Belonging

Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.”

– John 10:25-26

We are used to hearing, even saying, “If you will believe as we believe, then you can belong with us; you can be a part of us, be a part of our community.”

In other words, believing comes first. Believe and then you can belong.

Which also means that if you do not believe, you cannot belong.

Jesus seems to be saying something else. Tag along with me, and let’s see what happens. Be a part of my community. Maybe faith will come.

In other words, belonging comes first. Belonging may lead to believing.

It works for children.

Gary  

WHY?

The community met in community

to talk about building a building

for the community.

A community building.

For swimming

and basketball.

For walking machines

and exercise.

For basketball

and pickle ball.

For walking

and for running.

A building for play.

One gentleman stood up

and asked, why?

Why are we building a place

just to have fun?

He was serious.

Gary

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

I am in Stillwater, Minnesota on a warm day in May, inside a theological bookstore located in a building that was once a church. I am searching through row upon row of books, when I hear the sound of someone coming in through the door just off to my left. I glance up. She looks to be about thirty years old, dressed from the top of her head to the top of her shoes in white. I am sure she is a Catholic sister and I am sure she is beautiful. She greets me with a smile and a nod of her head, and as I return the greeting, she moves past me further into the store. A short time later I sense movement to my right, and look up to see her again as she is leaving. As she passes, she once again greets me with a smile and a nod of her head. Again I return the greeting. Then, as she is about to go out the door, I say to her back, “By the way, you look quite beautiful, you know.” She turns, blushes, smiles, and says, “Thank you.” Then as she goes out the door, she adds, perhaps to herself, perhaps to God, “I love wearing this habit.”

I have no lesson here. I simply like that young Catholic sister in her white habit. I like her smile, the blush on her cheeks, the fact that she likes wearing her habit and likes looking beautiful in it. I cherish those few moments in her presence and doubt I will ever forget them.

Often beauty will come, unexpected and undeserved, like a gentle rain in the midst of a dry summer. Our only work is to take notice and give thanks. Still again, we make choices in life. We can choose to look for beauty, goodness, and grace, or we can close our eyes, stop our ears, and howl like some wounded creature caught in a trap, damning all, refusing all, and loving nothing. We can be so inward turned as to find no joy in another’s joy, no compassion for another’s plight, and no desire to reach out and lift up someone who has fallen. Or we can recognize our own need to be loved and figure out that perhaps such is also true for everyone else in this world. We can search out beauty, and when it is found, we can cherish the finding, give thanks to God for such a blessing as this, and hold it in our heart for all time. As John Keats (1795-1821) tells us in his epic poem Endymion, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

Gary

QUESTIONS

Why do we look up

to find God?

Is God in the sky?

Why do we imagine

heaven to be above

and hell below?

Do we not catch a

glimpse of heaven

on this earth?

Seeing a baby's

smile,

hearing the sound of

joy,

being held by someone you

love?

For sure it is a broken

world,

yet God is present

and God's deeds are done.

And even here on earth,

as in heaven,

tears are wiped away.

Gary

They Say

They say I am too small to play

They say I am not pretty or bright

They say I am different because I am gay

They say my thinking is not right

They say, they say, they say

But Jesus says I am a child of God

They say my skin is too black

They say my religion all wrong

They say why don't you go back

go back to where you belong

They say, they say, they say

But Jesus says I am a child of God

They say I don't talk like they do

They say be like the rest of us

They say can't you see it from our view

don't fight it, don't make such a fuss

They say, they say, they say

But Jesus say I am a child of God

But I am a child of God

Created in the very image

I am a child of God

A masterpiece God did finish

No matter what anyone else says

Jesus says I am a child of God

Gary

Mowing with our plastic mowers

Though indeed God is not far from each one of us. For “in him we live and move and have our being.”

– Acts 17:27-28

Lucas, two years old, is out mowing the yard, following behind his father with a plastic mower. Now you might think that Lucas is pretending to mow the lawn, that he is simply playing a game. But I think not. If I were to ask him what he is doing, he would most certainly answer, “I am mowing the lawn.” When dad and Lucas are done, the lawn will look quite beautiful, and Lucas will be proud of the job he has done.

We follow after Jesus with our plastic mowers. The grass gets cut. We are proud of our mowing.

Gary

PRAISE GOD FOR BROKEN COOKIES

Vivian baked some wonderful cookies a few days ago. I am not sure that “wonderful” is a way to describe something you eat, but they are wonderful, full of good stuff like raisins and oatmeal, thin and tasty. It happened that a few stuck to the baking sheet, and therefore broke while being moved from sheet to rack.

I asked if I could eat a couple. She said yes, but eat the broken ones. Then added, you can have as many of those as you want.

I thought, praise God for broken cookies.

The truth is they may not win any prize at the fair, but those broken cookies taste just as good as the “perfect” ones.

There are these words in the Old Testament that Christians believe describe Jesus: “. . . he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)

But on the inside . . . as Psalm 34 sings, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Ps. 34:8)

What is so appealing to me about Jesus is not the miracles and the healings. What attracts me to him is his humanity, his compassion, his kindness, his desire to lift others up and to show them forgiveness.

The miracles and the healing are like that “perfect” cookie that is brought to the state fair and gets the purple ribbon. But the compassion and the kindness is like the broken cookie. For such can be found in any of us. We who know we are broken, who fail often and who get so afraid at times, we too can truly be like Christ in this world, in our compassion and our kindness, in our desire to lift others up and in our courage to forgive.

When someone would come to me and ask for help because he or she had a problem with alcohol, I would ask if I could contact a friend who belonged to AA, someone who understood what it is like to “have a problem with alcohol.” One broken child of God helping another broken child of God. Or as D. T. Niles said: “Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found a loaf of bread.”

Blessed Christmas, dear reader, blessed Christmas. As you celebrate the birth of Jesus, as you gather with family and friends, as you exchange gifts and sing the old carols, please remember that for some this is a season of tears. A loved one is not present this Christmas. There is not enough money to buy presents this Christmas. He or she will sit at table alone this Christmas.

You and I will not fix it. But we can help. We can figure it out and we can do something . . . a hug, a word, an unexpected gift, some money, your presence.

Praise God for broken cookies. Praise God for one broken child of God helping another broken child of God.

Gary