Greetings, dear ones!
Earlier today I delivered the sermon for St Peter's UMC. Although I didn't mention zombies in this particular sermon, the message is clear: let's stop biting and clawing one another in the Church and move closer to unity through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Many of us forget our identities as children of our Heavenly Father, and we neglect or abuse our brothers and sisters in Christ in thought, word and deed. Committee meetings are notorious for such behavior!
I'm certain that our Lord Jesus knew exactly what was coming, and that's why He called the disciples (and now calls us) to sit down and watch for the movement of the Holy Spirit. Sit down and wait. Sit down until you are filled with My Presence, He says. I promise to guide you. Just watch and wait for my Spirit. She will guide you when the Father and I send her to you.
As we prepare for the season of Pentecost, dear ones, I pray that we all will take time to sit, to watch and to wait for the Spirit to lead us. Only then will we remember who, and whose, we are. Here, dear ones, is my sermon. Watch and wait. I'll do the same. Then, together we can enter the future which God has prepared for us. Remember, no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love God. These things have been, are being, and will be revealed through the Holy Spirit who searches all -- even the very deepest places within God (1 Cor. 2:9-10).
13 May 2012
For Women Everywhere: Mother's Day is for Protest, Prayer & Peace
For all who suffer for one reason or another on Mother's Day, I fully acknowledge you. I am one of you, too. For years this day has reminded me of the scars in my heart and the empty womb that once held embryos but was unable, for whatever reason, to keep them alive. There are other pains, too, that I will not share in such a public place, but you can be sure that they are there.
Take heart, dear ones. Much love to all of you! I pray that we all will find comfort and renewed passion by examining our roots.
Mother's Day is not about chocolates and flowers (although both, if fairly traded and pesticide free, are lovely). It's not about jewelry and store-bought cards. This day is not about being a consumer zombie.
This morning, my pastor reminded us all that Mother's Day in America originated with the prayerful protest of Julia Ward Howe. In her earlier years she had penned the Battle Hymn of the Republic, but as she experienced the dreadful agony of war, her motherly despair caused her to cry out against the violence. (Experience of violence, grief and suffering has a tendency to change our theology.) As relevant today as it was when it was first prepared, let us read, hear, speak and pray these words of protest, prayer and womanhood. Let us remember what it means to be alive!
Against war.
Against mindless consumerism feeding ceaseless hunger for more.
Against governmental decisions that put our loved ones in danger on account of lust for money and power.
Take heart, dear ones. Much love to all of you! I pray that we all will find comfort and renewed passion by examining our roots.
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| Photo by Matt Wynne |
This morning, my pastor reminded us all that Mother's Day in America originated with the prayerful protest of Julia Ward Howe. In her earlier years she had penned the Battle Hymn of the Republic, but as she experienced the dreadful agony of war, her motherly despair caused her to cry out against the violence. (Experience of violence, grief and suffering has a tendency to change our theology.) As relevant today as it was when it was first prepared, let us read, hear, speak and pray these words of protest, prayer and womanhood. Let us remember what it means to be alive!
Against war.
Against mindless consumerism feeding ceaseless hunger for more.
Against governmental decisions that put our loved ones in danger on account of lust for money and power.
11 May 2012
The Gift of Empathy: Tending the Zombie Vine
It's been a little while since I've posted, dear ones. I've been working through some health issues and dietary changes trying to get my digestion to settle down. But today I'm back, writing about an experience within the slight chaos that has been my life in the last month or so.
As a zombie theologian, I've often struggled with this beautiful and frustrating thing called a body. Sometimes there is passion and joy in every fiber of my being. I feel connected to the earth, connected to my fellow human beings and the whole created order, and intimately connected to our Beloved, the Creator of all. The zombie within has entered a time of remembering who she was created to be. At other times, however, I loose my footing, I can't comprehend relationships and I completely loose sight of the Beautiful One we know as God.
In the times of forgetfulness and confusion, my body goes out of alignment, my muscles ache, my digestion is not as it should be, and it is difficult to maintain relationships with nearly anyone. I forget who I am in relation to creation. My communication gets all garbled. And generally I begin to focus in on my ailments and the undiagnosed diseases I am certain are lurking somewhere within my system. In short, when I am disconnected, I am withering, inside and out. In such times, the zombie within becomes fully and completely visible to all who care to spend more than a few moments in my presence.
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| "Devouring the Vine" |
In the times of forgetfulness and confusion, my body goes out of alignment, my muscles ache, my digestion is not as it should be, and it is difficult to maintain relationships with nearly anyone. I forget who I am in relation to creation. My communication gets all garbled. And generally I begin to focus in on my ailments and the undiagnosed diseases I am certain are lurking somewhere within my system. In short, when I am disconnected, I am withering, inside and out. In such times, the zombie within becomes fully and completely visible to all who care to spend more than a few moments in my presence.
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