THE EVER PRESENT WHY

THE EVER PRESENT WHY

11/20/19 

The author asks the question,  “Why it is that those who seek God do not see God in the creations of God?”Wisdom 13: 1-9

These verses concentrate on the wonders of nature and the obvious fact, to him anyway, that the wind, the rain, the flowers, the animals, and the oceans are right there, but the seekers miss it all. They are searching for God while surrounded by his glory. He asks how can they call these things gods and not wonder where they came from in the first place. 

I don’t know how many people in the world believe that God created it.  But those who say a creator is impossible, counter those who say random creation is impossible. I can’t watch a hummingbird or examine a Queen Anne’s Lace blossom then attribute their existence to randomness. But some people do. 

Maybe that is why some people can ignore the existence of, or the rights of, other people.  If they decide that other humans are somehow not exactly like themselves, they then feel free to hate them, resent them, abuse them or even kill them. 

There are differences such as skin color, religion, language or culture, which can and do create divisions among us.  However, the fact remains that each person is a creation of God.  That God loves each person in the same measure.  That is very hard to keep in focus when we are dealing with the actions of other people.   Still, that is what God expects from us.  From the communication with the earliest people, to the present, God has called on us to love one another.  It remains the hardest thing to do.  

God is not unaware of our struggle, however.  The struggle to follow his command even though our emotions run high is tough.  Our prayer should always be that God would give us the strength and the will to do what he commands in spite of our inclination to do the opposite.

God is love, but if we stay that level of pious thought without identifying our everyday experiences of goodness and caring with God’s presence, we are like the people raving about the glories of nature while ignoring the creator of such glories. God is with us at all times and all good comes from the presence of God within us. 

That alone should be enough for us to follow Christ’s example with confidence. 

Blessings

Carol Lemelin OPA 

KEEP THE CHANGE

KEEP THE CHANGE

11/13/19

If there were one thing most people could agree on, it would be the strong dislike for change.  Changes happen all the time, but the ones that upset us are those, which happen without our consent. Those are the changes that take us out of our comfort zone.   However, the changes we make ourselves aren’t always the best either, but then we only have ourselves to blame.  If we look back through time we will see a zigzag pattern of changes. Some of those changes will be wonderful to recall, because they were the right ones. 

What made me think of this was considering the life of the early followers of Christ. 

They were faced with a choice following the death of Jesus.  They could just go back to their lives and forget the whole thing, or they could stay with the Apostles and see what the descent of the Spirit, promised by Jesus, would mean to them.  Certainly this would mean a complete change in their lives. Some probably took the first choice, but many others took the second.  Jesus warned that making a change this dramatic would lead to much grief. For many it did. Still, they accepted the change that following Him would mean. 

Take Paul of Tarsus, the firebrand defender of The Law. He believed that those who followed Jesus were traitors to the ancient faith and deserved to be destroyed. By the time he was writing his letter to the Romans, he had done a total about face. It is hard to imagine what his mindset must have been like in those early days. But, I’m guessing the Holy Spirit worked overtime to effect this change. St. Paul’s exposure to Christ through His followers made such an impression that he was willing to make the change from The Law to the Word. In his letter to the Romans, Paul makes a statement that defines this change, but might have made his hand shake as he wrote it. 

Love is the fulfillment of the Law.  (Rom: 10-13)

Christ calls us to make changes, too, changes that fulfill our calling. We are called to fight racism, discrimination, false judgments, and injustice.  If we need to change our long-held opinions to achieve this, so be it.  It’s important to take stock of our faith life and be sure it is in line with Christ’s message. If it isn’t, we need to change. 

Abide with me Lord, Thou who never changes, Abide with me.

Carol Lemelin OPA

THE WAY

THE WAY

11/6/19

In today’s world situation it is essential that here and there among people there continue to exist rays of light and hope, spiritual realities by which the unity of God’s peace and the brotherliness of true justice are recognized. This is our only task.

These are the thoughts of Eberhard Arnold who wrote them in the 1930’s as Nazism began its control of Germany.  The world situation as he described it is no different than it was in Jesus’ time or in ours.  The players are all different, but the conditions are the same; people trying to make the world better against people trying to tear it apart. 

And so it was with the earliest followers of Christ.  All of these people, wherever they lived, Jew or Gentile, were different from the rest of the community.  This was a precarious situation.  Jesus predicted that households would be divided because of him.  These people were now living that reality.  They were no longer part of their religious communities.  They were different and for the most part, suspect.  

They did not call themselves Christians.  They called themselves The Way. At the Last Supper, Jesus was preparing them for his death and told them he would prepare a place for them and that they would know the way.  Thomas said they didn’t know the way and Jesus replied, “ I am the way.”

This passage refers to eternal life, but more importantly, The Way means living our lives with Jesus as the main focus.  This is why the early disciples called themselves The Way.  This was a new way to look at the world, their relationship with God and with their fellow humans.

Somewhere along the line we have forgotten what that means.  All Christians should be practicing The Way.  If we had, there would never have been so much division.  St. Paul spent his entire ministry trying to keep people focused on the way of Jesus.  Our final destination is up to God.  We waste a lot of time worrying about how our actions might retard our entry into Glory. Instead we should be spending our energy being The Way for others.

You may ask, “What exactly is The Way?”  Kathleen Hasenberg tells us this: 

Modern life is so complicated and torn, so distracting and disintegrating, whereas The Way is simple, light, and straight. It unifies the whole of life.

To walk the path Jesus trod in compassion for others is The Way. It isn’t just the path to God; it is the path through this world.

Blessings, 

Carol Lemelin OPA

HOW WILL THEY KNOW?

HOW WILL THEY KNOW?

10/30/19

“We do not know how to pray as we should in times of stress.

Then the Holy Spirit prays for us in the very strongest way.

Then the One who searches the heart understands what the Spirit

Is asking.” Rom: 8:26-27

Of all Paul’s letters, the letter to the Romans is my favorite.  I thought it appealed because the people of Rome were more like us city folk and he found it easy to speak to them.  I was wrong about that.  I never knew until recently that St. Paul was not the founder of the church in Rome. What is more interesting is no one knows exactly who was responsible for bringing the message of Christ to Rome. 

My late son, who in addition to being a military officer, was also a military historian, who reveled in history.  I used to have to pedal really fast to keep up with him in that area.  I did my best and we shared some great conversations.  One thing he was convinced of is that the Centurion who stated at the Cross-that Jesus was truly the Messiah, was the same officer whose servant Jesus cured.  My son also reveled in the fact that one of things that drove the Emperor Nero mad was the knowledge that half of the soldiers in the Roman army were Christians.  Too bad David isn’t here to proclaim that the self-same centurion may have begun the conversion of the Romans.

If that were true, it would be a sign to all Christians that sharing the Good News is everyone’s responsibility.  Albert Camus puts it like this: 

            

            “What the world expects of Christians is that they should speak out, loud and clear; that they should voice their convictions in such a way that not even the slightest doubt could arise in the heart of the simplest person.”

The first thing we must ask ourselves as we consider what this would mean to us, is “What exactly is the Good News?”  I know what it is for me, but we all have to pray to know and trust that the Spirit is there to help. Take the Centurion for example.  He was the leader of men, a very rough crowd of men, so the message had to be strong and convincing.  His presence at the crucifixion of Jesus would be his stepping off point. These men all had been treated heartlessly. Many of them came from places very far from Rome, which they never expected to ever see again.  They were exactly the people who needed to hear how Jesus bore his suffering without condemnation of his executioners who were Roman soldiers.  That God loved them regardless of their link to Rome and was merciful to all people including them.  

That basically is what every one should come to know and as Paul puts it at another time,   “ How will they know if no one tells them?  

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

BEHOLD I AM WITH YOU ALL DAYS

BEHOLD I AM WITH YOU ALL DAYS

10/23/19

These are the last words of Jesus according to Scripture.  Consider the disciples. They have been through so much and experienced things they never could have imagined.  I think its naïve to think that they understood everything at this point. Jesus told them to stay in the city until the Spirit came.  Even that was mysterious. But their faith in Jesus was so strong by now, that uncertain as they may have been as to what form the Spirit would take, they went back to the city and waited.  

Their faith was rewarded, but I daresay not without some controversy. There were many disciples of Jesus by that time.  Upwards of 80 or more that we know of, so imagine the conversations that ensued.  Faith filled or not, everyone probably had something to say. Some thought Jesus would return very soon. Others believed he was gone for good.  Most hoped that somehow what He said about always being near would actually happen. After all, He never said anything he didn’t mean.  Then, with the descent of the Spirit, they understood and believed. 

This may be the most important article of faith we possess.  Knowing that the presence of Christ in our world, in our lives, in our very being is real, transforms us.  We need to look at everything through that prism. Every event, every controversy, every problem has to be examined that way.  I don’t think you can convince anyone of that, at least, not by words. But since you truly believe it, and live it, you can suggest that anyone who doubts it should live and act as though it were true for a week. If they really open themselves to it, the results should be amazing. The truth is, if you live with this knowledge at the forefront you will love.  

Three very different people put it this way: 

Words of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 19^th Century Engineer and novelist. 

“Go, and fear not. Be not bitter against anyone. Be not angry if you are wronged. Forgive. Be reconciled with everyone. If you are penitent, you love. And if you love, you are of God. All things are atoned for and all things are saved by love. Love is such a priceless treasure that you can redeem the whole world by it. “

Words of John Lennon, a 20^th century philosopher and Rock star. 

“All you need is love.” 

Words of Jesus Christ, Redeemer.

“Love one another as I have loved you.” 

Knowing He is with us at all times, make this much easier.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA