Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday Reflection: My Neighbor
Yesterday, I drove my mom from Minneapolis down to Chicago, and this evening I sat on a porch in the cool fall air with my mother and father and sister, eating and laughing. There is a gentleness to such days; they can't be forced.
Yesterday's article in the Star Tribune lead to a lot of wonderful messages, from some people I knew and many I didn't (but now I do). One asked why I wrote it, and the truth is this: On Thursday afternoon, I heard Dale Carpenter of the University of Minnesota speak very eloquently on the issue at St. Thomas, and then on Friday morning, working on something else, I found myself reading the passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke where Jesus announces the Two Great Commandments.
To me, that moment in which Jesus answers the lawyer's question is freighted with great meaning. It marks the shift in our faith from the primacy of rules to the primacy of principles-- after all, they ask Jesus what the greatest commandment (or rule) is, and he answers with two principles (love God, and love your neighbor).
Principles are harder than rules, because they require such active engagement on our part. They tell us how we should think about something in deciding on an action, not what to do, and that is hard work.
Hard work, though, is a blessing, as I was reminded again today, even amidst the gentleness of fall.
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The observations and suggestions in your article spoke to many, if not most, of our social concerns.
Your morning reflections equally as articulate.
What touches my heart the most after every reading of Matthew 22, The Great Commandment, is the last verse - verse 40, "On these two commandments the whole law is based, and the prophets as well."
If we were not so selective with what we read and hear...
Your morning reflections equally as articulate.
What touches my heart the most after every reading of Matthew 22, The Great Commandment, is the last verse - verse 40, "On these two commandments the whole law is based, and the prophets as well."
If we were not so selective with what we read and hear...
# posted by 
: 1:12 PM
: 1:12 PM
See Wheelock Whitney's editorial in Sunday's Star Tribune for another eloquent reflection on the Minnesota marriage amendment.
The lawyer's question after they dispense with the recitation of the two commandments is really the one that challenges us. We can all accept, intellectually, that we are called to love God, and love neighbor.
But the question of "who is my neighbor" forces us to decide how wide we believe God's grace to be, and how wide our worlds must be in proclaiming and sharing our love.
For the inquisitive lawyer, a good, good man by every societal standard then, or now, the Parable of the Good Samaritan was more than he could have imagined, or tolerated. You imagine him leaving that day feeling like the rich young ruler--very sad, because he was being asked to extend his world beyond any circumference that he would have imagined.
In that question, and Jesus's story of the Samaritan, there is guidance, perhaps, for the quandry about which you have written recently.
But the question of "who is my neighbor" forces us to decide how wide we believe God's grace to be, and how wide our worlds must be in proclaiming and sharing our love.
For the inquisitive lawyer, a good, good man by every societal standard then, or now, the Parable of the Good Samaritan was more than he could have imagined, or tolerated. You imagine him leaving that day feeling like the rich young ruler--very sad, because he was being asked to extend his world beyond any circumference that he would have imagined.
In that question, and Jesus's story of the Samaritan, there is guidance, perhaps, for the quandry about which you have written recently.
...forces us to decide how wide we believe God's grace to be, and how wide our worlds must be in proclaiming and sharing our love. - Through faith, when we descide to let go we expeerience more fully the breadth of His grace and love.
In life, our hearts and minds are often steeled with safety of the known, yearning for balance, harmony and inner peace only the unknown can provide. Calm waters are initially encountered at realities edge between the known and unknown; a shoreline’s pulsating movement as revealing as our questioning mind. What draws us near and allows gentle waves to wash over our curious entrance into fathomless waters? How compelling to be drawn to a reality we can not fully enjoy without separating ourselves from the security we stand upon.
As often as the shoreline beckons, each encounter is as varied as the time of day and weather conditions that create the intriguing crests we gaze upon and strive to understand. Calm, sun drenched, glassy surfaces as compelling as blackened nights of icy cold swells cascading and crashing one upon the other; peaks and valleys of life often as contrasting.
Life is a miracle journey, not the life we have missed, but the life we have lived. It is a journey seeking meaning and purpose, the line between as unpredictable as the water’s edge. The quest pulling at the safety of our known and drawing us to experience the unknown, calling us to wade further out beyond our comfort zone until separated from the security our existence rests upon – separated from this world and welcomed aboard an existence untethered to our certainties, residing upon the crests and swells only He controls.
God’s love and gift of Spirit are most comforting, providing the faith and courage to sustain us during our new todays and inspire us to embrace our new tomorrows. His love is our safe harbor, continually calling us to the water’s edge, to the convergence of secular and Spiritual existences we seek. As we set course, balance, harmony and inner peace are attained by letting go, by gently loosening the mooring lines of life and trusting the buoyancy of our faith, secure in the knowledge that during a raging storm we can trust in Him and His promises, that His hand and embrace will see us through, calling to us as He did to Peter in Matthew 28: 27–32
Jesus hastened to reassure them. “Get hold of yourselves! It is I. Do not be afraid!” Peter spoke up and said, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you across the water!” “Come!” he said. So Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, moving towards Jesus. But when he perceived how strong the wind was, becoming frightened, he began to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus at once stretched out his hand and caught him. “How little faith you have!” he exclaimed. “Why did you falter?” Once they had climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
– New American Bible, St. Joseph Edition.
Each one of us is called in a very personal way. Life, our journey to discover, embrace, nurture and share the gifts we have been given. When we answer His call, He will be there for us, hand extended. “Come!”
In Him, we can walk on water and experience all that is His Grace and Love.
In life, our hearts and minds are often steeled with safety of the known, yearning for balance, harmony and inner peace only the unknown can provide. Calm waters are initially encountered at realities edge between the known and unknown; a shoreline’s pulsating movement as revealing as our questioning mind. What draws us near and allows gentle waves to wash over our curious entrance into fathomless waters? How compelling to be drawn to a reality we can not fully enjoy without separating ourselves from the security we stand upon.
As often as the shoreline beckons, each encounter is as varied as the time of day and weather conditions that create the intriguing crests we gaze upon and strive to understand. Calm, sun drenched, glassy surfaces as compelling as blackened nights of icy cold swells cascading and crashing one upon the other; peaks and valleys of life often as contrasting.
Life is a miracle journey, not the life we have missed, but the life we have lived. It is a journey seeking meaning and purpose, the line between as unpredictable as the water’s edge. The quest pulling at the safety of our known and drawing us to experience the unknown, calling us to wade further out beyond our comfort zone until separated from the security our existence rests upon – separated from this world and welcomed aboard an existence untethered to our certainties, residing upon the crests and swells only He controls.
God’s love and gift of Spirit are most comforting, providing the faith and courage to sustain us during our new todays and inspire us to embrace our new tomorrows. His love is our safe harbor, continually calling us to the water’s edge, to the convergence of secular and Spiritual existences we seek. As we set course, balance, harmony and inner peace are attained by letting go, by gently loosening the mooring lines of life and trusting the buoyancy of our faith, secure in the knowledge that during a raging storm we can trust in Him and His promises, that His hand and embrace will see us through, calling to us as He did to Peter in Matthew 28: 27–32
Jesus hastened to reassure them. “Get hold of yourselves! It is I. Do not be afraid!” Peter spoke up and said, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you across the water!” “Come!” he said. So Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, moving towards Jesus. But when he perceived how strong the wind was, becoming frightened, he began to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus at once stretched out his hand and caught him. “How little faith you have!” he exclaimed. “Why did you falter?” Once they had climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
– New American Bible, St. Joseph Edition.
Each one of us is called in a very personal way. Life, our journey to discover, embrace, nurture and share the gifts we have been given. When we answer His call, He will be there for us, hand extended. “Come!”
In Him, we can walk on water and experience all that is His Grace and Love.
# posted by : 9:07 AM
: 9:07 AM
I wonder if you will see this comment this ancient post. I hope so. I saw these thoughts on Relevant.com and thought of your letter in the Star Tribune...
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/27199-qi-dont-know-how-to-talk-to-gay-peopleq
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