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I really like this post because it was written by a soldier, in fact a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. I have a link to the Quaker’s Colonel on this blog because I’m a supporter of the Friends Committee on National Legislation and Col. Dan Smith has good insights.

The Quakers’ Colonel: A Retrospective on Memorial Day 2006

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Today’s Gospel from St. Mark is one of my favorites. In it a scribe asks Jesus what is the first of all the commandments. Jesus responds, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe tell’s Jesus he has answered well and affirms the following, “to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Jesus sees the man has anwered with understanding and said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

This is one of my favorite passages in all the Gospels because in it Jesus speaks not of the Ten Commandments which are often referred to in the Mosaic law and frequently used even today as a standard of civil and/or moral behavior. Jesus’ standard is instead the higher or perhaps highest standard by which we are and will be judged. In Matthew 25: 31-46 he reiterates this same theme.

The message of Jesus is one of radical mercy and forgiveness. What get’s the attention of the king is how we treat our brothers and sisters, especially those with whom we are least comfortable, those at the margins of society. They are the folks whom we’d prefer not to associate with, the people outside our comfort zone. They might be white, black, Hispanic, Palestinian, Israeli, gay or straight. Whoever is the outsider and foreigner in our particular circumstance or community. This is the Christ in our midst. Peace.

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The recently alleged and reported massacre in Haditha, Iraq has sent the Pentagon scampering to provide “Core Values” training for the United States Military in Iraq. I received Mark Fiore’s most recent flash animation in today’s inbox. “Core Values Training is worth sharing because it highlights the tremendous strain and moral conflicts our troops are faced with. I thought it was worth sharing. Follow this link. Peace.

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core values, mark fiore, iraq war

Thanks to Paula at More Light for the link to Taize music. Taizé, in the south of Burgundy, France, is the home of an international, ecumenical community, founded there in 1940 by Brother Roger. The brothers are committed for their whole life to material and spiritual sharing, to celibacy, and to a great simplicity of life. Today, the community is made up of over a hundred brothers, Catholics and from various Protestant backgrounds, from more than twenty-five nations.

More Light: Taize music

I have a CD of Taize Music that I listen to when I’m out driving the car. It is very beautiful contemplative music.

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Some of our politicians have chosen to debate gay marriage and flag burning amendments to the United States Constitution this week. We have two wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of dead and wounded in those conflicts. We have 40 million Americans without health care. We have rampant corruption in Washington and no congressional oversight. We are on the verge of an environmental nightmare caused by Washington’s intrasigence with global warming and these cretins are debating gay marriage and flag burning. I thought it was time to demonstrate my commitment to Mom, apple pie and the American way with one of my favorite renditions of the Star Spangled Banner by one of my favorite rock guitarists. Here is Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock in 1969. Peace.

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gay marriage, flag burning, woodstock, hendrix, americana

Last week I wrote about a family of cardinals that had built a nest outside our kitchen window. We spent the next week watching the mother and father dote on their young. They became part of our extended family and so on Saturday when we saw the nest was empty we began to suspect foul play. We don’t exactly know what happened, but it is safe to say that some predator had the young cardinals for a snack. There is afterall terrorism in the animal kingdom. After several days of mourning the demise of our feathered friends my wife and I spoke about some of the insights we’d gained. I thought of the yin and yang of the Tao and that whoever had hurt the birds might in turn meet a similar end. My wife’s approach was somewhat different though no less philosophical. She said that no one would call me a predator because I enjoyed cheeseburgers, but in fact cows are killed everyday so that we can enjoy burgers and other meat products. It’s something we just accept as part of the food chain and the life cycle. So too perhaps then is the demise of the young cardinals. Maybe they were just a snack for some other animal.

This got me to thinking as I often do of my friend Winnie the Pooh and a wonderful book written by Benjamin Hoff entitled “The Tao of Pooh”. A nun recommended this book while I was working one day at Mt. Irenaeus about five or six years ago. Follow this link to more information about the Tao of Pooh.

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This came to me in an email today from the Merton Foundation.

“Only when we see ourselves in our true human context, as members of a race which is intended to be one organism and ‘one body,’ will we begin to understand the positive importance not only of the successes but of the failures and accidents in our lives. My successes are not my own. The way to them was prepared by others. The fruit of my labors is not my own: for I am preparing the way for the achievements of another. Nor are my failures my own. They may spring from failure of another, but they are also compensated for by another’s achievement. Therefore the meaning of my life is not to be looked for merely in the sum total of my own achievements. It is seen only in the complete integration of my achievements and failures with the achievements and failures of my own generation, and society, and time. “

From No Man is an Island by Thomas Merton

(Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, New York, 1955) Page xxii.

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I came across this quote on the web today and I like it.

“When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.”–Cree Proverb

I’m reminded of the part of St. Matthew’s Gospel that reads, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Success is most often defined in our consumer culture in terms of how much we can consume. We often hear the consumer price index quoted as an indicator of the relative health of our country. Native Americans spirituality is more wholistic. Holiness is often reduced to piety, but for me wholiness and holiness go hand in hand. Peace.

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I received this post from the email of a regular reader of this blog. It really needs no introduction and is one of those timeless stories that are the scripture of everyday life. Thank you to ShipWreckedinSC.

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson.

The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.

But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

“We must do something about Grandfather,” said the son. I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.

There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.

Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?”

Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food from when I grow up.”

The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family.

And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth got soiled.

Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives.

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spirituality, story, family, children