Only When You Lose

Ever noticed...that, in many games, cheating seems to be claimed only when you lose?  

...otherwise, everything is good — it's fair-and-square.

For This Election Day: Trusting in Christ’s Peace

 GALLUP - Front Page

Jesus woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased and there was a dead calm. He said to the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

-- Mark 4:39–40 

Episcopal bishop Rev. Barbara Harris (1930–2020) invites us to rely on Christ’s peace:   

In the midst of uncertainty and swift transition, in the midst of personal and institutional upheaval, and amid the “fightings within and fears without” that separate peoples, races, and nations, we desperately need to hear a little good news. And this passage from the fourth chapter of Mark’s Gospel, which relates how Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, is exactly that: good news.  

Who among us … having lived through a tornado, hurricane, or even a violent thunderstorm, can fail to be moved by this account of the terror-stricken disciples, convinced that at any moment their boat would capsize and they would be swept away into the sea. And who could fail to be moved by the image of Jesus standing up in that frail vessel and speaking to the storm: “‘Peace! Be still.’”… 

What they did not understand, and what many today do not understand is that although we may panic in times of stress and distress, God does not share our panic.  

That sense of panic that gripped the disciples out there on the Sea of Galilee is pervasive in our church and in our society today. When people panic, they tend to act desperately and unreasonably. Nations panic and go to war. Then they try to get God to sanction their actions as “holy.” In panic, people choose up sides in controversies and take irrational stands…. Few, if any, say, “Come, let us reason together.”  

Harris relies on Christ’s presence and wisdom:  

If Christ is at the center of our lives, we don’t have to rush into irrational action that often leads to impractical solutions. “Peace! Be still!” These can be our watchwords as we wait for the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.  

Often as we sail over the tempestuous sea of life, our world is in storm on a personal, national, and global level. But not only is Christ on the ship, Christ is in command—even when he seems to be asleep. “He who keeps watch over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:3, Book of Common Prayer). And what a comfort lies in the simple thought: “His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me” [see Matthew 10:29]. 

Jesus hears us when we call, but he refuses to jump when we push the panic button. We are afraid to rely on that presence and the saving power. In our haste and our anxiety, we tend to rely on what we can see, count, touch, and feel. We forget that such things will pass away. We need, in the words of the old hymn, to “build our hopes on things eternal and hold to God’s unchanging hand.” 

Wondering

I’m wondering…how many people care about wondering?

Isn’t wondering a fundamentally different disposition than what we feel mostly surrounding us right now…especially regarding the election tomorrow?  Not so much about the outcome (though, who can avoid wondering about that, too?), as about the things that have gotten us to this state.  

What dynamics are truly in play (within our hearts, within our society)?  Could we truly contemplate that; take the time to listen to ourselves, to each other?  To wonder if we have been co-opted by those appealing to our most basic instincts?  To wonder how the system is offering us both benefits (money, tangible comforts, etc.) and serious liabilities (stress, conspiracy-based self-preservation strategies, societal-wide anxieties)?  To stop long enough to consider how it will 'roll' us, unless we come to sensibilities that address our true needs as human-beings sharing this planet?

You have to wonder....

Peace?

 If you want peace, work for justice. 

-- Pope Paul VI

A challenge to those on both ends of the justice spectrum.

Like this:

The Risk of Living the Gospel

Or this:

A Politics Rooted in God’s Love 

Rather than this:

Trump’s Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults

4 Observations (from Others)

Fearlessness is necessary for the development of other noble qualities.

-- Gandhi

I wonder if spiritual healing has more to do with being opened than it does with being cured.

-- Nadia Bolz-Weber

You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even a day ago. You are here to create yourself, continuously.

-- Richard Feynman

It’s not that we don’t have time. It’s that we don’t have time for the things that are really important. There’s always enough time to do what’s really important, but we get caught up doing things that aren’t important.

-- Larry Winget

Prior 4 Observations (from Others).

Prime Purpose

 Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.

-- Dalai Lama