Relationship

Hey turtles! I've spent the last two days teaching new mentors for the Archdiocese of Detroit's Ministry to Youth in Detention. We have a great group of new mentors stepping up to help carry on the program this year. A special thanks to everyone who has been involved on this amazing journey.

Jerry Goebel, our vision director for the Ministry to Youth in Detention and Director of One Family Outreach, repeated a concept this weekend that I have always appreciated. His wisdom is that "Prejudice cannot withstand relationship." What powerful words for a world with as many divisions as ours.

Afraid of the poor? Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
Afraid of street kids? Spend time mentoring.
Afraid of the elderly? Talk to an older person after Church.
Afraid of other races? Visit a cultural festival or ethnic organization.
Afraid of illegal immigrants? Start a conversation with the next foreign low-wage worker you encounter.

Prejudice cannot withstand relationship. It's hard to be afraid of someone once you have gotten close enough to see the light of Jesus in their eyes. It's not easy to harden your heart toward someone that you have come to love.

Peace turtles!

Morning Glories

This morning was a great morning! I woke up dark and early at 5:30am and headed off to the park near my house to watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan.

There is something magical about being awake before the city (I live in Chicago). At 5:30am there are no sirens, there are no horns, no screeching trains, nobody screaming at people to shut up from their windows... it's just peaceful.

I sat on my favorite rock and awaited the sun's morning glory. As expected... at exactly 6:03am the sun peaked over the low clouds on the horizon.

I sat amazed at the bright colors and in awe of God's continued goodness toward us. I closed my eyes and whispered "of course God, this is how you meant it to be, show me your glory..."

"SWEET HOME ALABAMA!!!!! WHERE THE SKIES ARE SO BLUE!!!!! SWEET HOME ALABAMA!!!! I'M COMING HOME TO YOU!!!!"

...What?!

On the rocks below me was a very mentally ill homeless fellow, backpack and sleeping bag in hand, starting his day by walking toward the city. Here was a man, awake before anyone really had to be on a Sunday, filthy from head to toe, no doubt starving and quite possible lonely... but joyful and singing all the same.

I think God answered my little prayer right then and there. It was His was of saying, "Yeah, the sunrise is cool- but this is soooooo much cooler- look at this man who I created and love so dearly!"

Be on the lookout for the glories of God. They surround us more intimately and completely than we will ever know.

A picture I took this morning.

Feast of the Assumption

Today is the Feast of the Assumption. In honor of our Blessed Mother I have composed a humble poem. I also hope that it is somewhat explanatory for our non-Catholic brothers and sisters who are unsure about our relationship to Mary. For those Catholics (and other Christians devoted to Mary) I hope it inspires you and helps you celebrate this feast.

Come to His Mother

How to approach this Love-

So pure it terrifies me!

Perhaps I will go it It’s mother.

The most perfect woman;

Written into His passionate

Love story with man.

The Light reflecting off her begins

To melt my heart.

I hold her hand… and trembling,

I ask her to introduce me to the Word.

Being full of grace,

She does not fear entering

Into His Glorious Presence.

Comforting me,

Guiding me,

Proud of me;

She places me in the arms of her Son.

Culture of vHate

Friends have directed me to quite a few YouTube videos of angry atheists (and angry Christians responding) lately. The atheists call people of faith "stupid," "brainwashed," and "naive." The Christians who respond to these videos throw out words such as "sinful," "intolerant" and "hell-bound." My message to everyone is "what do you hope to accomplish?"

I can think of no great teacher in the history of our world who changed the hearts of their opposition by insulting and degrading them. I even think that all of these people building a 'culture of hate' on the Internet are well aware of this fact as well. Insults, swearing and angry rants get hits though... they get a vlogger's name recognized. Shame on those who would degrade a whole group of people for their own popularity.

What's happening is that the two sides are becoming increasingly polarized. The 'culture of hate' is breeding a new group of fundamentalists who will cling to their beliefs and unbeliefs despite the truth that is revealed to them.

Atheist bloggers scream "they believe the huge lies of the Bible." Really? Why don't you tell me what the lies are and how you know them to be lies?

Similarly, the Christians scream "they deny the most sacred truths of our existence." Really? How do you know them to be truths? Why do you believe them? (Because calling people names really doesn't prove to me that you know anything about Christianity).

I would love to see an actual religious dialogue on YouTube. One where the person posing the questions can do so respectfully and those posting comments and responses can show an equal amount of courtesy.

If these are the central truths of our existence... they deserve to be discussed and debated as such... with deep thought, human decency and a thirst for truth.

Helpful Hints for Exploring Religions

This is by no means and exhaustive list... but it's a place to start. When exploring another religion, or even your own, please keep these helpful hints in mind.

1. Don't judge a religion by its fundamentalists. For example, its not fair to judge the authenticity and devotion of all Muslims based upon the actions of the Taliban. It would be like judging the faith of all Christians based upon the actions of the Westboro Baptists. Ask yourself... how are the majority Christians/Muslims living their faith?

2. Understand that you will never fully understand a religion like its practitioners. Remember, only those who devote their lives to the practice and study of their religion fully understand the spirit of it. Simply reading about a religion in a book or attending a worship service, however beneficial, will not give you the full sense of any religion.

3. Give your questions to the right people. Don't be like Bill Maher in Religulous and interview people about their faith at truck stops. Even the most faithful members of a religion may not have the education and practical training neccessary to adequately answer your questions. Seek out teachers and religious leaders in the faiths you wish to explore.

4. Don't judge the religion by the concepts and principles that you believe in. Every religion does not have to have a "devil" and a "savior." Further, all deities and spirits found in other religions should not be labeled demons.

5. Recognize that while truth is not subjective... it can express itself in many forms. Many of the world's religions have different ways of saying very congruent things. Just because someone is of a different faith than yourself does not mean that what they believe is 100% absent of truth.

Remember the Least

My day was more hectic than I would have liked... and tomorrow is not looking any better.

I was so worked up when I left work that I knew the rest of my day was going to have to be a dramatic intervention in my welfare.

So I partook in my favorite activity... drinking coffee and reading a good book (non-fiction for me please).

The book I am reading is called "The End of Food" by Paul Roberts. As I sat drinking my coffee, the book began to describe the plight of coffee growers in Brazil, Vietnam and other developing nations. It explained the perilous cycle of economic depression, overproduction and poverty that has plagued the industry for decades.

I didn't feel bad for drinking the coffee (in fact, we could help the situation by drinking more of it) but I was profoundly struck by how selfish I had become. 

Yeah, I worked harder and for more hours than I had planned to today... but I'll get paid a fair wage for it. I may work for more "supervisors" than is prudent... but I have work. 

I shouldn't be so quick to forget how privileged I am. My little evening of coffee and reading turned into an attitude adjustment. Thank you God.

HEROIC FAITH

Hey Turtles,

Below you will find some notes from my recent presentation on Heroic Faith. The actual outline of the talk would be too long and awkwardly abbreviated to post here... so I have expanded some of what I believe to be the most important points. Peace!

Our God is a living God and we get to enter into a relationship with Him. This relationship is what gives our lives full meaning. Undoubtedly, this is the most important relationship that we will ever have.

Heroic faith is about how we enter into relationship with our Living God. Heroic faith requires that we be fully open and honest with God about what state we are in. It requires that we be completely authentic.

By completely authentic I mean...

That when we are joyful we dance with HIm.

When we are broken we lay before Him.

When we are angry we wrestle with Him.

When we are doubtful we cry out for Him.

This is requires a level of openness that few people ever achieve with themselves, let alone in a relationship with another. It is because this level of relationship with God requires such courage and perseverance that we call it HEROIC.

But we don't have to be worried about being honest with God... because He created, sustains and watches over us... He already knows where we are!

We love to make excuses for why we cannot have heroic faith. We even look at those heroes (saints) in the faith who have gone before us and convince ourselves that they were made of something stronger than we are. 

That is not true! We are made of the same stuff-- we have been made by the same God, we are loved by the same Father and we have received the same spirit!

Saints are just the sinners who keep getting back up when knocked off the path of holiness. Over time... their heroic commitment to God eclipses their brokenness and imperfection.

There is no sin in coming before God as we are. It is no more a sin to wrestle with God than it would be to dance before Him. Similarly, it is no more a sin to ask God if He exists than it would be to lay yourself before Him in your brokenness.