Plowing the Field!
\"Sloughing Towards Galilee!"
"Putting One's Hand to the Plow!-Taking up the Cross!"
“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” These are the words of Jesus to a man who promised to follow him after saying goodbye to his family in Luke 9:62.
Matthew 16:24-25 NKJV Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
“Love distills desire upon the eyes, love brings bewitching grace into the heart.”–?Euripides
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A young 15-year-old modern saint, Carlos Acutis, commented, "Sadness is looking toward oneself, happiness is looking outward toward God."
His words ring true for good mental health and an over-arching view of life. I have found them one of the anchors of my faith. As I look back to nearly thirty years in San Francisco, and at times see my life as a failure, I remember the Scripture given to me as a young student being given his first church by a former nanny, an old black woman with a heart of gold: No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” These are the words of Jesus to a man who promised to follow him after saying goodbye to his family in Luke 9:62.
I was giddy with excitement, and as Lucy smiled, hugged, and kissed me with so much pride, she knew the days ahead would not be easy, but there would be many times when there would be much doubt, questioning, and pain.
A friend of mine, after decades, in ministry commented to me he quit because he was such a failure. He was not a failure, he loved, cared for people, and made his mistakes; I feel the same way a lot these days; I have committed thousands of mistakes in thirty years, but as Dorothy says: "I try!" If I listen to what others say, I too will let failure creep within me; They operate from their limited perception. I would have quit within a week of starting!
For I continue to find the words of Philippe Jacottet, a Celtic author, to ring true:
"Love, like fire, can only reveal its brightness on the failure and beauty of burnt wood."
There is a comfort and transfiguration in these words. The fires of suffering are disclosures of love. My life is burnt wood with its brightness the failures!?
I? find God's love in the suffering of each person I encounter as well, each with its brightness and failure. Each person I walk with suffers in one way or another, rich, poor, white, black, red, brown, Democrat, Republican, or whatever. We all have the commonality of suffering, the great leveler of humanity. We are a community of suffering!
It is the nature of the lover, one who cares,? to suffer. The marks and wounds that suffering leaves on us are eventually places of beauty.
One of the difficulties I have come to have with viewing our actions solely through psychology is that psychology breaks everything down into categories. In the wrong hands, everything becomes black and white. John Wesley said that everything should be looked at with wisdom, faith, practicality, and experience. There is not one way!
For example, there is a move to include a new category labeled, "religious trauma, "in the
DSM V or I guess VI, is a great category used wisely. The concern is that it will become to the point where many people will see everything religious as trauma. Ultimately using the "religious trauma" to discredit our search for God.
I have suffered and continue to suffer religious trauma, from abuse from institutions, and people in general. But I have learned to cope and see beyond the "trauma" to the Divine Presence of Christ. His divine love has surrounded me. I have and continue to struggle with? PTSD but it is not who I am!? It does not limit what I do or define my life!
My encounter, faith, and experience with Jesus of Nazareth is what empowers, and drives me. This presence empowers me to love everyone without judgment, for this presence reminds me we are all created in the image of God, and if there is judgment it is God's place to judge. It is this presence that calls me to see that believing in Christ is but one of the many expressions of God throughout the world. God is like a kaleidoscope, meeting people where they are in their cultures.
It is that love, that drives me passionately, and which when I enter the Reign of God, "reveal its brightness on the failure and the beauty of burnt wood," the "wood" of my life! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!
领英推荐
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(Temenos and Fr. River seek to remain accessible to everyone. We do not endorse particular causes, political parties, or candidates, or take part in public controversies, whether religious, political or social--Our pastoral ministry is to everyone!
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“Our Haunted-ness!”
“A Journey With People on the Street!”
Tenderloin Stations of the Cross
March 29, 2024
Noon-2:00 p.m.
Meet in Front of Polk Street-Side City Hall
Sponsored by Temenos Catholic Worker
For more information:
Fr. River Sims, D.Min., D.S.T.
415-305-2124
Day of (No) Silence 2024: Rise Up. Take Action.
History of Day of (No) Silence: Started in the mid 90’s by two college students, Day of Silence has expanded to reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. Every April, students would go through the school day without speaking, ending the day with Breaking the Silence rallies to bring attention to ways their schools and communities can become more inclusive.
2024 Day of (No) Silence: With more than 800 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced last year, we must Rise Up and Take Action. GLSEN’s Day of NO Silence is a nationally-recognized student-led demonstration where LGBTQ+ students and allies all around the country—and the world— protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools.