The Times They Are A-Changing

In the summer of 1961, Judy and I (who were seriously dating at the time) drove to Glorieta, New Mexico with three college colleagues to participate in Student Week at Glorieta. We stopped in Amarillo, Texas, to get some lunch. We were not seated. The owner of the restaurant came, told us we would have to leave and escorted all of us to the door. One of our friends was black. In the fall of 1962 another friend and myself from Oklahoma Baptist University tried unsuccessfully to buy tickets to admit us into the OU and Texas football game. Since we were already in the area, we decided to stay over on Sunday and go to church to hear a rather well-known Baptist Preacher. The Church's usher told us we could not sit on the main floor, so he would take us to the balcony. My friend was black. We skipped church that day and drove back to Oklahoma Baptist University having neither seen the football game nor gone to church. Today, some fifty years later, our nation stops to celebrate a holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an Afro-American Baptist Preacher. Also today, our nation inaugurates an Afro-American President for his second term of office. In 1964, Bob Dylan was singing, "The times they are a changing." Yes, how the times have changed. Deo gratis!

 

Where are the Answers?

I’m a Marriage and Family Therapist as well as a Pastoral Counselor.  Over the years I’ve sat with women and men who were abused as children.  They ask me, “Why won’t God protect innocence children?”  I don’t have an answer to that question—didn’t then and don’t today.  What efforts I’ve heard seem to be trying to protect God and God’s reputation.  If God needs our protection, we don’t have much of a God.  I think God has a lot to answer for when we enter the eternal realm.  With the murder of the children and adults in Connecticut, that question is fresh in my mind.  I choose to continue to believe, pray and look into the scriptures.  I’ll continue wrestling with the question.  Whatever faith is all about, at least it is trusting in a reality, i.e. God, who won’t let you make sense of the reality.  That’s doesn’t seem fair.  Today I’m grateful for some of the imprecatory Psalms, such as Psalm 44—note the “but” in verse 9 that changes the tone of the Psalm.  My prayer is from Psalm 44:26 “Wake up God and help.”  These Psalms of lament let me know that I’m not alone with these questions about this God.  

Violence, enough already!

I’m both incredibly sad and very angry this weekend.  I’m sad and full of grief because of the death of the children and their teachers in Connecticut.  Their grief is unimaginable to me.  I pray for them and that community regularly throughout the day.  I’m also angry.  I’m angry because our policies don’t put money into mental health programs.  We have a difficult time funding quality education.  I’m angry because of the violence in our culture.  Violence is not the answer to our frustrations and lack of power.  I’m angry that we have allowed large groups with powerful influence and money, such as the National Rifle Association, to buy the silence of our leaders regarding sensible gun control.  For the sake of our children, we can no longer be silent.  Let’s make the commitment to contact our leaders and say, “Enough!”  The possession of a gun may be used for sport or self-defense, but it seems more frequently to be a dangerous response to a feeling of impotence.  If we permit violence to grow in our culture and our hearts, there aren’t enough weapons to protect ourselves and our children.  The Christian model is the person of Jesus, our Redeemer, who was non-violent.  Lord, in your mercy.

Hearing God?

I've heard folks say that God has told them such and such.  On the one hand I'm envious because I've never been that certain.  I'm suspicious.  It is too easy to confuse my own ego needs with God's desire for me.  I've been reading Francis deSales' Introduction to the Devout Life.  Even though I've read it several times, it is one of those books to which I often return. Francis was the Bishop of Geneva during the time that John Calvin's followers were creating religious and political havoc in that area by insisting local governments govern according to the morality as the Calvinists interpreted the scriptures. Francis wrote a number of letters to individuals with instructions about keeping one's spiritual life alive in the midst of conflict, persecution and lack of support. He writes, for example, to Philothea (lover of God) saying that she is to seek spiritual guides, teachers, mentors, partners, etc. who "must be full of charity, knowledge, and prudence, and if any of these qualities is lacking there is danger."  As I approach the end of 2012, I've been wondering and praying about continuing with my spiritual director. That's an evaluation I do at the end of each year.  Father Michael, whom I've been seeing at the Abbey of Gethsemani for a couple of years, is full of charity, knowledge and prudence. Perhaps the Lord has answered my question or maybe it is just one of those things that happen. 

 

The Election is Over

The Elections are over and I'm glad. I had long grown weary of the ads, especially the attack ads. It is a bad sign when someone promotes themselves primarily because their opponent is worse. What was witnessed during those attack ads, I would call verbal and mental abusive behavior.   At the Counseling Center, we remind folks that such abusive language may mean that the client is not far from physical violence and abuse if they don't learn to deal with their egos and anger. Whether or not your preference was elected (most of mine were) I hope that all of us will be praying for all of our elected officers so they can govern with the common good in mind rather than their egos, political party, personal political future hopes, etc.

Praying the Psalms

In his brief book, Praying The Psalms, Thomas Merton writes, "There is one fundamental religious experience which the Psalms can all teach us: the peace that comes from submission to God's will and from perfect confidence in Him." (pg. 26.) This past Saturday I was at the Abbey of Gethsemani. I thought again about these men who pray all 150 Psalms every two weeks. Their eight daily services are primarily composed of praying, as a melodic chant, the Psalms. My friend Father Michael has been at the Abbey for almost 50 years. It is no wonder that the Psalms are a natural part of his conversational vocabulary. When asked a question, he gives a very thoughtful answer which usually has quotes from the Psalms involved. Several years ago my class was visiting the Abbey, one of the students asked Father Michael how he would teach someone to pray. His answer was simply, "Pray the Psalms everyday." I think a wonderful prayer is "Lord, I give you thanks, for Your mercy endures forever." (Psalm 118:1)

 

Healthy Image of God

In his book, Signposts of Spirituality, Trevor Hudson quotes William Temple, "... if people live with the wrong view of God, the more religious they become the worse the consequences will become."  There is a young woman who suffers from anxiety surely made worse by a mother who demands perfection and, therefore, is always critical of her daughter. She lives with the fear that she isn't good enough for God. A woman who believes God "took her son" by suicide because she was too emotionally involved with a male co-worker. A man who believes he can never be forgiven by God because he struggles with pornography. I believe our image of God is to be found in Jesus, i.e., "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father" (John 14:9). Whatever else church may involve, it seems to me that the foundation is to help others have a healthy view of God. By healthy, I mean the image of God revealed in Jesus. It has been interesting for me that all of the above examples relate to very religious people, if by religious we mean individuals who are very active in their church, even in leadership positions. I've a friend whose favorite saying is, "Just because you park your car in a chicken house, doesn't make it a chicken."  Whatever else church may involve, the foundation is to help others have a healthy view of God.