Downwardly Mobile!

Downwardly Mobile Luk 4:14-21 The world says, “When you were young, you were dependent and could not go where you wanted, but when you grow old, you will be able to make your own decisions, go your own way, and control your own destiny.But Jesus has a different version of maturity: It is the ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go. ????Immediately after Peter has been commissioned to be a servant of his sheep, Jesus confronts him with the hard truth that the servant-leader is the leader who is being led to unknown, undesirable, and painful places. The way of the Christian servant is not the way of upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross. ??? That way of downward mobility comes in the words of Thomas Merton our way of loving others:"I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine, and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was the waking from a dream of separateness."????This might sound repulsive, scary, and unthinkable, but the words of Anne Lamott lead us into this caring:"I hate to say it but only profound self-love will work dealing the scary-breath holding self, and not a diet that forbids apples and aprocots, but uses only kindness and grace which is the spiritukal W-D.forty which can save us."????And in hearing the voice of the first love and saying “yes” to it, the downward-moving way of Jesus is the way to the joy and the peace of God, a joy and peace that is not of this world. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!=====================Put me in jail, then. Throw me behind your religious bars since you have dubbed me a breaker of your law. I live my days in the courtroom of your criticism. I move unbothered under the gaze of your gavel. I have no interest in defending myself before your bench. Go on, clench your fists, raise your voice to make your point. Type the rebuke that you must make on my page. Who asked you to come through anyway? Is this rage your duty? We operate under a different set of obligations and get worked up to frustration for different reasons, even though we both claim fidelity to God. If you were interested, which I doubt, here is where my passion lies: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, defend the rights of the orphan, plead the widow’s cause, and woe to you who unjustly enforce God’s Law. Why spend your energy policing me when that same energy could be used to love, fiercely? Justice, mercy, and humility. Go learn what this means. Drew JacksonDeo Gratias! Thanks be to God!=============.Temenos Catholic WorkerP.O. Box 642656San Francisco, CA 94164Dr. River Damien Carlos Sims, Fr. River Damien Sims, D.Min., D.S.T. Temenos Catholic Worker Society of Franciscan Workers, Inc Po. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 ?"You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures." Elizabeth Gilbert Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded.It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well canwe be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when werecognize our shared humanity.???(Pema Ch?dr?n)?? .es, the most fundamental harmwe can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and therespect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.”?(Pema Ch?dr?n)? Self-esteem is the commitment to treat yourself in a kindly, loving manner when you're alone.? This is an active process that requires effort and energy.-- David Burns, Intimate connections, 1985.

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