The Hearts of Little Children

“Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of little children are pure.  Therefore, the Great spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.”

Black Elk, Oglala Sioux, Holy Man

When we grow up we believe that being grown up means a more complex life, more of this and more of that. We are graded on how well we perform, what we have amassed, or how far under budget we are. Children see the value in joyfully playing in a pasteboard box or chasing a reflected light. Use the wisdom of your childhood to temper the lusts of age. Go see if you can find that pasteboard box, open it up, and slide down the hill. Take the time to enjoy life, have faith, trust, and hope… and most of all love.

The Fisherman and the Business Man

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite a few big fish.

The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”

“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.

“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.

The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”

The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”

The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. “I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”

The fisherman continues, “And after that?”

The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”

The fisherman asks, “And after that?”

The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”

The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.  Matthew 18.6 ESV

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Luke 18:17 ESV

To Believe

Please be prepared to jump up out of your seat and shout Amen at the end of this video.  An Amazing child with an amazing gift!

http://videos2view.net/2believe-JE.htm

Native American - one

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion, respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.  Love your life, perfect your life.  Beautify all things in your life.  Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.  Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting of passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place.  Show respect for all people and bow to none. When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the food and the joy if living.  If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.  Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.” ~Tecumseh, Shawnee

As I look at general revelation, the prophets of the Old Testament, and the new covenant through Jesus Christ I can not find a way that the Native American simply came upon a way of life so wholesome, caring, and respectful of and a good steward of all of God’s creation by accident. I certainly believe that as the American Indian progressed through life they were made aware of God (Creator) in all of the same ways that the people of the Old Testament did, through the angles of God, the Son of Man, dreams, visions, prophets all manifestations consistent with their culture and life style. When the westerners came to their land, the interlopers brought with them a version of Christian faith that had a mandate to convert or kill the indigenous populations. This was a stumbling block for the natives affecting both their own belief system and for centuries damaging the real Good News.

There is hope for all, Creator loves us all, and the Good News is still good.

“The place I stand is in the original covenant God gave to Native America. I believe with all my heart that God's revelation to Native People is second to none. God spoke to generations of Native People over centuries of our spiritual development. We need to pay attention to that voice, to be respectful of the covenant, and to be unafraid to lift up the new covenant as the fulfillment of the ancient promise made to the Native People of North America. That means not seeing Jesus as a white plastic messiah taken off the dashboard of a car and dipped in brown to make things look more Indian, but as a living Christ that arises from the Native covenant and speaks with the authority and authenticity of Native America.” ~Bishop Steven Charleston, Choctaw from “The Old Testament of Native America” http://www.mesacc.edu/~thoqh49081/amerindian/charleston.html

Let us all pray that we can step out of Creator’s way and let the Spirit of Truth work to bring peace and unity to all of God’s Church.  May the ministries to Native America and Indigenous Americans work be to undo past pain and suffering while preserving an enriching the culture of the people. 

You are Not Alone

You are welcome to listen to a Homily that I preached a couple weeks ago at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Winter Garden, Florida. http://www.churchofthemessiah.com/resources-menu/sermons-listen/audio/24-you-are-not-alone . While you are on the site, please take a tour. You will find that all of the sermons recently preached, mostly from The Rev. Tom Rutherford, Rector are available.

This sermon was done on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany. Pray with me the collect for that day:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

It is the vision of The Church of the Messiah: "To change the world through Jesus Christ one child, one adult, one family, and one community at a time." We ask you to join us in that effort from where ever you are by your prayers and actions, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. If you are ever in the area you are warmly invited to drop by and visit us.  We are the Church with the red door.

Laughter

“I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, 'Ain't that the truth.'” ~Quincy Jones

“If you laugh - you change; and when you change - the world changes.” ~Shilpa Shah

“I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.” ~Bob Hope

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” ~Victor Borge

Laughter is a noise from the soul, the mechanism of change, the power to transform, and the shortest distance between two people. Laughter is brought by God, fills the mouth and lips with shouts of joy, and a sign that God has done something great. A baby laughs over 400 times a day and the average adult less than 15 times a day. Maybe children know something that adults don’t or adults have forgotten something they knew when they were young. Laughter facilitates healing of the physically sick and heals the soul. It’s hard to laugh and be angry, like it is hard to be mad at someone you are praying for. Have you ever made a funny face at a crying child and suddenly they begin to laugh, forgetting why they were mad in the first place? I make it a habit, when I’m in the store and see someone who looks like they have just been baptized in lemon juice approaching me, to make eye contact and smile. It is an instant cure 99% of the time. And of course when someone asks me how I am, my response is ‘Peachy.’ Even the ones who have heard it a hundred times get a smile or give me a chuckle. So, think about it. You hold in yourself one of the most powerful curatives, countenance changers, God given gifts in the world. Now, don’t you think you should go out and give it a try?  ~Chaplain Fred

My Daughter and I -- from the website www.LaughterHeals.org

I wanted to thank Craig again for bringing laughter to my daughter’s hospital room 2 years ago. Three days before her 16th birthday my daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia and hospitalized for 4-1/2 months in ICU at CHOC. About one month into her treatment my brother and two girl friends showed up for any evening visit. My brother brought with him a very funny CD which we all listened to for the duration of our visit. I can't explain the joy it gave me to see my daughter laughing all evening. It was great therapy for all of us.  It is now 2 years later (full remission) and for my birthday she bought tickets for me, my two girlfriends and herself to come see you at the Improv. We all laughed so much it hurt. Thank you again for your incredible talent and generous willingness to make people laugh, for 90 whole minutes. ~ Cindy Adams, California

Now Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."

Genesis 21:6 NRSV

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy. Job 8:21 NRSV

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." Psalm 126:2 NRSV

Caring

Oh Great Spirit,
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me!

Chief Yellow Lark

Care, the Source of All Cure

~Henri Nouwen

Care is something other than cure. Cure means "change." A doctor, a lawyer, a minister, a social worker-they all want to use their professional skills to bring about changes in people's lives. They get paid for whatever kind of cure they can bring about. But cure, desirable as it may be, can easily become violent, manipulative, and even destructive if it does not grow out of care. Care is being with, crying out with, suffering with, and feeling with. Care is compassion. It is claiming the truth that the other person is my brother or sister, human, mortal, vulnerable, like I am.

When care is our first concern, cure can be received as a gift. Often we are not able to cure, but we are always able to care. To care is to be human. ~Henri Nouwen

At the ripe old age of five years old, I new my calling was to be an Artist and a Nurse. I completed my nursing education right out of high school and when my children were adolescents I went back to collage for my degree in studio arts and behavioral medicine. At last I am satisfying both passions at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fl. were I do art interventions at the bedside with patients and do art workshops for  the health care team.

As an Artist and Nurse, each profession requires creativity. Encouraging creative expression follows the teachings of Nightingale and the Caring Theory of Jean Watson.  Research shows us that creativity has a positive effect on our immune system and can improve our health. Sharing this with others from both professional capacities is my heart’s desire.  ~Patty Magee’s Story, May 19, 2011

http://www.thenursinginspirationproject.com/

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” ~Luke 6:31 ESV