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dreamprayact

~ Reflections of a preacher, poet, and contemplative activist

dreamprayact

Monthly Archives: January 2013

The Urgency of Today

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Sermon portions

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Christian Scripture, Dorothy Day, good news to the poor, grace, hope, Isaiah, liberation, Luke's Gospel, social justice

When Jesus arrived in his hometown of Nazareth following his baptism by John, he went to the synagogue and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus selected a text from Isaiah 61 to read:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 
(Luke 4:18-19)

Upon finishing the reading, Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. What could have been just another relaxed Sabbath, with pot roast for dinner and an afternoon of televised football games, had Jesus only stopped there, became a moment of truth. With the eyes of everyone in the synagogue fixed upon him, Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (4:21).

Think about the implications of these words for followers of Christ. We don’t have the luxury of waiting for a future coming of Christ as so many think we do. Today is the day of Christ’s coming! We can’t waste our time debating whether Jesus comes to save some or save all. Today is the day of God’s salvation! We aren’t in a position to form a task force to look into the possibilities for realizing God’s reign on earth. Today is the day God’s Realm comes near!

2693316186_afde395310-300x225Jesus’ inaugural message is one of liberation. His words reflect a call to justice, and a concern for the tangible needs of real people. Those who have been cast aside by society are brought into the center of God’s concern through Jesus’ appropriation of Isaiah’s words. As Dorothy Day once said, “The Gospels record that Jesus preached good news to the poor, and an essential part of that good news was that they were to be poor no longer.”

It is as though Jesus is saying that today God’s justice has won out. Today I am proclaiming release to the captives – whether it is captivity to cycles of poverty that hold people down or captivity to the sins of greed and selfishness. Today I am saying that the blind can see – whether it is those blinded by poor diet and health or those blinded to the grace of God in the world. Today I am telling the oppressed to go free – whether that oppression takes the form of prejudice or of despair.

The urgency of Jesus’ message is spoken to us. The immediacy of Jesus’ mission is ours to take up. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 

There is no time to waste! Today is the day to renew your commitment to Christ. Today is the day to bring a message of grace and hope to the world. Today God’s Spirit anoints you with the power of love to offer good news for all of creation.

Words (c) 2013 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Is God Judging America?

19 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

God's character, God's creation, God's judgment, gun control, James Dobson, mental illness, Newtown Connecticut, Sandy Hook, school violence

ANationShakenbytheSandyHookTragedysm_Slide_2012_12_16_17_25_PMA few days after the shooting of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, I saw an article about how one well-known religious figure interpreted the meaning of the event. I wrote my thoughts at the time, and put them aside for a while to see if time would soften my feelings about the callousness of his moralistic brand of thinking. Looking at this a month later, I stand by my words.

I am angry today. I am angry not only about the pervasive violence of the American culture and the gun lobby’s insistence that easy unchecked access to guns has nothing whatsoever to do with it, but also about how some religious figures publicly interpret tragic events like this one.

We are in a period of national mourning. There are still children being laid to rest by their families. There is a stunned recognition in the minds of parents everywhere that the unspeakable has happened in Sandy Hook, and could happen anywhere. There is shock. There is pain. There is a call for a national conversation on gun control and mental health and there is a cry for meaningful action to prevent these kinds of tragedies in the future.

The Christian Scriptures attest that God enters human life and experiences the joys and sufferings that accompany being human. God steadfastly loves creation. God is compassionate. God has a special place in God’s heart for the most vulnerable among us. God’s actions don’t necessarily correspond with the views of Christian apologists or evangelists. In fact, I am finally ready to say, after holding my tongue, that I suspect God has had quite enough of the stupid un-Christian rhetoric of people like radio host James Dobson, who attributed the Sandy Hook school shooting to a lack of God in schools.

Here are some of the thoughts Dr. Dobson expressed on his radio broadcast a few days after the Sandy Hook tragedy: “I mean millions of people have decided that either God doesn’t exist or he’s irrelevant to me, and we have killed fifty-four million babies, and the institution of marriage is right on the verge of a complete redefinition. Believe me, that is going to have consequences too. And a lot of these things are happening around us, and somebody is going to get mad at me for saying what I am about to say right now, but I am going to give you my honest opinion: I think we have turned our back on the Scripture and on God Almighty and I think he has allowed judgment to fall upon us. I think that’s what’s going on” [Family Talk broadcast of December 17, 2012].

So let me get this straight – God, who created the earth and all life, including human beings in God’s own image, deliberately chooses to utilize the evil intentions of a mentally ill and troubled young man with access to high-capacity guns to kill innocent children and teachers in cold blood in order to make a point!

I want to keep as much distance as possible from this kind of toxic and moralistic theology as I possibly can, because if God ever really gets angry I don’t want to be standing anywhere near Dr. Dobson in all of his sanctimonious glory!

I am angry today because James Dobson and others like him malign the name and character of God whose tears were the first to fall as bullets rained down on the innocent ones!

Words (c) 2013 Mark Lloyd Richardson

To Build the Beloved Community

17 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems, Prayers, Reflections

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Afghanistan, beloved community, courage, Haiti, justice, Martin Luther King, Palestine, peace, sacred mystery, ultimate meaning, vision

mlkpeacehands“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. You may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. You may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate, nor establish love. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Here is a prayer poem that I wrote for the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a few years ago for an interfaith peace and justice meeting:

Pray to whomever you kneel in awe before.
Pray to Being, to Sacred Mystery, to the Breath of Life.
Pray to Divine Love, to Ultimate Meaning, to the Author of Peace.
Pray so as to open your humanity to the humanity in others.
Pray through tears dripping with the world’s suffering.
Pray without forgetting
that we are bound together
on a path that touches all of our lives,
all of our worlds,
whether we live in Haiti or Iraq or China
or Afghanistan or Yemen or Palestine
or on the central coast of California.
On this day we thank you, Holy One, for Martin Luther King Jr.
We thank you for all who have the vision and the courage
to build the beloved community
where everyone is valued,
power is shared,
privilege is set aside,
and all creation knows your healing Presence and Peace.
In your many names we pray. Amen.

Words (c) 2013 Mark Lloyd Richardson

A World Where Now Matters

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Dogs

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

dog companions, George Bailey, Havanese, It's a Wonderful Life, James Stewart, Operation Rescue, Poodle, rescue dogs, Shih Tzu

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThree weeks ago, my wife Dallis and I went to visit a local dog rescue organization called Operation Rescue. We had decided we were ready to have the companionship of a dog again in our home after nearly a year since the death of Sadie, our beloved Pomeranian.

We met a variety of dogs and interacted with them. However, the little guy pictured here grabbed at our heart strings from the moment we met him. He was calm, affectionate, and trusting, amazing attributes given his history. He had been found on the streets of our city not in good shape. The County Shelter took him in for a short time in case his owners came looking for him. After a few weeks he was scheduled for euthanasia. That’s when Operation Rescue came to the shelter and rescued him, among others.

We have enjoyed three weeks with our boy, whom we have named Bailey in honor of the character George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart in the holiday favorite “It’s A Wonderful Life.” George Bailey needed to understand the difference his life made to those around him. I can assure you that the little Bailey who now runs around our house is making a difference to us.

Based on the best guesses of the rescue group and our vet’s office, he is a mix of Miniature Poodle and perhaps Shih Tzu (based on his ear coloring) and/or Havanese. We are pretty sure he is also part circus acrobat, high jumper, sprinter, therapist, and comedian!

Dogs invite us into a world where “now” matters!

Some of us need that reminder more than others.

Words (c) 2013 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2013 Dallis Day Richardson

 

 

What Gift Can We Bring?

05 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems, Reflections

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

compassion, Epiphany, faith, gifts, grace, gratitude, interfaith cooperation, Jesus Christ, light of Christ, ministry, progressive Christianity, re-creation, spirituality

wise-men-1Today is the eve of Epiphany, a day celebrating the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world, and especially to religious outsiders and seekers. It also marks the one-year anniversary of this blog, in which I have endeavored to share a word of grace, hope, and peace with my readers. My posts have included prayers, poems, portions of sermons, and other reflections on spirituality and the life of faith from a progressive Christian perspective.

Pastoral ministry is demanding. Most of the time I feel as though I’m way behind in doing what needs to be done to strengthen the church I serve and help people become more faithful and fruitful in ministry to the world. So my posts have sometimes been few and far between. Still I value those who read, and especially those who trouble themselves to make a comment or offer feedback.

For me the most important qualities of Christian disciples are humility, compassion, a desire to serve humankind, and a heart for all God’s children. Beliefs and theologies can vary. Religions and traditions can vary. If you are convinced that every human being is a child of God and you want to bring people together to build a shared humanity and strengthen the common good, then I don’t care if you are an atheist, an agnostic, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Sikh, a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew! Please, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, for the sake of the natural world and all its creatures, and for the sake of our future on this planet, let us work together to make a better world.

I am a Christian pastor, but I have great admiration and respect for people of all faiths and people of no faith, because I have been around long enough to understand that religious beliefs don’t always make people more compassionate or kind or loving. Sometimes, in fact, religious beliefs just inoculate people into thinking they don’t need to change or embolden them to be boisterous in their condemnation of those who think differently than they do. Sometimes religious beliefs make people less tolerant, less trusting, less loving, and (to be honest) a pain in the neck. Still I believe in the power of love to transform the world.

On this twelfth day of Christmas and Epiphany Eve, I share a poem I wrote ten years ago.

What Gift Can We Bring?

No one dare boast of her place in God’s Kingdom.
No one dare brag of his place in God’s Realm.
We are but children reborn of our Mother,
And in the arms of our Father beheld.

Still, in this season we sing out God’s glory —
We who have come to experience God’s grace.
Still, in this time when a star shines out brightly —
We come rejoicing, and look on Love’s face.

How is it that we can sing when we’re lonely?
How is it that we can stand while afraid?
How is it that we still love the Old Story
Of all creation made new and reclaimed?

We are not brighter or richer or stronger,
We are not privileged alone to know Love.
We are with all of God’s children together
Graced by the Christ here on earth and above.

What can we bring to the Child born among us?
What can we offer our Savior and King?
All that we are is a gift we’ve been given —
Our grateful hearts the best gift we can bring.

Words (c) 2002 Mark Lloyd Richardson

January 2013
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