Need a Hero?

 

Ferdinand, who chose the Better Way

Wherever I turn for heroes these days, I am confronted with glock-wielding, explosion-happy, blood-curdling violence. Why do we admire those who create more fear and promote a Might is Right dogma? The violent way is the easy way. The hard way, the narrow path Jesus encouraged us to take,  is always the way that leads to peace and to love of those around us.

In His life on earth, Jesus told the story of a Samaritan who helped a Jew. They should have been natural enemies, but the 'enemy' was treated with kindness and respect. I don't know what others take from that parable, but I take a way of behaving that would always promote a heroic action of love in dealing with our fellow men, no matter who they are or in what situation we find them.

My Jesus is a pacifist. When those who would (and ultimately, did) do Him harm came to take him with force and violence, He reacted peacefully, even taking a sword from Peter, who wanted to react in the more common human way. Being the commander of an army of angels, He did not call on them to defend and protect Him, though He could have done so. Can you even imagine Jesus pulling a handgun from the folds of His robe in the Garden of Gethsemane, and saying, "Make my day!"?

So why, when we look for heroes, do we look to those who can carry the biggest weapons and blow the biggest holes in their enemies? Why do we not turn for our heroes to those who refused to return violence for the mistreatment they received? Why do we not lift up those who knew what Jesus meant when He said to 'turn the other cheek,' or to "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you"? Why do those who can get so up in arms about abortion (which is something to get up in arms about) not get upset when those children are born, and raised in violence, and sent off to war to kill and be killed?

We need some heroes who will lead us and our children in the ways of peace. If we cannot learn to overlook our disagreements and differences, both in this country and in the world, and live with each other reacting and acting in loving and peaceful ways, we cannot help but continue on the path we are on; one that will lead  to a world none of us wish to see.

"Every war is both won and lost, and that loss is a pure high note of anguish, like a mother singing to an empty bed. No kind of bomb ever built will extinguish hatred." Barbara Kingsolver

Need a Hero? Go here to see who these are...

Note: I just looked back and see that many of my past posts are about peace. I don't think I will apologize for that, but I do have my reasons. I am still weaving the Peace tapestry commission. And also, I truly am concerned when all of the 'heroes' I see promoted, even in church situations, are those who have embraced violence in some way. How can I keep from begging us all to rethink our own actions and even whom we memorialize?

All we need is Love...... Love does not do harm to those around it.

Prince of Peace

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of councel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord....

And the wolf will dwell with the Lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together,
And a little child will lead them...

They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

from Isaiah 11

I am convinced that if all came to truly know the Prince of Peace, there would be peace on earth. If we learned to honor His teachings; to love our neighbors and our enemies, to do good and never evil to those whose lives we touch, then could we sleep in heavenly peace at this time of the year and all other times, as well.

This year, I continue to pray for Peace. Peace in the world of chaos and violence. Peace in our country, in our towns and our neighborhoods. Peace in our homes and families. And the Peace that passes our understanding to reign in all our hearts.

Merry Christmas. Thanks be to God for sending to earth the Prince of Peace.

Ho, ho, Holy giving....

Nicholas of Myra, who inspired our own tradition of Santa Claus, once learned of a family that was going to sell their three daughters into slavery to keep from starving. Stealthily, he took three bags of gold and threw them through the family's window to pay the ransom for the girls' freedom. This, and other secret gifts he gave the poor, are the basis for the gift-giving we do at this time each year. However, though there are still 1.2 million children trafficked each year in the global sex trade, we often choose to gift those who are in need of very little.

Look around you as you shop this season. Can you help any of those who could truly use your help? Even if you just make a secret pledge between yourself and God to not pass by a red bucket without putting something in it so your wealth can be put to work for others, that would be more in keeping with the true intent of the season than the shopping and giving we usually do. There are many places you can gift that will be of service to those in need if you are not comfortable gifting the needy directly. Let us be inspired by those who give Love for the right reasons this season, by those such as the original Nicolas, who gave because they love the true Giver. The man we see in the fake beard and the red suit is, after all, a very poor imitation of what the season and celebration is truly about.


"There is no improving the future without disturbing the present."
Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army

Blessed....

This is the completed lower border of the right side tapestry for the Nativity church commission I am working on. The elements in it are a bunch of grapes, the "Peace" banner, and a dove.

The bunch of grapes refers to our community, with Christ and with each other. Christ said He is the vine, and we are the branches. We are to bear fruit to stay alive. The fruits of the Spirit are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Things to strive towards, and to check our lives for frequently. (Notice that I said we're to check our own lives for them, not everybody else's lives.) We are not on the branches alone, however, and these fruits need to be born in community with others. That is the tough part! The bunch of grapes doesn't have just one big juicy grape on it that is me. My grape must rub up against a whole bunch of other grapes!

The Peace banner is very important to me. I believe all followers of Christ are to be Peacemakers, because He is a Peacemaker. When asked about how to treat our enemies, He said to turn the other cheek, and to love our enemies. He did not say to go to war and bomb them. That is the difference between worldly 'wisdom' and spiritual wisdom. James says,

"... the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace." (James 3:17, 18)

Sounds a bit like the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5, doesn't it? James 4 goes on to talk about where wars, fights, and murder come from. They do not come from the peaceful Spirit of God. I find it hard to swallow when a christian says things that show he or she is supportive of any war, just as I would find it hard to believe a true follower of the Peacemaker would be supportive of any form of murder. I have often heard military members praised for being willing to 'give their lives' for others and their country, but what goes unsaid is that they are also expected to be willing to take the lives of others for their country. As a Peacemaker, how can I support that?

I know I will be controversial in saying these things, in today's world. Christ was controversial when he said to love our enemies, too. But I am a pacifist because I am a follower of the One who came to show us how to live in Peace.

The final element on this border is the dove. It symbolizes both the dove of Peace, and the Spirit, who manifested as a dove when Christ was baptized.

"Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9

May your life be blessed.... May you live in Peace.

Some more Grace...

You say grace before meals. All right.
But I say grace before the play and the opera,
And grace before the concert and pantomime,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting,
Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

--G. K. Chesterton, from an early notebook (mid-1890s)

This lovely thought from GK Chesterton was in the November issue of Real Simple magazine! Perhaps Chesterton was referring to praying, which is a wonderful thing to do before any activity, especially, I believe before we take the risk of expressing ourselves creatively. But what if we took it even more literally and said the word "Grace" before these activities? It seems to me like saying the word would have a profound effect on me, as much effect as asking God to grace my work, which I also do. If I say the word, "Grace," I think I would feel God's presence and love and participation in what I do. I would be reminding myself that God graces me, and would be simply invoking Him to grace my work.

I believe I will start to try saying this word during the days ahead, and see if it has the power of a God Word. I believe it does!

Amazing Grace....

This is the so-far completed left-side tapestry for the Nativity church that I am weaving. This lower border includes an anchor, which I already discussed here. It also has a banner with the word "Grace" on it, and a branch of flowers, which are Rose of Sharon blooms.

So what led me to include the banner of Grace in this tapestry? How could grace not be a part of it? It is a part of every true relationship with God. In fact, it is the crucial part of our hope in Him.

Here is the online dictionary's definition of grace:

grace:

Favor or goodwill. Synonyms: kindness, kindliness, love, benignity; condescension.

A manifestation of favor, especially by a superior: It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school. Synonyms: forgiveness, charity, mercifulness. Antonyms: animosity, enmity, disfavor.

Mercy; clemency; pardon: He was saved by an act of grace from the governor. Synonyms: lenity, leniency, reprieve. Antonyms: harshness.


All of those things define Grace, but it is so much more. Christian teaching is that grace is unmerited mercy; it is receiving something, everything of any value, really, even though there is no way we can earn or deserve it. It is being given something that we cannot pay for or give anything back for.

I know a lot of truly good and deeply spiritual people. But I know some of them well enough to know that even they are not perfect and must rely on God's grace, which has already been given to them with overflowing, unmerited, never failing Love, for forgiveness and for a lifeline to God.

Grace is what it is all about. When we sing this version of Amazing Grace in church, I truly feel God's grace, and it can be an overwhelming thing. I can rarely end the song out loud.



Amazing grace. Truly amazing. I hope those who view the tapestry as they worship will be ever mindful of God's Amazing Grace.

The rose, or the Rose of Sharon, is seen by much of the religious community as a symbol of purity, beauty, and of the Passion of Christ. The region of Sharon was a valley known for it's beautiful wildflowers. Since we also live in a valley rich in wildflowers, and Jesus has been called the Rose of Sharon in many hymns and analogies (though not in an actual direct way in the New Testament), I have included this bunch of flowers in this tapestry border to symbolize the beauty of Christ, as well as the beauty of our natural world - and the connection they share in the Father/Creator.

A prayer for my worry....

"Go and find Jesus when your patience and strength give out and you feel alone and helpless. He is waiting for you. Say to Him, 'Jesus, you know exactly what is going on. You are all I have, and you know all. Come to my help.' And then go and don't worry about how you are going to manage. That you have told God about it is enough. He has a good memory."
Jeanne Jugan




I have become an expert at worry lately, and I am guessing that I am not alone in this. I love what Jeanne Jugan has said! I especially love the reminder that God has a good memory. My memory grows weaker with the more things I need to remember! But God even remembers to notice the needs of the lilies of the field and to notice when a feather falls from a sparrow. He will surely remember my seemingly overwhelming needs, fears, and requests.

Sometimes my prayers get into 'nag-mode;' begging the Father over and over for the same things, as if the more I nag Him, the quicker He will respond. How silly is that? I think a simple prayer saying, 'Lord, you know my needs, and I thank You for not forgetting me,' would surely be a more faithful prayer.



Remember the lilies. Remember that God has a good memory, and also that He loves me. That really is enough to remember in times of worry, isn't it?