to those about you! For all men praise patience though there are few who wish to practice it.
With good reason, then, ought you to be willing to suffer a little for Christ since many suffer much more for the world.
Realize that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live unto God.
No man is fit to enjoy heaven unless he has resigned himself to suffer hardship for Christ. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more helpful for you on this earth than to suffer willingly for Christ. If you had to make a choice, you ought to wish rather to suffer for Christ than to enjoy many consolations, for thus you would be more like Christ and more like all the saints. Our merit and progress consist not in many pleasures and comforts but rather in enduring great afflictions and sufferings.
If, indeed, there were anything better or more useful for man's salvation than suffering, Christ would have shown it by word and example. But He clearly exhorts the disciples who follow Him and all who wish to follow Him to carry the cross, saying: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
When, therefore, we have read and searched all that has been written, let this be the final conclusion -- that through much suffering we must enter into the kingdom of God.
from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis 1418
-d@1e
|Mood: coffee & chickory
|06.07.07 7:22 am
|Grace
She takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name
Grace
It's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that
Changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness
In everything
Grace
She's got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She's got the time to talk
She travels outside
Of karma, karma
She travels outside
Of karma
When she goes to work
You can hear the strings
Grace finds beauty
In everything
Grace
She carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips
Between her fingertips
She carries a pearl
In perfect condition
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things
Grace finds beauty
In everything
Grace finds goodness
In everything
-U2
-D@1e
|Mood: coffee& chickory
|05.16.07 8:42 am
|
A prayer for most of us....
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"
-dAle
|Mood: columbian
|05.08.07 9:05 pm
|This is an awesome quote about friendship:
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.-Henry Nouwen
-d@le
|Mood: lipton
|01.27.07 10:01 pm
|
From Anselm of Canterbury 11th century
Come, Lord my God,
come and instruct my heart where and how to search for you,
where and how to find you.
Where shall I look for you?…
…your dwelling is in light inaccessible.
Then where is this light inaccessible, and how can I approach it?
Who will guide me
and conduct me into it so that I may see you?
The Apostle Paul
Who had been physically blind for 3 days after meeting Christ on the road to Damascus said
“open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you”
And we come today seeking and asking to see, to know, to understand, to experience…
Jesus –in the book of John said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me…
…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!
The invisible, unseeable, untouchable , God of the universe came down for us and for our salvation and became a man so that we might become the children of God.
We taste and see and experience that the Lord is good, that He loves us, and is drawing us to himself so that we may know him and find ourselves in his love.
-d@1e
|Mood: rewired
|01.12.07 1:27 pm
|
I consider this as most beautiful poetry
and prayer
from the band Lifehouse...
Find me here
And speak to me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
you are the light
that's leading me
to the place
where I find peace again
you are the strength that keeps me walking
you are the hope that keeps me trusting
you are the light -to my soul
you are my purpose, you're everything
How can I stand here with you
& not be moved by you
would you tell me
how could it be any better than this?
You calm the storms
and you give me rest
you hold me in your hands
you won't let me fall
you still my heart...
you take my breath away
would you take me in?
Take me deeper now?
How can I stand here with you
and not be moved by you?
could you tell me
how could it be any better than this
You're all I want, all I need,
You're everything
-dAle
|Mood: coffee & cinnamon
|12.29.06 2:38 pm
|Introspection...
I always get introspective as it nears the new year...weighing life, decisions to be made as I go into the new year, and all the unknowns...
Also making that moral inventory of myself - "where am I at?" or "what should I be doing?"
Sometimes I have a clue, sometimes I very much do not...I am a hollow man some moments, at others I have hope and sight and faith...
-daleus
|Mood: christmas blend
|12.05.06 10:40 pm
|Misfit Toys
So Rudolf had a red nose, the elf wanted to be a dentist, the winter warlock was really a nice guy deep down inside after he gave up being mean and creepy...
There's hope...
Someone loves you and wants you, square wheels and all. You don't have to be perfect, you can be Charlie in a box or a polka-dotted elephant and be o.k.
In fact your uniqueness may be God's unique gifting for a unique purpose.
Besides, things could be worse...you could want to be a dentist...
-daleus
|Mood: guatemalen
|11.23.06 10:42 pm
|
Spiritual Nacho Libre:
So, in my spare time I've been pondering the spiritual significance of Nacho Libre.
It's actually a good allegory of a spiritual nature, & Nacho is a mascot to all of us who engage in the spiritual warfare of this thing we call life.
On one hand Nacho wrestles with being painfully human... pride, desire, self centered-ness, the need for love, human loss, a search for meaning...
...taking on opponents who seem unbeatable, suffering what often very much seems like defeat...
On the other hand Nacho exhibits the true warrior seeking others good, taking the punches thrown his way, exhibiting the need for a friend or brother on this spiritual journey, commitment to a cause, placing others needs before one's self.
And in between is the chaos of life where all you can do is stand, hang on, get back in the ring and go again...
& pray
like saint ignatius prayed...
...to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for reward
save that of knowing I am doing Your Will.
-dAle
|Mood: lightnote
|11.11.06 3:42 pm
|
I believe that love should be the primary expression of who we are as the church, God's people. (though I think sometimes we've lost sight of this) Jesus said this in several different places & ways... "they will know you are my disciples by your ______for one another" or "the greatest commandment is to love God...and love your neighbor"...later Paul says "seek all these spiritual gifts... yet I will show you a more excellent way...love"
a quote from Saint Augustine:
What does love look like? It has the hands to help others.
It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes
to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and
sorrows of men. That is what love looks like....
-dAle
|Mood: Cappuchino
|10.30.06 2:31 pm
|
Saint Simeon the New Theologian said
" The saints in each generation are joined to those who have gone before, and are filled like them with light to become a golden chain in which each saint is a separate link, united to the next by faith, works, and love. So in the one God they form a single chain which cannot quickly be broken."
This sums up the verses where Jesus prayed that the church would be one well.
We are not islands to ourselves, not people & not denominations, we are all one and we are all connected to one another, link by link, filled with light, united by faith, works, and love.
-dA1E
|Mood: columbian
|10.09.06 6:43 pm
|
Some of us, when we finally hit bottom, leave a crater-
but in that place is where we can finally look up and find hope...
I've known a pastor or two who have spent time in jail, though they are good men.
I know of others who should have spent time in jail - but never have.
(the love of money is the root of all evil)
Some people go through life unscathed, wealthy, happy, thoughtless, prideful...
Some walk with a limp...but walk non-the-less under God's power.
Love is an ocean to swim in
A never-ending, inexhaustible resource...more than sunshine.
-dALe
|Mood: columbian
|09.22.06 5:44 pm
|
Most of us aren't "the golden one's"
We're not tall enough, good looking enough, smart enough,
__________(fill in the blank).
But we all are in the constant state of becoming.
Blessed are the poor in spirit...
We haven't arrived, not famous, still becoming.
In small ways, ways we do not see, God is working,
crafting slowly a masterpiece called us, me.
& often it's not what we thought, it's not what we started after.
But like a sculpture can't chisel itself
& a portrait cannot paint itself
we cannot create ourselves
we are the one being created.
the jig-saw puzzle doesn't make sense
till the last piece is in place...
so don't give up,
God is making something awsome
in you
-dALe
|Mood: chamomile
|09.16.06 9:20 pm
|
The road is often paved with suffering:
Sometimes we don't understand why things are the way they are, sometimes life has tragic turns or, at the least, dissappointments.
But that doesn't mean we are on the wrong road or that we somehow have done the wrong thing. No, many people have done the right thing though it did not pay them beneficial dividends.
It's the argument that if I do all the right things then I'll get all the right things...job, car, money, desires... well, not always...
We don't give so we can get from God, we give because He has already given to us and we give because He is deserving - like the woman who poured the perfume on Jesus' feet (no he didn't need it) but her giving was a pure act of worship given cheerfully.
Like a parent who doesn't spoil a child always, God grows us into Christ-like individuals keeping our focus off money and things and onto loving others and loving Him.
Small sufferings allow us to grow, any suffering we go through- Jesus has already gone through it no matter what it is he has already suffered that pain and dissappointment so we don't suffer alone. He one step in front of us.
-dA1e
|Mood: starbucks
|08.14.06 5:58 pm
|Saint Francis said "I have been all things unholy; if God can work through me he can work though anybody..."
Saint Francis wasn't always a saint...
He was once a young rich playboy with a flare for expensive clothes, wine, women, and song. These things didn't ultimately satisfy him and in fact he considered certain aspects of his life to be totally useless and vain, changing his priorities to serve the poor & the outcast, and to not be a slave to materialism. He died poor but happy.
John Newton was a slave ship captain before his life was changed. He traded in that life for a new life and one of the results was that John Newton wrote one of the best known hymns ever - Amazing Grace.
I have been all things unholy; if God can use me he can use anybody...
if God can use me he can use anybody...
if God can use me...
if God can...
God can...
-dALe
|Mood: iced cofee
|07.19.06 6:16 pm
|I wish I could:
1. Travel from Ireland to Ethiopia and visit every ancient church, castle, monastery, beach, & historical place of interest.
2. Do an archeology dig in the Mediterranian or Europe.
3. Open a home in Africa or India for kids with AIDS: play with them, read to them, pray for them, love them.
4. Have a church in the middle of downtown (somewhere) & open it up every day for hours of prayer and quietness before God so worn & weary people can find solace.
5. Right now I wish I could walk, run, ride, & do things for myself.
6. Live within walking distance of 10 friends.
7. Go somewhere close any time I want to listen to good blues music & make new friends.
8.I wish I could really comminicate to my kids, family, & friends how much I really love them.
9. Laugh, eat, share with thousands & know everyone on a very personal level.
10.Live without money.
-dALe
|Mood: half-caffiene
|06.25.06 3:15 pm
|At the heart of Franciscan spirituality is the gospel, plain & simple.
To put this thought into context consider the culture Francis lived in. Christianity was cultural & there was a malaise as evidenced in the disrepair of the church in Francis' village. It is in this atmosphere he has a vision from God to restore the church which he set about doing in a practical way in his hometown. Little did he know how far reaching & universal that vision would be. Francis was a reformer before the reformation, calling people back to gospel living.
Some specifics of Franciscan spirituality are:
Humility -showing reverence and honor to one another, not seeking glory or position and understanding that all good belongs to God who only is good, desiring that the Spirit of God would be at work within one's self. There is no room for self righteousness.
Gentleness -mercy, peace, & goodwill...a Franciscan should speak peace with their lips but even moreso they should have peace in their hearts. Franciscans should not be judgemental or loving arguments but rather, joyful, happy, & good humored.
Sexual Purity - (chastity)married or single a Franciscan should seek purity, each state is a special gift of grace given by God having their benefits as well as their responsibilities.
Simplicity - to be content, to live simply, dress plainly, not be superfluous(no hype), and to be generous to others, especially those in need.We are pilgrims here, don't get too attached to "stuff".
See Value In All - in creation, in the social world around us. A Franciscan should value people, the poor, the oppressed,the socially unacceptable, the old or sick who seem useless still have value to a loving God and therefore have value to a Franciscan. It's not what someone else can do for you, people are not disposable...these are words for our culture today...
Love, above all - Franciscans don't dominate or seek power but should love God, always show kindness to others, be a servant to all, and want nothing but Christ.
-dale
|Mood: zzzzz
|05.16.06 9:34 pm
|Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Christ & The Art Of Motorscooter Maintenance
Category: Life
I am not mechanical, neither am I business minded, good with computers, construction, or origami...but I do cook by instinct.
All of us have our deficiencies as well as our God given saving graces; gifts that we develop as we go, things we do well that blesses others.
A friend of mine is good at mechanics, he fixed my scooter tire as well as my riding lawnmower in less than an hours time of labor, I watched in bewildered amazement...
We were talking later about tools we aquire for our "tool-belts". For some these tools may really be a hammer, a wrench, a screw driver. For musicians it might be a new amp, some new chords, or a guitar - - and for others it may be soul-tools like recovery, 12 steps, anger management techniques.
Whatever it is we all have tried to do the job with the wrong tools & have been very frustrated in the process.
Sometimes others come along and are Christ to us, they share their gifts or thier tools & meet a need we cannot meet ourselves. We grow spiritually when we help each other out...even if it's the Art of Motorscooter Maintenance.
-dA1e
|Mood: Dandelion
|05.09.06 8:20 am
|
Let's Tend The Garden
What does religion have to do with the environment?
Ask anyone and they will tell you that the environment is important, yet if you ask the same people they will tell you that the environment is not seen as an issue of importance to the "church". Though the church has celebrated (historically) God's creation, over the last few decades this has been lost in the shuffle.
Reasons for this may be varied, it may be that, politically speaking, many christians are conservative and conservative politics isn't traditionally environmentally minded. "We don't do that here, they do that over there" so you must go somewhere else to do that...
Maybe it's high time that changed, forget republican or democrat & start saying "this is important...that is important" & start taking a stand for what is right. Taking care of the environment is right -that's a no-brainer...& nobody owns it, or better yet -everyone does.
It's also fun, exciting, & fulfilling...just like doing anything that's "right".
www.letstendthegarden.org is a good place if you want to explore more.
I've got a long way to go & alot of bad habits to break, but it's time to jump into the deep end of the pool.
-dAle
|Mood: lightnote-starbuck\'s
|03.28.06 5:35 pm
|Sometimes words are kinda worn out.
"Community" is one of those words, how do we reawaken the language for something that needs to mean more than what it does...
Tribe? yes. Family? pretty much. Fellowship (like Frodo)? yep...
But can we really encompass all that means?
We share life, we have coffee together, sometimes we walk through the tough stuff together
I suppose it really will take a lifetime to define "community".. But I guess a starter is a group of people who love & take care of each other. People who see in each other the face of God.....
So I'm wresting with the fact the word "community" is virtually meaningless.
I came across a word I really haven't thought about for a long time in my struggle for fresh meaning, the word is KOINONIA. It's a greek word.
At the core of the meaning is something that is more than just acquaintance. It commands something more than peaceful co-existence or acknowledgement of otherness.
Koinonia specifically focuses on participation. In our friendships, at the very center is participation...not an observer, not a disinterested onlooker but full participation in a shared life together; struggle & celebration, dinner & the dishes...
-d@1e
|Mood: chamomile
|03.20.06 10:39 am
|
SPIRITUALITY II
In Saint Francis' time The Rule of St. Benedict(RB) was firmly established as "the way" to live the monastic lifestyle. Being firmly in cultural Christendom, Francis lived in a world where some or much of RB had become part of the fabric of society. The danger, of course, being that these cultural virtues could grow to be cold or stale instead of vibrant and fresh.
In Francis' call and ministry we see a beckoning to return to simplicity, humility, obedience, self sacrifice, prayer, & reconciliation to God & fellow man. Francis lead by example showing a Christ-centered vocation in action holding loosely to all things but the love of God and the love of others in the process. RB was a foundation firmly laid that Francis no doubt was influenced by and also built upon in alignment with the vision he'd received from God to "rebuild my church."
With Saint Benedict as with Saint Francis we see men who inspired others, led by example, gave men a guide (or rule) to abide by and in doing all of this they called people, whosever will, onto their journey with Christ.
In parish life we are the one's who now live our lives in community. Our communities, like those of Benedict and Francis are in need of The Great Commandment being lived out within them. We can learn from Benedict and Francis (and their mistakes, trials, and hard earned wisdom) about the details and minutia of life together; how to share the responsibilities of the community's well being, how to navigate conflicts, necessary discipline, as well as avenues for reconciliation and restoration, how to be like family to each other.
In a world of "survivors" & "apprentices" we are called by Christ to set aside our own agenda and self-deification, to pick up a cross, lay down our life, and follow him, to consider not just ourselves but to consider others instead, to see Christ in others, to hold loosely the things of this world. In living a life that is not self-centered or quarrelsome, but with love for others we can be a sign-post to others on how to walk this path and call them on their journey with Christ.
The Rule of Saint Benedict as well as Saint Francis' Rule guide us and give us insight on how to call those in our parish onto their journey with Christ. The Daily Office, devotion, and how to live life together in general echoes back to us Acts chapter 2 which says "they learned the teachings of the apostles, they were like family to each other. They broke bread and prayed together. Everyone was amazed."
-dAlE
|Mood: espresso roast
|03.11.06 4:00 pm
|
On Benedictine Spirituality, Franciscan Vocation, & Parish Life part I
I first encountered The Rule of Saint Benedict (RB) several years ago when a good friend arranged for he & I to visit a monastery for the weekend.
I had explored different aspects of the protestant faith; having grown up Baptist, I had visited Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of God, Charismatic & Pentecostal churches of different flavors and had attended black churches from time to time especially when I was a counselor at a youth home. But I had little experience with the Anglo-Catholic or Orthodox sides of the faith.
I had gone though a time of pain and disappointment having left a church I’d helped plant and in this void I was wide open to experience God in new and different ways. For me new and different meant rediscovering the tradition and “ancientness” of the church.
I read RB, about obedience, humility, restraint, prayer, excommunication (& more importantly reconciliation) zeal, simplicity and so on. I was impressed that others had wrestled with the day to day issues we all face and that they had prayerfully sought to publish a guide to help others along in their journey with Christ.
In Jesus’ “Great Commandment” we read we should “love God” & “love others”. It seems simple enough but sometimes, as the saying goes, (God forgive me) “the devil is in the details” and so it is, living in community with others without a guide for the journey.
Jesus was referring to the 10 commandments, he’d been asked which command was the greatest. If you look at the 10 commandments they all have to do with how to love God and how to love others. In RB Saint Benedict was working through, in a community, what it means to love God & others in the sticky details of daily life together.
In RB we find forethought and intentionality in living the Christ-life in community together. No doubt there was much trial and error in the writing of The Rule. St. Benedict surely came to the terms of The Rule with many tears, hard earned wisdom, and pastoral experience in the care of souls. TROSB gives much minutia and detail of loving God by loving and living well with others.
-dale
|Mood: starbuck\'s
|03.09.06 5:40 pm
|
a prayer for today:
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
-Thomas Merton
-dA1e
|Mood: decaf for lent
|03.06.06 9:08 pm
|
Lent has begun. We're about a week into it. Lent has become very much a favorite time of year for me. The rythym of the liturgical year helps me to focus on this season leading up to Easter.
Anticipation, hope, asking, seeking, knocking...
May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
(Psalms 33)
-D@1e
|Mood: columbian
|02.18.06 3:17 pm
|The Divine Hours:
When did we lose prayer hours?
Daniel prayed 3 times a day, David talked about seeking God early in the morning...one appealing thing about Islam must be the commitment to prayer, the whole community is based around it...when did we lose the importance? why did we let that slip away? technically, it's not my fault...this all happened well before I was born.
But having a rythym of life intrigues me -Prayer should not be law, or formula, God is not the cosmic vending machine. You don't say the right words & "open sesame!"...no, that's not it.
But me & a few friends are experimenting; we're simply making it a priority to pray when we get up & again when we go to bed.(& as we go in between we seek to talk & listen to God) Some of us are using prayer books, basic scripture readings & prayer thoughts. Not work, just queting the mind with simple scripture readings, just placing one's self before God.
The monks do it, they get up at 4am...oh well, time is man made, right? well for starters I'll try 8ish am & 10ish pm. It's been great so far! I feel like I'm experiencing the real presence of God. Before long I'll start talking like the apostle John, or Yoda...
But I think it pleases God when we make any effort to Know Him
-Dale+
|Mood: decaf
|01.29.06 9:52 pm
|Exploring monastic spirituality-
I find the gospel strongly echoed back to us in the Rules of Saints Benedict and Francis. To be “joyful, good humored, and happy in the Lord… not quarrelsome, contentious, or judgmental”, are qualities needed in our world today. To be content with what we have, to give to others as we can, to be a servant to all, to hold loosely the things and power and positions of this world are counter-cultural and exactly what Christ call us to when he says “If any one would come after me he must deny himself, pick up his cross and follow”.
-dale+
|Mood: hazelnut cream coffee
|01.11.06 9:57 am
|
Circling Prayer:
From the Northumbria Community & the Celtic Prayer Book comes what is called a "circling prayer". This is an awsome thought as we envision God being ever-present, everywhere at the same time, like the wind blowing round us on an autum day- so God's presence is always wrapping round us as we go.
Circle me, Lord
keep protection near
and danger afar
Circle me, Lord
keep light near
and darkness afar
Circle me, Lord
keep peace within...
-dALe
|Mood: brewing
|01.04.06 8:28 am
|
2006 is off & running!
Now I have all those things I & others have been putting off till after the Holidays to do...run,run,run...work,work,work...
There are some things I shouldn't do. Mechanical repair, sewing, web design, math...but I can do some things; hang out with people, encourage people, pray...
The other things I'll have to rely on Divine Providence for...
Nothing unusual there.
-daLe
|Mood: CHRISTMAS 2005
|12.25.05 3:15 pm
|
The Word became flesh! ...
In order to make us earthly beings into heavenly ones. In order to make sinners into saints. In order to raise us up from corruption into incorruption, from earth to heaven; from enslavement to sin and the devil, into the glorious freedom of children of God; from death, into immortality, in order to make us sons of God and to seat us together with Him upon the Throne as His royal children.
-dALe
|Mood: decaffed
|12.08.05 4:44 pm
|
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
-dALe
|Mood: cappuchinoed
|11.29.05 12:45 pm
|NEO-MONASTICISM
Would it surprise you to find that there is a movement afoot called Neo-Monasticism?
Not in conflict with "old" monasticism, neo-monasticism simply is the rediscovery & recovery of the value of a monastic way of life in our world today.
Most monks were never "ordained" they simply committed themselves to a life of prayer, obedience, & good works. St. Francis' third order in particular was developed for regular people, married or single, who desired to live a life of prayer & dedication to God. These monastics lived in their communities simply and joyfully doing the works of Christ.
this is an awsome quote:
"...the restoration of the church will surely come only from a new type of monasticism which has nothing in common with the old but a complete lack of compromise in a life lived in accordance with the Sermon on the Mount in the discipleship of Christ. I think it is time to gather people together to do this...' -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Many people desire to connect with their faith in a deeper way and to live life in a more purposefull way along with others. We want to live out the sermon on the mount.
Some ways we can do this is :
observing hours of daily prayer - knowing that others around the globe are also praying.
cultivating a life of simplicity, quiet, and contemplation.
seeking opportunity to do acts of kindness.
smile.
It's not that difficult, but being very intentional about it makes all the difference.
Let us follow the call of the sermon on the mount
-dALe
|Mood: coffee with cream
|11.26.05 10:20 am
|
enduring hope
the headlines have faded & stories of new orleans don't sell papers anymore.
then there are the thousands of stories that were never told to begin with.
one story, a small episcopal church is in exile after their sanctuary was flooded, gutted, and damaged by the waters. yet a few people still meet holding vigil & holding hope. they have cleaned out the pews that were ruined & moldy after weeks of summer heat & humidity and are repairing the church as best they can. they have been meeting in the yard of the church under a tree or in the parking lot. a group of people, down but not out.
thanksgiving was just a couple of days ago; i spent most of the morning at the 6th annual grateful gobbler walk for the homeless. family & friends came out to help too. it was a great event & a wonderful way to accentuate the holiday.
last night i saw a movie about mother theresa's work, it was always about serving others & not about being famous or the leader of a successfull organization.
St Benedict said "see the stranger as Christ himself" when God send's someone our was that we have an ability to help it is God's gift to us to teach us to love as Christ loves.
-dALe
|Mood: hopeful
|11.20.05 8:14 pm
|
Franciscans are supposed to be known as joyful, good humored, & happy.
This should be true of all believers I think. Tony Campolo has a book out about The Kingdom of God being a party. I think this is true.
Which is better? to be invited to a party or to be the one inviting others to a party? We can do both.
In Prince Caspian of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis there is this big party like the circus has come to town...like playing blind man's bluff but no one is blindfolded or playing tag but no one is quite sure who is "it".
In the story there's a character, an old fat man riding a donkey shouting "refreshments! we must have refreshments!" and dancing and laughing and running and breathless joy!
Everyone likes to be invited to the party. Jesus said "invite them all, so my house may be filled!"
let the party begin!
-dALe
|Mood: coffeed
|11.12.05 11:28 am
|well,
it's finally cool & Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Then the holidays.
Thanksgiving morning my family is going to participate with the 6th annual walk for the homeless in chattanooga to raise money for agencies serving homeless folk. I can't think of a better way to spend the holiday.
Advent has become a most important time for me, we begin our Christmas time adoration the sunday after thanksgiving. Our whole family sees the significance of remembering Christ's first coming and anticipating His second.
come, let us adore him!
-dALe
|Mood: fall/chillin
|10.17.05 9:04 pm
|
there is something totally refreshing about the fall weather. I enjoyed sitting out on my deck today reading & praying. I've been keeping the Daily Office the past few days (hours of prayer) and it has been enriching.
giving thanks for creation on a day like today only accentuates the point, and all creation gives praise!
-dALe
|Mood: groovy
|10.03.05 1:45 pm
|
I watched the new documentary on Bob Dylan this week & have been listening to "slow train coming" & other Dylan music as well, here's the lyrics to "I Believe In You":
They ask me how I feel
And if my love is real
And how I know I'll make it through.
And they, they look at me and frown,
They'd like to drive me from this town,
They don't want me around
'Cause I believe in you.
They show me to the door,
They say don't come back no more
'Cause I don't be like they'd like me to,
And I walk out on my own
A thousand miles from home
But I don't feel alone
'Cause I believe in you.
I believe in you even through the tears and the laughter,
I believe in you even though we be apart.
I believe in you even on the morning after.
Oh, when the dawn is nearing
Oh, when the night is disappearing
Oh, this feeling is still here in my heart.
Don't let me drift too far,
Keep me where you are
Where I will always be renewed.
And that which you've given me today
Is worth more than I could pay
And no matter what they say
I believe in you.
I believe in you when winter turn to summer,
I believe in you when white turn to black,
I believe in you even though I be outnumbered.
Oh, though the earth may shake me
Oh, though my friends forsake me
Oh, even that couldn't make me go back.
Don't let me change my heart,
Keep me set apart
From all the plans they do pursue.
And I, I don't mind the pain
Don't mind the driving rain
I know I will sustain
'Cause I believe in you.
Copyright © 1979 Special Rider Music
-dALe
|Mood: good
|09.09.05 2:09 pm
|
My friend Jeff just got back from the gulf. the destruction there was only accentuated by the lack of help. No FEMA, no Red Cross, no social service organizations doing very much...unless you're in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, or other major towns with lots of media presence.
In the heartbreak & in the vacuum of nothingness but trying to survive, however, there is a quiet trust & a hope. It is the churches, Baptist, Methodist, Vineyard, pentecostals, mainline, Catholic...the body of Christ.
Some say that the church is the primary expression of the King, The Kingdom, a community of hope in a despairing world.
Jeff & 9 others took some supplies down for The vineyard this week. they were routed to Gulf Port, Bay St. Louis, & Biloxi. & though there was little in the way of the big organizations operating in these areas the churches, severely damaged, are open; recieving supplies & distributing them to the people in need. There is much need & it will be ongoing, but may the church continue to be the church & step up.
Sometimes we get a little jaded, sometimes we don't want to give - don't want to serve. It costs too much...it's not convenient...But criticized & put down the church quietly goes on. May it be a community of hope in a dispairing world.
-dALe
|Mood: alive
|08.23.05 3:41 pm
|This is on of my favorite poems, it's by T.S. Eliot.
Eliot was a WWI poet, my grandfather was a WWI vetran as was T.S. Eliot. In this poem Eliot speaks of the eternal element in man. Though I've never been to heaven I will arrive there, where I started, and know the place for the first time....
tell me what you think-
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always-
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flames are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.
-dALe
|Mood: coffee
|07.14.05 7:35 am
|
The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,
nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,
so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.
For 'In him we live and move and have our being... (Acts 17)
-dALe
|Mood: hmmmmmm
|07.07.05 11:27 am
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Sympathy & Prayers to those in London.
May The Lord be a light for you in the darkness.
-dALe
|Mood: at peace
|06.25.05 6:58 pm
|
I spoke to my wife's grandmother this week, she's 87 & doesn't think she'll be around very much longer.
At 87 you don't want anyone beating around the bush or sugar-coating anything, you appreciate frankness & someone who is straight forward. I only know this by observing my elders, but I'm learning as I go.
I listened to her & I know some of her story: she survived a tornado as a kid but it left the family fatherless & poor, her husband has been dead for years now, her son, a Korean war vet, died a couple of years ago, she's almost blind, can't hear great, & is now very dependent on others.
I see a brave lady, an adaptable old gal, she has kept on going, she has done well. In ways she is very much an inspiration to me, I admire her tenacity.
She said she didn't want someone who didn't know her to perform her funeral. I understand. When my grandfather passed the pastor who performed the cerimony did a fine job but he didn't really know my grandfather well. There was so much to say, but too little was said.
Tell the stories, the fond rememberances, the ones that make you laugh and cry. Celebrate a life, the idiosyncricies that endear someone to us. Learn how to age the best we can. Like Pope John Paul said when he was so sick, he was teaching people how to die; by continuing to live & by worshiping God.
I believe that God's eye is intently on us, even or especially as we approach the end of this life in this world.
-dALe
|Mood: sunny
|06.17.05 4:22 pm
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The old desert fathers & mothers had a simple philosophy- "flee!"...
For me it's not so much away from society to go into a desert place, though sometimes I do so for a couple of days...but more, as I clarify myself, away from all of the little circles of self importance we construct for ourselves.
Like little fish-bowls or spheres of self-prominance...a club where we are cool, respected, the voice of knowledge, important. We often seek to develop & distinguish ourselves above others. It is all vanity & the pride of life...
"Flee!"
Yet I find myself enamoured by the shiny painted thing, the thing that crumbles, rusts, is eaten by moths, the things that don't last.
But I also find another voice within me, the one that knows the futility and pain and dissapointment of the shiny thing that isn't so shiny & doesn't satisfy once it's yours. This voice tells me to flee from my own self importance & find myself in God alone.
In Him we live & move & have our being. This is where I will find a way to live; in the presence of The Lord.
-dALe
|Mood: sleepy
|06.14.05 5:56 pm
|it's hot!
I endure summer, mowing grass, intense sun makes me squint, I can't get enough ice or cold drinks! But I enjoy hiking shady mountain trails, swimming in cool lakes or rafting down a frigid river & jumping in once in a while.
a nap in a hammock under a shady tree isn't bad either if a breeze is blowing.
about July I like to watch a couple of christmas movies, eat cookie dough, & turn the AC up as high as I can; I daydream about cool winter weather. Christmas in July. I always anticipate changing of the seasons, but I'm learning to enjoy the here & now.
freezy-pops & BBQ
-dALe
|Mood: mourning
|05.24.05 9:59 am
|I ran over a big rock going about 45 miles an hour yesterday.
It must have fallen off one of those road-work trucks. By the time I saw it I could not miss it. It was cool the way it flew into the air after I hit it... Thank God no one was behind me. it could have killed someone as big as it was.
I knew there was probably some mechanical damage, but I was unprepared for what lay ahead of me.
I sadly watched as my mini-van slowly/quickly bled to death, all of the transmission fluid (which is red if you don't know) bled out of the van in about 90 seconds. It was a horrific sight to see. red.
With disdain I went and got the rock, it was a little bigger than a softball & jagged. I figured I'd keep it to show the mechanic & perhaps my insurance agent. I was bummed the rest of the day & the adrenalin quickly turned into the need for a nap. Though, I suppose, I could make spiritual inferences I will not.
The mini-van is dead! - long live the mini-van!
It's the 21st century; I'm ready for a jet-pack & a hover-craft.......
-dALe
|Mood: searching
|05.19.05 8:37 am
|Today the news reports are about terrorism, violence & nuclear proliferation. Less evident but rumbling like thunder from a distance are concerns about killer viruses, a possible pandemic flu, and the fact that in South Africa 1 in 3 people will die of AIDS.
The AIDS epedemic is a reality, it is already here, the needs are great. I was researching the influenza pandemic of 1917 which killed up to 100 million people worldwide in less than a year. Who would have thought we would have a tsunami last December that would be big enough to effect the world?
How do we have hope when the cloud and shadow looms on a sunny day? the future is so uncertain.
The apostle Paul knew that ultimately his claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ would cost his life. Bob Dylan said "if you ain't got nothin' you ain't got nothin' to lose".
I don't have any feel good answers to the tough questions. I just know that my life is in God's hands. I don't have any control over what day I will die, I can't make myself grow an inch, I can't keep one hair from turning grey.
The book of Hebrews says "by faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and obtained what was promised...shut the mouth of lions...quenched flames,escaped the sword...who's weakness was turned to strength"
Even if "the worst" happened Jesus promised that He'd never leave us or forsake us. Job said "Even if the Lord killed me, yet I will serve Him"
Christ did just that with full faith that God- The Father - would raise Him again. He did this to show me the way it could be done, through Him.
Till then we have work to do. We have to try to be compassionate, to serve others, to meet needs, to have faith in God to heal us of our moral failure and, like the leper, make us whole. He makes it possible for us to love our nieghbor as well as our enemy.
God have mercy!
Christ have mercy!
Amen.
-dALe
|Mood: earl grey
|05.10.05 8:49 am
|
It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters.-Mother Teresa
I have been riveted to thinking about love lately.
I think we'd be better off if we spent more time considering love. Even the most cynical person still has a hope of love, an ideal that love- real love- can change the world.
Jesus said "love your enemies" - we have such a long way to go. Even the "good" things we do, if there is no love in them or ill towards others then it is nothing.
Without love we cannot even call ourselves christians. Paul is pretty plain that we can think we've got it all figured out & we think ourselves to be great, humble, upstanding people but if we do not have love operating in our lives we are nothing.
Mother Teresa said "The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."
We live in a world desperate for love, so much so that we mistake a lot of things for love that are not kind or patient, love is never jealous, boastful,
proud, or rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered.
Yet we settle because we've never tasted pure love. But if you have tasted pure love then nothing else will satisfy. The good news is that pure love also makes all of our other loves better. If we have experienced love at all it is because God in his goodness has allowed us to experience this by giving us a good parent, or the love of a good friend; but these are only a shadow and a mist of what He truly has for us.
I want to learn about love. I want to know what I don't know.
-dALe
|Mood: cool
|05.02.05 8:07 am
|I hate pain and I don't like to be frustrated either. But I'm learning that sometimes God uses sandpaper to finish us like a carpenter & sometimes, like a mechanic, He takes us to the grinder to get the job done fast! OUCH!
God told Jeremiah-
"Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Though sometimes life's circumstances are painful at times I must remember that He's got me one a potters wheel & even pain or suffering (along with all the good things) are a part of the wheel God is using to shape me into what is pleasing to Him...
-dALe
|Mood: tanned
|04.18.05 8:43 am
|I read the story of Marla Ruzicka today. She died in Iraq when a car bomb exploded. She was not in the army, she was not on patrol, she was not a journalist. She was a 28 year old girl from California.
She and a local team were there to help innocent victims of war. Her outreach called CIVIC was doing the hard work of going street to street hearing the stories of people who's stories might otherwise never be heard. Stories of pain, loss, & tragedy. But Marla & her team brought a glimmer of hope in these places. They helped to connect people with resources to rebuild their lives.
Reading her story I cannot find a thread of self interest. Sometimes we're active when we have something to gain from it but that produces little. Famous people sometimes "give back" by lending their name or support. Some people have no name, little money, nothing personally to gain, yet they go & do.
We need more girls like Marla Ruzicka, as Mother Teresa said "small things done with great love..."
-dALe
|Mood: moody
|04.05.05 8:51 am
|IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY...
My kids can't wait for the next Star Wars movie to come out. For years my house has been garnished with plastic toy light sabers, miniature figures, books, posters, & games giving tribute to the series.
Jon turned 14 yesterday. One prominant characteristic about the Star Wars movies is the emphasis on the spiritual Jedi. There is a master & an apprentice; a master is mature, well trained, able to teach...the apprentice is the student, the learner.
But the amazing thing is that the teacher learns as much in the process as the pupil does. In fact, for me, the true learning began as I became a parent. I didn't know what I didn't know. Jon & I have a strong & close friendship & share a prolific sense of humor. As much as I've tried to teach him I have learned twice as much from seeing him grow & become.
Now if I can just get him to use those"jedi powers" to take out the garbage...
-dALe
|Mood: sunny daze
|03.21.05 4:04 pm
|
The visible image of the invisible God, That's Jesus.
Holy Week is full of contemplation of Jesus' last days before He was crucified. He rode into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday with people shouting "Hosannah!" Matthew said the whole city was "stirring" as Jesus rode in. Ironically, He knew that a few days later they'd be yelling "crucify him !, crucify him !, crucify him!..." How quickly do humans change their minds.
In the old testament people thought they'd die if they saw the face of God- or maybe it was just their excuse not to get too near, too up-close & personal. He was not just a cloud or a pillar of fire, not just an ark - a symbol encased in gold, not untouchable or unreachable. He became flesh.
The flesh of a baby, who grew into a boy, a carpenter who traded in the hammer for a much less dependable means of bread, a teacher, poet, philosopher, spiritual leader...and much, much, more...He was "God with us"
Jesus was the visible image of the invisible God, He sent His Spirit to us, made in His image so we can see God thru & in others...so we can be loved, recieve a cup of water, & experience Him thru others godliness; and so that we can do the same, love others, in small ways, letting the Christ-light shine. He commanded us to let others see Him in us, empowered by His Spirit, being like Him.
-dALe
|Mood: my feet are cold
|03.14.05 10:02 am
|working from home, I don't wear shoes & now my feet are cold...
I was thinking about a life for a life.
The image of Christ coming; the agony, pain, and brutality of his death. And understanding that even though it was excruciating he took a kind of pleasure -an "it is well with my soul" satisfaction...like a father giving his life that his child may live, like a friend laying down his life for his friend because of selfless love.
Only in our wildest imagination do we grasp this notion.
The Way, the christian life, is a realization of this. A life for a life. In baptism we come to the water, we go down into Christ's death symbolically, we are raised. We give to him our life, He saved us- now we give our life back to Him. A life for a life.
-dALe
|Mood: nashvilled
|02.24.05 6:48 pm
|
Like Lions Breathing Out Fire:
I just came back from nashville where I hung out with a bunch of vineyard guys. it was great to see them. Jesus Christ has introduced me to friends I would have never met on my own. As in JRR Tolkien's LOTR series there is a fellowship, a communion we share with each other. John Chrysostom (4th century) spoke of this communion, specifically the communion of the saints by saying "Let us return from the table like lions breathing out fire, terrifying the Devil & remembering (Christ's) love for us..."
inspiration-fellowship-communion-love-friendship-fire
-dALe
|Mood: quiet
|02.14.05 2:01 pm
|
We had our 4th Ash Wednesday service last week. I don't cry much but tell me why I can't read Isaiah 53 without crying? This time, as people came up to recieve the ashes I realized "had it not been for Jesus & what he did I wouldn't be here right now smearing a cross on Jeff's head with ashes".
Usually we think about what Christ did for us, this time I thought about what He did for others & how my life had been deeply enriched because of that. awesome!
Jesus, Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us...
-dALe
|Mood: mellow
|01.23.05 6:59 pm
|
One thing about Stephen King novels you may notice- a theme- is that evil cannot just come in to a persons life, it has to be invited in.
I love Dracula movies & the 2004 TV mini-series "Salem's Lot" is no exception. I just watched this a week ago. The theme that evil must be invited in is accentuated in this movie in particular.
In the story evil ultimately came to town not because it forced it's way in per se- but was invited in by a greedy & twisted character.
At the same time another character (a teacher) was able to verbalize a denial to evil to come into his house & evil therefore fled. The teacher made a concious decision to deny evil any space in which to dwell.
Now, it's not always that easy or that black and white. sometimes other people's sin is forced upon us against our will. But we still have to decide if we're going to allow evil to reside within us or if we will conciously make the decision to deny evil.
Jesus is such a good example through & through. I bought a copy of "The Passion" but I have not watched it again, not yet. But Jesus suffered all evil and sin and death with infinite good and trust and reliance upon God. That's amazing.
-
|Mood: hungry
|01.14.05 9:12 pm
|
Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians:
"There are three things that will endure--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love. Let love be your highest goal..."
there's not much that I can explain but this has been really impacting my life the last few days. I want to go deeper in how to love people, how to show that love...especially to those who suffer. the kind of love Jesus lived.
That kind of love fascinates me, the possibility haunts me to see it in my own life.
-dALe
|Mood: wasabe!
|01.05.05 10:26 am
|
Here's another quote from Saint Augustine, I think He's come back around to being one of the most relevant saints of the 21st century:
By loving other people and caring for them you make progress on your journey. Where are you traveling - if not to the Lord God, to him whom we should love with our whole heart, our whole soul, or our whole mind? We have not yet reached his presence, but we have our neighbor at our side. Support, then, this companion of your pilgrimage if you want to come into the presence of the one with whom you desire to remain for ever.
This is very to the point, it also speaks to the fact that no man is an island, even when it comes to faith & the journey. The fact that we are not mutually exclusive of each other is a shift in our culture than can be very positive indeed.
"We" instead of just "Me" is less lonely & more like a party.
Saint Augustine liked parties, Jesus too...
-dALe
|Mood: drinking coffee
|01.01.05 9:50 am
|
We started New Year 2005 laughing, laughing, laughing. One of those family moments that is hard to describe, but we laughed so hard I was crying.
They say laughter does you good, like a medicine. We need that kind of medicine. Our world is a difficult place sometimes. Day to day life, bills, commitments, responsibilities, as well as the larger picture of political stress, world issues, tsunamis...
In the middle of our difficulties we sometimes find ourselves in rich laughter. May 2005 bring a healthy amount of laughter.
-daLe
|Mood: 3rd person
|12.10.04 8:20 am
|
the last 3 years have been more intense, more packed, more jammed than any I've known. This year in particular.
My life is begining to take on a rythm, particulary Christmas-Easter. In 2004 we had an ash wednesday service with the adventist church we share facilities with. We also did rent out a movie theatre for The Passion & invited friends who were not involved in church. Most recently we had a big night of music at Rythm & Brews in Chattanooga along with J. Roddy & The Business. Our band did christmas favorites, it was an awsome show!
I feel totally inadequate at times when it comes to ministry. I don't always have the answers, the means, the ability to meet the needs I face on a weekly basis. I'm having to learn whenever I talk with or "counsel" somebody, anytime I come up against a monsterous need, or a person in a world of hurt that I have nothing to give except Jesus Christ. Even if I do have other resources for them - Christ is the minister, not me. It is the power of Christ they/we need not mine. All things should be done with prayer.
I'm also remembering that to know God & to enjoy/worship him forever is my purpose. below is a poem by Augustine, it's awsome!
Too late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient, O Beauty so new.
Too late have I loved you! You were within me but I was outside myself, and there I sought you!
In my weakness I ran after the beauty of the things you have made.
You were with me, and I was not with you.
The things you have made kept me from you - the things which would have no being unless they existed in you!
You have called, you have cried, and you have pierced my deafness.
You have radiated forth, you have shined out brightly, and you have dispelled my blindness.
You have sent forth your fragrance, and I have breathed it in,
and I long for you. I have tasted you, and I hunger and thirst for you.
You have touched me, and I ardently desire your peace.
-dALe
|Mood: happy
|12.06.04 9:34 am
|
2004 part 1, year in review
I wanted to first focus on my family as I update this as I hope many of you are reading this in conjunction with Christmas Cards being sent.
Our whole family is busy- something I'm sure you all understand & experience.
Jon is now 13, as tall as I am, about 5'8", he eats a ton & is looking more like a young man instead of a boy. he's in 8th grade & very active with his youth group at The Vineyard. He & I went to CORNERSTONE NC this year and camped & listened to music for 3 days. Jon's a Star Trek freak, and also a deep, sensitive, thinker. Though he's busy many days & the weekends with science classes, youth events & church, homeschooling this year has afforded both of us the opportunity to be pals as well as father & son.
Zac is 8 and keeps me in stitches all the time, he's got a great sense of humor & is very intelligent & likes to talk. For his birthday, in September, he wanted an "elvewn cloak" like from Lord of the Rings. A friend made one for him & he wears it all the time. He's also very theatrical. He's awsome!
Kim has been so busy this year. She still teaches school, is my right hand with many church responsibilities, takes care of me & the kids, and still does amazing things on top of all of that! She has presented at many educational conferences in the last two years. Most recently we all accompanied her to Philadelphia where her team presented at the Nat'l Reading Conference.
It was a great family trip through Washington DC & to Philly where we explored all we could. the Smithsonians were great & Jon decided that "cheez-steak" was a good enough reason to go to Philly. We also visited Kim's family in Panama City Beach a few times, & of course, picked blackberries here this summer.
As for me, The | | |
