tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82280290677249493652024-03-08T03:38:18.959-08:00Southside FriarSouth Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-74255584947308624192017-11-13T17:01:00.001-08:002017-11-13T17:01:51.312-08:00
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Roger went missing again for the third time in as many months.
He’s unpredictable, like watching a friendly ghost fade in and out of
sight with little difference between “present” and “absent”. Yet over the years
his coming and going has been woven into our lives. Even in between appearances
he is one of us.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<strong>
</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Jesus told stories about lost sheep, lost coins and
stumbling upon hidden treasure. For him it was never about “who messed up?” or
“what went wrong?” but always about “who is missing?” Without the missing ones
“we” can never be whole.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<strong>
</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Roger went missing again and we went looking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, he found us when we passed one of
his usual haunts. He said, “where you been?” It’s frustrating but we went
looking because being mindful of the “missing ones” is how we find ourselves.
It’s the way God comes looking for us.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-28014934322955821972016-06-14T19:09:00.000-07:002016-06-14T19:09:56.293-07:00<br />
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>“Don’t be afraid”. It was a provocative thing for Jesus to
say since the political and economic order of his time was established and
maintained by violence. But he knew the world can work in more than one way. He
not only believed it and taught it but also lived an alternative way.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>
</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>I am afraid. I live in society that is addicted to violence.
We trust in the power of violence. I see it expressed everywhere in our
conduct, speech and thinking. We are even entertained by it. However, I know it’s
absurd to condemn the violence of others if I cling to it myself.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>
</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>“Don’t be afraid”. The world can work in more than one way. We
don’t have to passively accept violence as the “way of the world”. We do have
to be willing to live an alternative way.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-39084706328618328022015-03-12T17:47:00.000-07:002015-03-12T17:47:58.657-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Vocation</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></strong> </div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It took Jeanne McNulty many years to understand her
vocation. It was confusing and frustrating at times. She began with great
enthusiasm, completing formation training in a Franciscan convent. But as
the day for her first profession of vows approached she knew that something wasn’t
right. She remained faithful to the call of God and soon left the convent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Jeanne would later serve with a community of Franciscan
Friars, Nuns and laypeople, living and working among the poor in the inner city
of Chicago. That was closer to her vision of “being poor among the poor” but
she needed more time and space for solitude and prayer. To fully live into her
vocation she would have to find a place to do both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The journey ultimately led to the mountains of rural West
Virginia where she founded a Franciscan hermitage. Jeanne devotes much of her
time to prayer and solitude but also faithfully ministers to her neighbors,
giving special attention to the poor. It’s a unique vocation and one that doesn’t
readily fit into traditional categories. Perhaps Orville, one of her neighbors,
described it best. He once told her, “Jeanne many folks around here do not know
why you are living all alone down there on Colt Run [Road], but I do.” When she
asked him “why?” he responded “You are down there for us”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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</div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Voice for the Hollers</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">
chronicles Jeanne McNulty’s incredible journey. More information at <a href="http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore/details/9781432745349" target="_blank">Outskirts Press</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span> </div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For more information
about the contemplative retreat ministry visit <a href="http://www.wvfranciscanhermitage.com/" target="_blank">the Franciscan Appalachian Hermitage site</a></span></div>
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</div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-20562015425806586992015-02-28T18:26:00.001-08:002015-02-28T18:26:52.776-08:00
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Change<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lent is a good time to think about change and consider new
possibilities. It is also a good time to be changed. One possible starting
point is a change in perspective. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Jesus was in the wilderness (Matthew 4, Luke 4) he was
confronted with some very enticing possibilities: popularity, prosperity and
power (and all the privileges these afford). The path of humility and suffering
was open to him as well. What was ultimately in question was how the work of
God’s kingdom would be done, from the “top down” (through power and privilege)
or from the “bottom up” (the way of humility). Jesus chose to work from the
“bottom up”. God always comes to us from that direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could certainly use a change in perspective but it’s not a
simple thing to achieve. I can’t get there if I begin with “what-I-think-the-world-might-look-like-from-the-bottom”.
My participation in systems of power and privilege colors <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how </i></b>I see and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what </i></b>I
see. I can only begin to learn what others have always known by sharing life
with people who bring God to us from the “bottom-up”.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-63126863959356499132015-02-19T07:02:00.000-08:002015-02-19T07:02:41.804-08:00
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Simple
Words, Earnest Ashes</span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">They said the case worker was a jerk. I wanted to tell them
that he anticipates being lied to (and about). Folks usually say
“whatever-they-think-he-wants-hear-to-get-what-they-want”. You wrap yourself in
a crusty, cynical veneer to avoid something worse. These two strangers before
me are not yet wounded enough to know that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“You are dust and to dust you shall return”. Simple words
profound enough to cut through the veneer. They’re a reminder that too much
time is spent chasing “wants” or defending against what others might want. I am
also reminded by the mark of earnest ashes on my forehead. It speaks truth and nudges
toward what’s real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">With enough time and honesty the words and ashes leave an
inner mark. The kind of mark that carries you out late at night to help two
young strangers who might be less than honest. It reminds that we will soon be
no more and these two clueless kids will then be beyond our reach and we beyond
theirs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-15617304633519602442015-01-07T07:11:00.000-08:002015-01-07T07:11:05.963-08:00<br />
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<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Another
Epiphany<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Epiphany
was different this year. It’s a feast day of the Church which (in some traditions)
focuses on the visit by the Wise men to honor the Christ child in Bethlehem. In
“Church-speak” that translates into “the revelation of God the Son as a human
being in Jesus Christ”. But it was different this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ira
needed a ride and a friend. Who is giving and who is in need of receiving
sometimes gets confused. We split the difference and met some place near the
middle. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Robby,
who is frequently lost to us and the world went missing for a week. We went
looking. Jimmy found him hiding in plain sight. We were happy and healed a
little by that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A
call came in about Marty who was drunk-as-a-bicycle again and too stubbornly
broken to accept anything other than “what-I-want”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were bruised a little by that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil
has little or nothing but healed us with his laughter and smiles. Ashley is on
the fence. She wants to leave this wilderness for another one where the friends
are less hit-and-run.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There
was a late evening call from a dear soul fighting desperately for life and
family. She called to say “thanks”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like
those Wise guys from long ago we were compelled to go out by something inside
us that cannot be understood or explained, only obeyed. It carried us along and
we wandered into places and with people foreign to us and for a while became
alien among our own. We were blessed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Epiphany
was different this year. We didn’t observe the feast as much as we were seized
by it. It wasn’t a past revelation celebrated as much as God-present in flesh
and blood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-82878702516733379012015-01-01T07:02:00.000-08:002015-01-01T07:03:00.505-08:00
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Border
Crossing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This year l tried to approach the season of Advent and
Christmas as a “thin place”, a space where the border between heaven and earth
is blurred. I’m not sure the experiment was a success but at least it helped me
get through the prescribed “watching a waiting”. I am not a patient person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Unfortunately the border crossing did not go according to
plan (should have seen that coming). God did not show up on time or at the
pre-arranged (and conveniently located) check point with required Tourist Visa
in hand. The crossing was clandestine, occurring somewhere along the remote frontier.
A few stragglers (what where they doing out there?) allegedly stumbled upon the
scene. They acted as if they had <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deliberately</i></b> been included in the event.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It makes no sense. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
was no limo or stretch SUV. No arrangements were made for military escort or
photo ops with political dignitaries. State authorities and local vigilante
patrols went on full alert due to unconfirmed reports that God was smuggled
across the border by a poor immigrant couple (disguised as an infant!). The
religious establishment was outraged by the total disregard for established protocol
and blatant violations of liturgical tradition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In the future, if I get the urge to “watch and wait” for
God along the border I will go with radically different expectations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-47761350874414355532014-05-31T18:53:00.000-07:002014-05-31T18:53:16.086-07:00It Happens<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I saw God today,
unexpectedly. My friend said he wasn’t sure who would show up. Well, over a dozen
friends did. They are extraordinarily ordinary people who showed up and brought
their spouses, kids and God along with them. We laughed and loaded the moving
truck to the brim with boxes, furniture, toys and odds and ends. Then we shared
pizza, prayers, tears and hugs to carry our beloved family (friends) a little
further up the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">God appeared again,
unexpectedly. When that same truck pulled up in front of the new house there
was an even larger group of extraordinarily ordinary people waiting. They are
seminary students who showed up and brought their spouses, children and God along
to meet us. Everyone helped in one way or another. The children stood in line
at the back of the truck to carry what they could and the entire job was done
in no time flat. It was joyful and miraculous. It was
“God-all-up-in-there-amongst-us”. One seminarian was heard to say, “It’s just
what we do”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In a word, “it” is
community. Community is not just a word. It is not just the hottest hipster way
of doing churchy stuff. Community is people showing up and sharing their hearts,
lives and love whenever and wherever. Community <b><i>happens </i></b>when
extraordinarily ordinary people <b><i>“do”</i></b> community. It crosses every
boundary and breaks down every barrier we create to contain it. It is where God
shows up. It is real. I saw it happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-53006780636968523522014-02-15T18:07:00.001-08:002014-02-15T18:07:55.310-08:00<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Learning all the time....</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I intended to grab a quick
breakfast with a friend before work. It’s something that I rarely give a second
thought. But on that particular morning my typical, distracted, fog of
“busyness” was disrupted when my friend offered a prayer before we ate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">His words were not
remarkable. That’s not what got my attention. It was the simplicity and fierce
sincerity of his words, as profoundly holy as any I have ever heard spoken in a
Church. His intimate knowledge of poverty had taught him that “our daily bread”
was truly a gift. Through his gratitude and thankfulness for that ordinary bacon-egg-and-biscuit
breakfast he shared that sacred knowledge with me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jesus once told a group of
wealthy party guests: “when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame and the blind” (Luke 14). I don’t believe his goal was to move the
poor into more exclusive social circles. The aim was to save those affluent guests
from their spiritual poverty. It was an attempt to break through the camouflage
of polite convention and reorient them toward God’s new reality (kingdom).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I like to think I am different
but that isn’t true. Although I'm not as influential and well connected as those
first century party animals, I can be just as oblivious. But I am learning. I am learning that
any significant amount of time spent among people who struggle against poverty
and hunger changes your perspective on reality. It also radically changes your
experience of God. I wonder what our experience of God would be like if we took
half of our meals at a table with God’s poor?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-66010244528109547052013-12-31T20:44:00.000-08:002013-12-31T20:44:55.856-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jim told me
that’s Neil’s shoes were tattered and full of holes. To be honest, I was
embarrassed that I didn't notice myself. It’s winter and raining a lot. How
could I </span><b style="font-family: Arial;"><i>not</i></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> notice? A few days later we went to see Neil with a pair of
new shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">He was perched
high above the street underneath an interstate overpass. Jim said, “That
embankment is too steep for him to come down and I don’t think you can climb up
there”. “What are you trying to say?” I asked (maybe I’m too old and fat for
this?). “You don’t have the right kind of shoes” he replied. Jim would know. He’s an
expert. Until a few weeks ago, he lived across the street underneath the same
overpass. When he moved indoors, Neil inherited his sleeping bag. So Jim grabbed the shoes and climbed up the
steep embankment without a problem. He sat down with Neil while he tried on the
shoes and then scurried back down, again with little visible effort. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">He was
right. I often don’t have “the right kind of shoes”. The “shoes” that
frequently trip me up are long cherished assumptions, the illusions that
allow me to feel insulated and separate from what is happening in the real
world. They allow me to pretend that people like Neil are invisible. I am
thankful for prophets like Jim. They point out my willful ignorance and walk
with me to the places where God is waiting.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-5694074531738401132013-10-05T19:10:00.001-07:002013-10-05T19:10:15.663-07:00Giving Consent<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed
you to go and bear fruit…” John 15:16<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The “you” chosen and
appointed to go in John </span><st1:time hour="15" minute="16"><span style="font-family: Arial;">15:16</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is plural (i.e. “all of you” or “community” - not individual religious
rock stars). Of course I like the <b><i>idea</i></b> of missional community, of
being part of the God’s kingdom as it emerges in new places. But I am not yet
comfortable <b><i>being</i></b> missional, because the kingdom often appears in places I
would rather not go. I eventually witness things I would rather not see. It is
a difficult path to follow and not one I would readily choose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">God’s kingdom is real and I
know where to look for it: among the poor and destitute, among those who are
oppressed and suffering. That is where Jesus went and announced “the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial;">kingdom</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial;">God</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">
has come near”. Jesus said “Blessed are you who are poor” because that is where
God chooses to be found (“for yours is the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial;">kingdom</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial;">God</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">”
– Luke </span><st1:time hour="18" minute="20"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6:20</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;">). Being in that place, following that path is not so
much a choice as it is giving consent to being “chosen” and “appointed to go”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jesus also said, “I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat, thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, I was
sick and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me”. When have we done those
things? “Inasmuch as you have done this for the least of these, you have done
it for me”. I don’t believe those words are a polite suggestion to do nice
things for poor people. I do believe they tell us we cannot find or follow
Jesus if we separate ourselves from God’s poor. Being “missional” means moving beyond our own
comfort and security and stepping out into the places where God is waiting. It
is difficult. It is so difficult that is requires community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-21542369408095331862013-08-03T16:51:00.001-07:002013-08-03T16:51:15.670-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Some Thoughts on Community</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve learned a
few things about community over the years because on several occasions I’ve
been fortunate enough to be present when it happened. One of the first lessons
I learned is that community is not a commodity that can be fabricated for mass
consumption. Community-in-practice (as opposed to “community-in-theory” or
“community-as-cliché”) is people sharing their lives with each other. It is not
an effortless way of life but I believe it is worth the struggle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those who are
drawn into community-in-practice soon learn about interdependence. We are
connected to everyone and everything else. Everything we do has an impact on the
world and people around us. It takes a while for that kind of awareness to take
hold since we are conditioned to think in terms of “me and mine” rather than
“us” (i.e. “we are all in this together”). The rhythm of life experienced in
community requires a different spirit, one of cooperation instead of
competition. The illusion of total self-sufficiency has to be abandoned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But community-in-practice
is not the fruit of blind optimism. It springs from the practical knowledge
that I can only discover and grow toward my truest self when I am in relationship
with others. Everyone, even those who might appear to be weakest (the “least of
these”), are important because they are a unique expression of the life of God
that help make the community whole. We are not only connected to everyone else,
we also need them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, if
this way of life is so challenging and difficult why would anyone bother? When
you find yourself in the midst of an emerging community (as I do now) it
becomes clear that it is not simply a desirable goal but a precious gift.
Community is a visible demonstration of God’s presence in the world. It is the
kingdom of God (as Jesus called it) expressed in the language of human
relationships. It is alive and always evolving and cannot be limited to static
organizational structures. It requires a willingness to set aside our long
cherished beliefs about what a community “must” or “should” be to allow room
for growth into what we are being called to “become”.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-66115122853418970292013-05-04T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-04T20:00:34.316-07:00<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Worship Club<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I had a conversation the
other day with a close relative about her recent visit to Church. It was an
important event since she is a hesitant seeker – curious but very cautious. The
wounds from past religious bludgeoning haven’t completely healed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although her recent
experience of Church wasn’t traumatic, it wasn’t particularly uplifting either.
She was good natured about it, making jokes about the one hour and forty minute
service. My heart sank as she described the beautiful and elaborate ritual that
she was unable to decipher. Apparently no one in that large gathering was
willing to serve as guide or translator. No one was available to say: “Don’t
worry - everyone is a little overwhelmed at first”. She was left to navigate
that unfamiliar territory on her own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I told her how sorry I was
that her experience had not been more positive. She laughed and brushed the
apology aside. “It’s OK”, she said. “It’s <b><i>their</i></b> club”. That was a painful and
prophetic message</span>.</div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-59956270824103903502013-02-24T19:05:00.000-08:002013-02-24T19:05:59.768-08:00Lent<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my son, the
beloved; with you I am well pleased’. And the Spirit immediately drove him out
into the wilderness” Mark </span><st1:time hour="13" minute="11"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1:11</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;">
- 12<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“You are the beloved”. I
think that is how it began for Jesus. I don’t know what hearing a voice from
heaven would be like but it must have been disturbing. That is why Jesus was
“driven” into the wilderness. What does being “the beloved” mean? Would it make
any difference? Would anyone notice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It was a disturbing event
because it shattered the traditional view of things (in Mark’s gospel the
heavens are “torn apart”). God was no longer safely enthroned “up there” or
locked away in a majestic temple. In a very disturbing way, God was intimately
present. Not just to the religious professionals who knew all the right words
and rituals but intimately present to a “nobody” from no where like Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For me, that is what Lent is
about. It means coming to terms with being the beloved of God. It is not a “thing”
which I can own or possess. Being the beloved is being possessed by the very
life of God. It is disturbing. It is not an experience that can be limited to the
life, ministry and suffering of Jesus. God is intimately present to all of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-58194531072330756892012-12-15T16:14:00.000-08:002012-12-15T17:04:57.619-08:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lately I
have been pondering what I’m supposed to be anticipating during this season of
Advent. I can, of course, fall back on the conventional answer: the birth of
Jesus, the arrival of the Christ child. But what does that mean? Does that make
any difference in the world where I live? Not much, if I insist on waiting for
God at a safe distance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I read
the story of Mary’s experience (in the gospel of Luke) I am left with the
impression that she wasn't anticipating the appearance of God’s messenger nor prepared
for the news that she was to be the “God bearer”. I think the anticipation, the
“watching and waiting”, began only after she gave her consent to be part of
what God was doing in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe
my problem is not really an issue of ability but of willingness. God is always
coming to us. It is easy to miss because it is so radical, beyond our normal
categories of interpretation. The presence of God, God-with-us, turns the
acceptable, the normal and customary upside down. I can only
experience that if I am willing to say “Yes” to God and become part of the story.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-39476767324254506952012-11-16T07:58:00.001-08:002012-11-16T07:58:45.772-08:00<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Blessed
are you who are the poor, for yours is the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">kingdom</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A couple of years ago I invited a friend to Church. I wanted
to learn what newcomers experienced when they visited our parish for the first
time. After the service I took this young
family out to lunch so they could share their first impressions. Their comments
were positive for the most part. However, one of their observations really
stuck with me. They said, “We didn't notice any poor people”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I reflect on my experience in various Churches over the
years I can remember only one where poor and homeless folks attended on a regular
basis. I do not mention that as a criticism of any particular Church or
tradition. Instead, it raises some very difficult questions for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Would I be comfortable worshiping with people who are
different than me? Would I welcome such people into Church? Am I ready to go beyond
the church doors and out into the real world to befriend people who suffer
poverty and homelessness? I don't think they need my help or friendship as
much as I need to listen to them and hear the gospel of God’s kingdom. After
all, Jesus said it belongs to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8228029067724949365.post-36125563767242262892012-10-31T19:57:00.000-07:002012-10-31T19:57:06.674-07:00Listening<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the
Churches”. I have heard those words hundreds of times but I have never given
much thought to what it means to have an “ear to listen”. I know that I am often
guilty of “selective hearing”, (hearing only what I want to hear and filtering
out everything else). It is a bad habit, especially in the dimension of the
Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I am trying, learning to be attentive and to listen in a different
way. I am learning to listen closely to my life and the lives of those around
me. It is difficult. It requires patience because I have to move beyond the
shallow and superficial and struggle to understand an unfamiliar language. It takes
courage because I have to wait as other hearts and souls whisper or speak or
scream out things that are not easy to embrace but are definitely honest-to-God
truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I am hearing the Spirit say through lives and hearts these days is:
“I am doing something new”. It is not a threat. It is not a condemnation of
what has been or is now. It is not an affirmation that a few people have been
“right” all along while the rest of us have been terribly “wrong”. It <b><i>is</i></b>
an invitation to be a part of something new and to risk being transformed in
the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
South Side Friarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00098724913568874184noreply@blogger.com0