I got up and Turned. . .It. . .Off. Wearily I went back to bed. As I lay there, words from Leonard Bernstein’s 1971 “MASS: the Musical” came bursting uninvited into my mind. They are words I had memorized and sung in an earlier lifetime. Now they had come ‘round to visit me again. Now? Why? Well, you read these words and then tell me what you think.
All you big men of merit,
all you big men of merit
who ferret out flaws,
you rely on our compliance
with your science and your laws.
Find a freedom to demolish while you polish some award, but you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord. No, you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord.
For the Word, for the Word created mud and got it going. It filled our empty brains with blood and set it flowing. And for thousands of regimes it's endured all our follies and fancy schemes. It's been tough, It's been tough, and yet it seems to be growing!
O you people of power, O you people of power, your hour is now. You may plan to rule forever, but you never do somehow.
So we wait in silent treason until reason is restored and we wait for the season of the Word of the Lord. We await the season of the Word of the Lord. We wait…we wait for the Word of the Lord.
What, I wondered, does it mean now for me to wait for the season of the Word of the Lord? How does it mean for me to await? Why await? Surely, it cannot mean I am to lie abed passively woolgather. Not for long. Only long enough, perhaps, to have the following words also come marching into my mind to join the Bernstein chorus. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Those words are extrapolated from the parable of the Good Shepherd, John 10:10. “Enough already”, I said to self and got up to go about my day.
My day, 99% of the time, includes a walk. This morning I yearned for Hope. Viewing life through the lens of Hope is typical of me, and Hopeful signs are what I wanted/needed this morning. I want to live in Hope, not in Fear.
So, for this day, I decided to add a new dimension to my walking. I decided to make a prayer walk, being attentive to Hope Spottings along my way. Hope did not disappoint. I found ample evidence of Hope for life and having life abundantly, all within about two miles of my home. Come walk with me, and I’ll share my gospel for today; my Hope Spottings.
+ Two blocks into my walk I was greeted by clusters of folks chatting together while gathered on the Food Bank lawn; some were packaging up food to give and others were there to receive. The people were engaged in friendly conversation, laughter, adoring babies, chasing children and general busyness. Hope Spotting at The Food Bank and praying that all who participate there may have life and have it more abundantly, was easy business for me this morning. I wonder, will it be so next week or the next, if the people of power will not soften their hearts?
+ I dropped in at one of my favorite coffee shops. Near the back I noticed a circle of nine people speaking animatedly with one another using mostly sign language. They were sharing the gospel of their current lives. Observing their comfortable and seemingly intimate conversation, I celebrated Hope Spotting their experience of life more abundantly.
+ My walk continued through Kai Tai Lagoon where I was treated to the varied songs of birds gutsy enough to stick around these parts through Autumn and to the water rituals of Mallard families as they paddled about their marshy neighborhood. Chalk up another Hope Spotting! The Lagoon and its inhabitants have their gospel story to tell, too. Will we care enough about their lives and ours to assure sanctuaries where the birds and water fowl are protected to have life and have it more abundantly?
+ For good aerobic exercise I walked up the hill and past DOVE House. It is Hope Spotting just to know it is here! It’s the only safe haven, a sanctuary, in Jefferson County for women and children to heal and shape violence-free lives after experiencing the traumas of criminal and sexual violence.
+ Moving along into the next block, I’m Hope Spotting the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Center as I watch women with their wee ones walk into this modest place. Here, they receive milk, health checks and other life-giving necessities for their little ones. The mothers are offered caring support, mentoring, classes and skills so they can parent their children in loving and health-giving ways. They also learn how to better love and care for themselves. And the world will be a better place for it. How’s that for a testimony?
+ I turned north and head toward home. On the way I Hope Spotted a children’s therapy center, a safe and nurturing place for vulnerable children to heal. It is a place that will live in my heart forever. Through play and art, children can express their gospel stories in a trusting relationship with able therapists and grow into the full beauty and strength that is their birthright. They and their families are offered the gift of Hope that they may have life and have it abundantly.
+ My final bit of Hope Spotting on today’s walk was an assisted living center just a long block from my home. I know this place well, because it was “home” for my mother-in- law for a couple of years, until her dementia required a different living arrangement during the final year of her life. . . I spent a few minutes talking with a small group of residents happily engaged in conversation in the living room as they waited for a movie to begin. This homey place with its caring staff of saints, gifted with an abundance of patience and sense of humor, offers the hope of friendship, comfort and care as these elders walk toward and through the “valley of the shadow of death”, knowing they are not alone.
+ My Hope Spotting walk is over for today. I’ve sat by the fire with tea and toast. I’ve reflected on the messages that jumped into my mind after I turned off the radio this early morning and initiated my Hope Spotting and Prayer Walking adventure. My need for Hopeful signs has been met for now through spottings outside church walls. The lingering, huge and haunting question that continues to roll over in my mind is this: What is happening/ has been happening inside church walls that is contributing to and informing this climate of fear that is doing great harm to all of us in every aspect of our lives? Fear, it seems to me, is the thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy the abundant life that Jesus tells us He came to offer us. + John 10:10
Is the God who beckons you to gather in worship inside church walls a God of Hope or a God of Fear? Jesus of Nazareth, in a clear and declarative sentence commanded us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength; And to love our neighbors as ourself. I take that to mean to love ALL people, every single one, as ourself . The Jesus I know walked his talk with every step, with every encounter of His ministry. All of us without exception are God’s precious people. What unfathomable love that is!
So, why this climate of fear? It is deeply troubling my soul. Is it troubling yours?
MaryAnn
Find a freedom to demolish while you polish some award, but you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord. No, you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord.
For the Word, for the Word created mud and got it going. It filled our empty brains with blood and set it flowing. And for thousands of regimes it's endured all our follies and fancy schemes. It's been tough, It's been tough, and yet it seems to be growing!
O you people of power, O you people of power, your hour is now. You may plan to rule forever, but you never do somehow.
So we wait in silent treason until reason is restored and we wait for the season of the Word of the Lord. We await the season of the Word of the Lord. We wait…we wait for the Word of the Lord.
What, I wondered, does it mean now for me to wait for the season of the Word of the Lord? How does it mean for me to await? Why await? Surely, it cannot mean I am to lie abed passively woolgather. Not for long. Only long enough, perhaps, to have the following words also come marching into my mind to join the Bernstein chorus. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Those words are extrapolated from the parable of the Good Shepherd, John 10:10. “Enough already”, I said to self and got up to go about my day.
My day, 99% of the time, includes a walk. This morning I yearned for Hope. Viewing life through the lens of Hope is typical of me, and Hopeful signs are what I wanted/needed this morning. I want to live in Hope, not in Fear.
So, for this day, I decided to add a new dimension to my walking. I decided to make a prayer walk, being attentive to Hope Spottings along my way. Hope did not disappoint. I found ample evidence of Hope for life and having life abundantly, all within about two miles of my home. Come walk with me, and I’ll share my gospel for today; my Hope Spottings.
+ Two blocks into my walk I was greeted by clusters of folks chatting together while gathered on the Food Bank lawn; some were packaging up food to give and others were there to receive. The people were engaged in friendly conversation, laughter, adoring babies, chasing children and general busyness. Hope Spotting at The Food Bank and praying that all who participate there may have life and have it more abundantly, was easy business for me this morning. I wonder, will it be so next week or the next, if the people of power will not soften their hearts?
“Give them this Day their daily bread. . .and tomorrow and tomorrow. . .
? I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ I dropped in at one of my favorite coffee shops. Near the back I noticed a circle of nine people speaking animatedly with one another using mostly sign language. They were sharing the gospel of their current lives. Observing their comfortable and seemingly intimate conversation, I celebrated Hope Spotting their experience of life more abundantly.
“O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand.”
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ My walk continued through Kai Tai Lagoon where I was treated to the varied songs of birds gutsy enough to stick around these parts through Autumn and to the water rituals of Mallard families as they paddled about their marshy neighborhood. Chalk up another Hope Spotting! The Lagoon and its inhabitants have their gospel story to tell, too. Will we care enough about their lives and ours to assure sanctuaries where the birds and water fowl are protected to have life and have it more abundantly?
All things bright and beautiful; all creatures great and small.
All things wise and wonderful; the Lord God made them all.
May we care enough about your world
to advocate for a sustainable environment
and peaceable kingdom.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ For good aerobic exercise I walked up the hill and past DOVE House. It is Hope Spotting just to know it is here! It’s the only safe haven, a sanctuary, in Jefferson County for women and children to heal and shape violence-free lives after experiencing the traumas of criminal and sexual violence.
Merciful and loving God, hold closely all your people who are treated as “things”
by others and who suffer from abuse and violence. Help us to respect the dignity
of all people and work to break the cycle of violence.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ Moving along into the next block, I’m Hope Spotting the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Center as I watch women with their wee ones walk into this modest place. Here, they receive milk, health checks and other life-giving necessities for their little ones. The mothers are offered caring support, mentoring, classes and skills so they can parent their children in loving and health-giving ways. They also learn how to better love and care for themselves. And the world will be a better place for it. How’s that for a testimony?
Let us truly mean it when we say let the children come unto us. Make us ready to love them, embrace them, nurture them and encourage them to become the amazing human beings who can make our world a better place.
! I say this is church outside church walls? What do you say?
+ I turned north and head toward home. On the way I Hope Spotted a children’s therapy center, a safe and nurturing place for vulnerable children to heal. It is a place that will live in my heart forever. Through play and art, children can express their gospel stories in a trusting relationship with able therapists and grow into the full beauty and strength that is their birthright. They and their families are offered the gift of Hope that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Guide us to be servants of love and compassion, joy and wonder, laughter and creativity with all children. Help us to be vessels of healing and wholeness for the children who, in their young and vulnerable lives, have experienced terror, pain and unconscionable abuse.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ My final bit of Hope Spotting on today’s walk was an assisted living center just a long block from my home. I know this place well, because it was “home” for my mother-in- law for a couple of years, until her dementia required a different living arrangement during the final year of her life. . . I spent a few minutes talking with a small group of residents happily engaged in conversation in the living room as they waited for a movie to begin. This homey place with its caring staff of saints, gifted with an abundance of patience and sense of humor, offers the hope of friendship, comfort and care as these elders walk toward and through the “valley of the shadow of death”, knowing they are not alone.
Help us to open our hearts to truly honor and respect the elders among us, remembering that we, too, will one day be old. Give us the backbone to advocate for them, assuring they will have the “daily bread” they need. Nudge us to invite them into our homes and families to bring life more abundantly to us all.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ My Hope Spotting walk is over for today. I’ve sat by the fire with tea and toast. I’ve reflected on the messages that jumped into my mind after I turned off the radio this early morning and initiated my Hope Spotting and Prayer Walking adventure. My need for Hopeful signs has been met for now through spottings outside church walls. The lingering, huge and haunting question that continues to roll over in my mind is this: What is happening/ has been happening inside church walls that is contributing to and informing this climate of fear that is doing great harm to all of us in every aspect of our lives? Fear, it seems to me, is the thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy the abundant life that Jesus tells us He came to offer us. + John 10:10
Is the God who beckons you to gather in worship inside church walls a God of Hope or a God of Fear? Jesus of Nazareth, in a clear and declarative sentence commanded us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength; And to love our neighbors as ourself. I take that to mean to love ALL people, every single one, as ourself . The Jesus I know walked his talk with every step, with every encounter of His ministry. All of us without exception are God’s precious people. What unfathomable love that is!
So, why this climate of fear? It is deeply troubling my soul. Is it troubling yours?
MaryAnn
I am not troubled by church "inside the walls" and I do not understand all of you who seem to BE troubled. If you don't like church, just do not go! and continue to visit nature spots, coffee houses, etc. where you seem to find what you need.
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