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As a minister, it has been my goal to avoid getting into the gutter of what as of late has become of American politics. But every now and then, there are the occasional occurrences that compel me to respond, and the case of the South Carolina tow-truck driver – who refused to help 25-year-old Cassandra McWade, leaving the disabled and stranded woman who had just had a car accident on the side of the road because she was a Bernie Sanders supporter – happens to be just the sort of thing to get me going. Read more: http://blog.clergy211.com/2016/05/05/ken-shupe-a-bad-samaritan/
Britain’s history would have been very different if the country had remained linked by land to the rest of Europe, instead of there being that wide strip of water we call the English Channel.
In time of war, the Channel has protected England from invasion and occupation.
The English Channel is 21 miles wide at its narrowest part across the Strait of Dover. Several attempts have been made to create a tunnel that would link Britain with mainland Europe. Tomorrow, May 06, is the anniversary of the formal Opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994. The Queen addressed the French President, Monsieur Mitterand, saying that the two nations complemented each other well, despite individual diversity and age-long rivalry. When uniting in a common cause (such as in the Second World War) unity between the two countries was very successful, she said.
The building of the Channel Tunnel reminds us to focus on what unites people rather than on what separates and divides.
It reminds us to build arteries of access, not walls of hatred, fear, and bigotry.
Let us pray:
Lord, lead us to be peace-makers, building connections between individuals,
focusing on what unites people rather than on what separates us and highlights our differences.
Lord, it’s easy to harm relationships; instead, give us the power of your Spirit,
that we may build up and make new the bonds between people.
Amen.
In 1972, George Lucas, a young film director, planned a film that would be called ‘American Graffiti’. Two film companies rejected it. A third turned it down but then had a change of mind. ‘American Graffiti’ became one of the films that has brought in the most money at “the box office”, as people bought their tickets.
Despite the great success of his first film, George Lucas had great difficulty getting financial backing from film companies for his second picture - a science-fiction film, to be called ‘Star Wars’. Halfheartedly, ‘Twentieth Century Fox’ risked some money in backing ‘Star Wars’, but George Lucas had to raise most of the money himself. He became almost bankrupt, but it meant that he owned the rights to the film and any sequels that
might be produced.
‘Star Wars’ opened in the cinemas in this month in 1977 and, in its first year, the
film brought in 300 million dollars in the United States alone. Its sequel -‘The Empire Strikes Back’ - earned 200 million dollars in its first year.
Film and computer technology has improved greatly since ‘Star Wars’ was first produced in 1977. The re-release of the newly-edited film twenty years later in 1997 with new computer-generated images, began to bring in even more money. Many viewers went to see ‘Star Wars’ at the cinema for the first time.
The great success of ‘Star Wars’ is a reminder of the ideals and vision of individuals, and a reminder that our judgements are not always correct. We are also reminded of the need for us all to have faith in ourselves.
Let us pray:
God our Father, open our eyes to see the vision that you have for each of us,
and lead us to grow in confidence in who we are,
and in the faith that you call each of us by name.
Show us how to live in such a way that we respect and accept others
for who they are,
and do not judge them as we ourselves do not want to be judged.
Inspire us to be generous in praising others and in showing appreciation for their achievements.
Amen
A German-speaking boy was often physically abused - beaten by his father for the smallest thing he ever did wrong. The father did not call him by his name. Instead, whenever the father wanted the boy to come to him, he whistled for him, as if his son was a dog.
Sometime later, the boy discovered that his grandfather (whom he hardly knew) was Jewish. In his twisted way of thinking, he thought that his grandfather’s “Jewishness” somehow must be the reason why his father was so cruel and nasty towards him.
Having been insulted and abused by his father, the boy grew up with strange views about himself, and with strange views about Jewish people.
This boy was Adolf Hitler.
After leading Germany and Europe and much of the world in devastation and war, costing the lives of so many people (including millions of Jews), Adolf Hitler committed suicide on this day in 1945 in his bunker deep under the ruined city of Berlin.
Let us pray in silence for a moment, thinking of all who died during that war…
(pause…)
Let us pray for all who suffer from hatred and prejudice, from abuse and ill-treatment, and for all who are victims of other people.
Let us pray, too, for the people of violence, that they may change their ways and learn to respect others.
Let us pray for ourselves, that when we face what is negative or evil we may have the courage and generosity to break the cycle of violence, taking responsibility for the direction in which we want our lives to go.
Let us always be mindful that the least of our actions either plants the seeds of love, or grows the roots of hate.
Let us pray that we may always do to others as we would wish them to do to us.
Amen.
A Russian named Anthony Bloom was an atheist when he was a university student in Paris. Simply to please somebody, he attended a meeting to which a Russian priest had been invited. Anthony Bloom hated the thought of being there, and grew more and more annoyed at what he heard about Christ and Christianity. When he got back home he asked his mother for a copy of the Gospels, because he wanted to prove that the priest had been lying.
Anthony decided to read quickly one of the Gospels. He counted the number of chapters in each of the four Gospels, and found that the Gospel of Saint Mark was the shortest - he didn’t want to waste too much time reading what he thought was rubbish!
Before he reached the third chapter of Saint Mark’s Gospel, he became aware of a Presence on the other side of the table. He became so sure that the Presence was the Risen Jesus, that his life changed forever. He became a Christian, and later became a priest.
He is now an archbishop in the Russian Orthodox Church. From having hated all that he thought Christianity was about, Anthony Bloom’s life changed when he had some kind of experience that Jesus was alive and was beside him. It was St Mark’s Gospel that he had read, and today is the feast day of Saint Mark.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, we remember that you said that you would be with us, so we do know in our minds that you are present. But there’s a difference between knowing that you’re present, and growing in the faith that you are beside us. We ask for the power of your Spirit in our lives each day, so that we may live more fully in your presence. Only then will our attitude and words and actions better reflect yours. Amen
Beside the River Thames in London are the buildings called the Houses of Parliament or the Palace of Westminster. The previous buildings had been destroyed by fire in 1834.
The tall clock tower is often called “Big Ben”, even though the name actually is only that of the great bell that strikes, weighing nearly 14 tonnes. “Big Ben”, the bell, was hung in the tower on this day in 1858. It strikes the musical note ‘E’, and is the most broadcast bell in the world. Londoners can hear it at the start of ‘News at Ten’, and it is sometimes broadcast on the radio, there and to countries overseas.
During the Second World War, when most of Europe was occupied by the Nazis, the broadcast of the ringing of the bell helped give people hope of freedom.
And so, when people across the world hear the ringing of ‘Big Ben’, or see pictures of the tower, they see it as a sign or symbol of many things - hope, freedom, what it means to be a Londoner or English or British, a political system of democracy with a parliament. Seeing or hearing “Big Ben” gives various messages to people.
We can ask ourselves;
What people might “see” and “hear” when they meet me.
What are the “messages” that people pick up from me? What do people learn about me from the way I live, from the way I do things, and from my attitude?
Let’s pause in silence for a moment, to think of the character impression we make on others - what people might “see” and “hear” when they are with us…
***********************
Let us pray: Loving Lord, we need the power of your Spirit in our lives to build on what is good, and to help change what needs to be changed. We pray that we may be faithful in responding to your call to grow as the people you have called us to be, that we may ring out your praises through the way we live each day.
Amen.
✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥
✍ The 23 foot diameter clock faces were seen in the film ‘The 39 Steps’, as Robert Powell hung to one of the hands of the clock. “Big Ben” is probably named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a big and heavy man who was Parliament’s Commissioner of Works. “St Stephen’s Tower” - which we often call “Big Ben” - is the name of the tower in which the bell hangs.
✍ The four bells of Liverpool’s RC Cathedral are called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as a reminder that we, too, are called to live and “ring out”/broadcast the Good News of the Gospel.
✍ “If I speak without love, I am simply a gong booming” - 1 Cor 13:1
“As we transcend the boundaries of ego in order to love and be loved, we put aside self-centeredness and experience unity with one another. Compassion, peace, joy, excitement, and fulfillment are the inevitable results.”
We are living in a time of great change.
Many thinkers and seers agree that humanity and the planet Earth are evolving at a quickened pace, and that this evolution will be severe and seemingly chaotic at times. It is natural for people to react with fear, because these changes will doubtless bring some level of difficulty and loss to many of us. However, it is essential that we all remember that our souls are here at this time and are a part of this process.
Every movement in the universe can be a movement toward love. This is true even in situations that appear on the surface to be the opposite of loving. When love is allowed to be manifest in our lives, we are fully capable and ready to rise to the challenges in which we find ourselves.
It is often helpful to reflect upon our own lives and make any changes necessary to fully support humanity and the planet into a state of love. It is when we open our hearts in love instead of closing them in fear, that we serve the divine process.
We are all powerful spirits who take form at this time in order to serve our fellow humans, our planet, and the universe. As we find ways we can serve – to love – our fear dissipates.
We may serve love by remaining calm and loving with our children and our families, even as situations seem dark.
We may serve love by sharing money with people who need financial assistance.
We may serve love by going out into the world and actively helping to rebuild lives.
Regardless of what actions we choose to take, the essential element will be the internal gesture of choosing to remain in love.
This is all that is needed.
At times, it may seem difficult to remain in love. It is then that we may call upon our unseen helpers; the spiritual teachers and guides who are always with us. All we need to do is ask and then trust that we are being helped. The guidance we receive is love itself, showing us the way.
Throughout recorded history, love has burned in the hearts of composers, writers, painters, and playwrights, and seared in those of parents, children, and friends.
Love – primal, passionate, and pure – has been dissected, revered, praised, and derided. It has been called complex, ethereal, and mysterious. We long for a definition but fear that the feeling called love would be less exhilarating, were it to be defined.
Much of the mystery is rooted in the incomprehensibility of love’s purpose. Self-sacrifice, procreation, caring, and romance can each exist separate from love. It is possible to have intense feelings for others but not define those feelings as love. And yet love remains a powerful and universal force that uplifts, inspires, and is strong enough to bring about great change.
Like the wind, which we cannot see yet know is all around us, love is often more easily perceived through its effects.
As we transcend the boundaries of ego in order to love and be loved, we put aside self-centeredness and experience unity with one another. Compassion, peace, joy, excitement, and fulfillment are the inevitable results. It is irrelevant whether the focus is a partner, a child, a relative, or a friend. The results are both familiar and novel, more so when love is returned in kind.
It has been said that “to describe love is very difficult, for the same reason that words cannot fully describe the flavor of an orange. You have to taste the fruit to know its flavor. So with love.” Those who have tasted of it often equate love with jealousy, bitterness, resentment, lust, or aggressive attachment, but love is none of these things. Love is both a feeling and an action, for as it brings us into the light, so do we strive for the happiness, safety, health, and fulfillment of those we love. It is true that love can be fleeting and accepts few controls or conditions. The strongest loves blaze into being and wither away in an instant or last lifetimes. The one constant is the release of emotion.
Love is not learned but brought forth from within because the basic nature of the human animal is love. It is only fear that causes the need to love and be loved to be buried. When we accept our worthiness and reject indifference, it is then that we are able to become outlets of love, where love can always be found, and always shines forth.
Love is life’s greatest blessing. We need to give thanks for every heartbeat of those we love, and for the gift of love when it is sent upon us. Most importantly, we must be willing and eager to accept their love and allow it to grow within us.
So, it is with much love & light that I offer what love I have to you,
“When we can appreciate the full beauty of each stage of the cycle of life, from bud to blossom to disintegration, we feel more at home with our own earthly process. We can be inspired not to hold back the fullness of what we have to offer, knowing that our time to give of ourselves in this way will come to pass.”
How do we deal with doubt? Is it healthy or useful? Could embracing doubt help us to expose hidden truths and perhaps even purge some untruths? Explore the relationship between doubt and truth in this short video meditation (2 mins).
From Unitarian Universalist "Singing the Living Tradition."
Reading #650.
CHERISH YOUR DOUBTS
Cherish your doubts, for doubt is the attendant of truth.
Doubt is the key to the door of knowledge; it is the servant of discovery.
A belief which may not be questioned binds us to error, for there is incompleteness and imperfection in every belief.
Doubt is the touchstone of truth; it is an acid which eats away the false.
Let no one fear for the truth, that doubt may consume it; for doubt is a testing of belief.
The truth stands boldly and unafraid; it is not shaken by the testing:
For truth, if it be truth, arises from each testing stronger, more secure.
Those that would silence doubt are filled with fear; their houses are built on shifting sands.
But those who fear not doubt, and know its use, are founded on rock.
They shall walk in the light of growing knowledge; the work of their hands shall endure.
Therefore let us not fear doubt, but let us rejoice in its help:
It is to the wise as a staff to the blind; doubt is the attendant of truth.
Relationships are constantly undergoing changes and shifts, and rarely do we find people who stay together for more than 15 years anymore. Here is a short list of key principles that will contribute to your successful relationship.
titsay
turnnoffyourmind
snowghoul
kianamaiart
romaincrisis
baratheonpilled
gracieabrams