Finding God From The Needy

I realized today that I have blogs linked on my blog that I have not visited for quite some time. Upon noticing this I clicked on the Jenlemen blog link. I browsed through some titles and skimmed some writings. Although I had forgotten much about the blog, but remembered her poetic writing.

I chose to read an entry about her time in Rwanda. It kind of relates to my last blog, but is also different.

I recommend reading it now. It's very neat.

We think God is something we need to trick people into believing. Our statements must be intelligent and without flaw before they will respect Him. Our music must be professional and moving for them to open up to Him. And our Jesus must be relatable and offering good solutions for them to partake of Him.

We forget it's God genuinely flowing through us, and his Spirit touching the heart that will bring respect, openness, and repentance. It's simple. And we are too often a distraction, complicating God's simple message delivered by His Spirit. When there is nothing but love for God and each other, I think the message comes through much easier than when there are microphones, amplifiers, lights, staging, pride, selfishness, and appearance to worry about. Instead let the little children come and let the love flow.



Girls Singing in Church in Umutara, Rwanda from jen lemen on Vimeo.

When You Take The Time

I was walking down Carson Street in the South Side looking for the place I was supposed to meet my friend. Her initial directions were close, but not spot on. I walk with a confused look on my face, scanning and rescanning the names displayed on each establishment. I ask some people if they know where it is, and they point me down the street further. As I walk, I'm trying not to be in too much of a rush. A man sitting on the curb asks if I would give money to a veteran. Usually I am pretty open to such a request for charity; but I hesitated. I didn't know if I was going to. He looked to be in good, healthy condition, and he wasn't too old either. Why does he need my money? The call to "give to anyone who asks of you" stirred my heart and I pulled a $5 bill out of my wallet.

His name was Raymond. I asked where the man had served. He had been on active duty for several years, and spent a good amount of time in Germany. As I asked this I found a seat next to him on the curb. He told me about the problems with the military, where once you come back there is no longer a job for you. This is an circumstance he found himself in years back. He went on to tell me some things that he stands for, like living together with people, not differentiating between skin color, and being an example of how African Americans and all people should act. He likes peace, which is why he spends time just sitting in South Side, avoiding the business of downtown, where he lives.

As our conversation continued he told me his "girl" recently passed away. When he continued to speak of her, and his eyes became glassy and watery, it was apparent how much she meant to him. He told me of all the things they planned to do, but never did, like visit the zoo and aviary. He also reminisced of the times they would walk together in the park, and she would teach him how to use the buses in this city, being that he's a Southern boy.

One of the top priorities on his mind was to do something as a memorial to her. He wanted to give back to a city and an area he had appreciation for. Creatively and innocently enough, he told me he wanted to get a few thousand dollars so he could rent an ice cream stand for two days and give free ice cream to children in the South Side. He perked up at the thought of that. It was encouraging to see this middle aged, African American, who detested stealing, lying, and substance abuse. His father died from alcoholism, and his mother currently was an alcoholic and addicted to cigarettes. He encouraged me not to drink, as he doesn't.

Raymond would readily admit that he was having a hard time since the passing of his girlfriend, and had also had some bad luck; having gone to prison for a month by a case of mistaken identity (according to him), and for some reason I actually believe him. He grew one little clump of hair on his otherwise shaved head. This was to distinguish himself, so he would not be mistaken for any other criminals. Even through all these things he spoke of God being there. He knew that there was hope in God. The man had a good story and a hope for the future.

I felt a tugging on my heart to pray for him. I have trouble with this, and usually don't go through with it, whether stranger or friend. But this time I did. On a public street, sitting on a little brick step, I put my hand on his shoulder and prayed for him. I gave him my card so that I could continue to help him in whatever he needed, and to allow us to continue our new friendship.

And I wasn't the first. Others had come to know this man and help him. This coming weekend, someone he made friends with was driving to Richmond, and taking Raymond with him, so Ray could visit his family in Richmond. I could tell he was excited and felt blessed to have such an opportunity, in a city where he is very much on his own now. It all comes together with everyone doing a little or big part for those going through a rough spot or a rough life.

I'm glad I sat. I'm glad I started conversation and progressed it beyond the initial shallow niceties. This isn't about me doing something nice. This is about all of us realizing that there are people in need all around us, and we need to learn to sacrifice our schedules and our wants a little bit in order to make a new friend and show God's love. I have no regrets about what happened tonight.

Forward This On

I think we've all gotten chain mail things in our e-mail boxes. Most of the time people send them to be annoying I think. "Send this to 20 people in the next 20 minutes and you'll meet your true love tomorrow." Or, "If you don't forward this on to 5 people you will have bad luck all of tomorrow, and an ax murderer will kill you too." Those irritate for sure... but then there's the other side. The one that transcends annoying by reaching a spot in your heart of compassion, and maybe even pride. I'll try to copy one such e-mail I got today verbatim.

I'm not breaking this one. If I get it a 1000 times, I'll forward it a 1000 times!

Let us pray...

Prayer chain for our Military....don't break it!

Please send this on after a short prayer for our soldiers. Don't break it!

Prayer:

'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'
Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world. There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman and others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very best one.


GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!
AMEN

How do you feel now? Patriotic? Angry at our enemies for the boy who no longer has a father? Do you feel inspired to fight? To be a good American? Do you wish to give your life for your country?

It is very important to honor everyone, including those in war. Whether you believe in war or not, that's a tough time right there, and they deserve good thoughts/words/prayers to get them through a hard time. In that same breath, can't we honor them by bringing them home, by stopping war?

Not once in that whole e-mail does it mention peace. Shouldn't peace be the real hope?

When I see an e-mail like this I see a representation of the American Way attempting to wash its hands of the travesty of war, by placing the outcome of its decisions on the shoulders of God. As if to say, whatever we do, we will pray for blessing in it. In a round about way, it's allowing blame to fall on God if things don't turn out right. I know people who have turned away from God because their son died in war. "What kind of God would allow this to happen?" they might ask. "What kind of people would follow a way counter to God's way, which allows horrible things like this to happen?" I might ask. Both sides have devastating losses in war. Who is really winning? Would you kill a baby to save X number of people? If not, why would you support a war that does?


Maybe you think I'm cold-hearted and un-American. I don't want pursue being un-American, but I do want to pursue being pro-God. If there is conflict between the two, I will side with God. And as far as being cold-hearted... my heart breaks when I get e-mails like this. The truth is, I don't want this to happen anymore. I can no longer believe that war will end war, I can only believe that truth and love will end war. I'm certainly not so naive as to believe fighting war with truth and love won't have casualties, or even many or more casualties, but I do believe it is working in the right direction. There is no doubt in sacrifice for progress, but why should there be sacrifice to stay in the same old rut?

Let's move forward as a people. Let's give up some of our prayer time for some time in reading the Bible. Otherwise, how will we know what to pray for?

Forward this blog link on to 20 people in the next 5 minutes or I could care less.

Bless Our Food

I wonder how many people say grace before they eat. When I think about "saying grace" I turn into an 11 year old again and feel like getting everyone to bow their head and just yell out "GRACE" and start chowing down like in Hook.

Then I think of Ben Stiller praying lyrics from Jesus Christ Superstar at the dinner table in Meet the Parents. I guess it's sad that these are the first things that come to mind when I think of saying grace. I'm such a child of the media.

But seriously, praying before our meal, saying grace, blessing the food... what's it all about?

I would say there are two things that are common to nearly every saying of "grace." The first is the thanking of God for provision, and the second is asking God to bless the food.

I certainly have no issue whatsoever with thanking God for provision. I think that is key to life, and that at a meal is the perfect time to remind yourself of God's provision. But asking God to bless the food is something that is curious to me. Take a moment and think about what it means for God to bless your food.

Does asking God's blessing on it make it more healthy for you? Does it kill germs, viruses, etc. on the food? Does it help digestion? Is it a new miracle weight loss scheme (Prayed Before Weighed)? Does it somehow make you more holy for eating prayed over food? Is this a ceremonial cleansing of the food like in the Old Testament? Bless this food...

Does calling down a blessing make something blessed? For something to be blessed is for God to be interwoven with it. The word blessed in hebrew (barak) means to get down and kneel. For God to bless us, Creation, the things we partake of, the good; is for God to come down to be with what is going on and show his favor. Blessing doesn't happen because we ask of it. Things that are worthy of God coming down to join are inherently blessed. Just like when Jesus gives an anthem of what blessing can look like in the beatitudes. These are things that God says are worthy of His attention, they are things he wants to be connected with, they are blessed.

The blessing of a meal can mean a lot of things, but it also begs a lot of questions.

I think you can break the blessing into three categories: God, others, creation. And all of these should be lumped under the heading of respect.

God: As I said, praying a prayer of thanks is one of the most common and universal aspects of the mealtime prayer. We are able to lay ourselves before our maker and give thanks; however, thanks cannot be given throughout our day without our acknowledgment of God's hand consistently being in our lives. Prayer is a time where we regroup. We realize that we have been preoccupied and not fully aware of God throughout our day. After acknowledging this we slow down and refocus and allow ourselves to be awed at the realization that God at that moment is kneeling with our humility before Him. Then we can give thanks and pursue a life of continual thanks.

Others: It is sad for me to think of how many meals I have eaten alone. It's even sadder to think that I sometimes eat meals alone by choice instead of joining others. Just as this is a time to regroup in thanks and appreciation to God and awareness of his presence, it's also a time to look at what matters in life. It's time to join with friends, enemies, or the other to bond; to share over a meal. It's a time of openness with nothing else pressing on us to get done, it is a sacred time. It's a time to show love and caring for others where there is no work to be done, so it's sincere. You can enter into another's life for that time and then carry that conversation with you for the rest of the day, keeping in your heart the joys and the woes of another. It's connectedness, and I believe God called that good and he would kneel with us in that.

Creation: A meal is unique in that we ingest food. We ingest creation, and it sustains us. We rely upon what God has created and given us authority over. We were made to be the Earth's caretakers, but we often get preoccupied with being society's caretakers. Sitting down to take creation, hold it in our hands and then join it to ourselves is a heavy illustration of how we need to be connected with the Earth. You take that plant full of nutrients from the ground; you take that meat that was once an animal with life who fed on plants, drank water from a stream, grew healthy in the warmth of the sun, and enjoyed the landscape God provided for it. You connect with these things if you allow yourself, and you realize something greater; something that ties together complexity, harmony, and love. And man coming in contact with his calling at every meal is something that I believe would bring God to recline at the table with him.

As I said there are questions that come and must be asked through the eyes of blessing.

Am I living blessing in this meal? Is anything about this meal keeping God away from it?

Am I not trusting God? Have I been too busy to revere his majesty during my day? Have I thought the world was all about me at times, and not kept God at the center of all? Do I show thanks for what I have by sharing it with others, so that they may have some of God's provision also? Am I able to accept from others and see it as from God? Am I aware that He is here, and that this ground is holy ground?

Am I ok with everyone around me? Am I interested in what they have to say or am I just waiting for my next chance to talk? Am I annoyed with them? Do I despise them? Is there anyone I really hope would not sit with me at the meal? Is there anyone who if they sat next to me, I would be conflicted by knowing I have not done my best to respect them. If the 11 year old sweat shop worker for the manufacturer where I get most of my clothes sat by me for lunch, what would I say? Do I have wrongs to right with people I know or don't know? Do I even care about these wrongs? What steps can I take to make this a blessed meal for all to join with me and not just some. What steps can I take to allow God ,Himself, to join this meal with me?

Am I aware of where my food came from? Do I understand the process that got it here? Have I ever been connected with the soil? Have I ever marveled at a seed and respected it's ambition to spring forth abundant life from nearly nothing? Do I care about the quality of the plants? Do I care about artificial substances that weaken the plants and steal their honor to make my life more practical and easy? Do I appreciate vegetation the way I should by making sure species do not go extinct? Am I aiding in the pollution that is poisoning creation? Do I know where my eggs came from? Do I know the practices and treatment of the birds from which the eggs come? Is it respectful to the animal or is it the equivalent of a Nazi concentration camp for animals? How are the animals I ingest cared for? Are they really cared for, or are they given meaningless lives where they will not experience creation, only a man made cage, and then be slaughtered at the earliest age possible? Am I contributing to this by my food choices? Is God here with me in these decision? Is he here with me in my selfish, apathetic ignorance to creation?

These are things I am starting to realize I need to ask. Blessing isn't whatever I want it to be or whatever is easiest for me... it's what is right. Justice and righteousness are the same word in Hebrew. The word conveys a right way of living that moves out and makes the world right. Blessing isn't just contingent on me being a nice person and acknowledging that God is good for giving me this food, its judgment is that I must make sure everything surrounding this meal is as right and sacred as possible. The more sacred and righteous it is the more apt God is to kneel with me at the meal and bless what the meal is and what it's doing in me and in the world.

Bless this meal.

Amen.