paravanes:meditations

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known unto you." --Jesus Christ, in John 16:14-14 I live in Michigan, a recession-racked state, among the top in home foreclosures, unemployment, and population loss. Anyone who has lived here for more than ten years can drive through any business district and point out the foreclosure/for lease/for sale signs and tell you about the previous occupants of the now empty buildings. Recently, one of our "all news" radio stations, a CBS affiliate, has run short ads promoting a psychic service. I won't name it because I don't think they deserve any further promotion. The ads are really "pimping" local fear, preying upon and playing into the idea that life...

6.7 billion people live on the earth. 963 million of those people are hungry every day. 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes. That means one child every five seconds (tick-tick-tick-tick-tick). And now another...(tick-tick-tick-tick-tick)...and now another... ************************************************************************** A little view of hunger They call it a newspaper. But it looks like something to use for the fire. It has pictures of people sitting at long tables of food. White cloths cover the table, metal pieces sit on top of the cloths. There rest fowl and fish and bread and vegetable and fruit and milk and meat... Enough for twenty, or twenty-five, to eat and share. They say only six eat so much food. That cannot be true. They call it a newspaper. Pictures of people smiling and laughing with their food. Hot food, cold food, wine and water, fresh bread and cold cow's milk. Can so few eat and drink so much? That cannot be real. They call it a ne...

April 25, 2009 is Parental Alienation Awareness Day. When I first saw the phrase "parental alienation", it was a true revelation. I never imagined it was possible for someone to program or condition a child to reject a loving parent, one with whom that child once shared a close relationship. It is possible, and it happens everyday to tens of thousands of parents and grandparents. The resiliency and flexibility of children, especially young children, is often spoken of as an advantage as young ones navigate life's changes. The other side of the coin is that children who are dependent upon adults for care and support are easily conditioned to accept the ideas and perspectives those adults convey. What is parental alienation? According to the Parental Alienation and Awareness Organization, "Parental alienation involves the systematic brainwashing and manipulation of children with the sole purpose of destroying a loving and warm relationship they once shared with a paren...

This poignant image captures the moment of Mary's incomprehension, as she hears her name spoken by someone she knows is dead. After all, she has been present at the crucifixion of Jesus, seen his sagging body removed from the cross, and then been the one who laid out his corpse in the tomb. She has no doubt that Jesus is dead. But now, inexplicably, she recognizes his voice. --from bible-art.info From John 20: 10-18: Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who...

it's an ugly picture. It's a picture I want to look away from, something I don't want to consider. I want no obligation or responsibility for the suffering clearly present here. If someone tells me this man died for me, my natural reaction is to say, "oh well...who told Him to do that?" ...and really, no one told Him. He made the rules. I broke the rules. Instead of charging the penalty, He bought me out and wrote off the debt. That makes me uneasy...why would anybody do that? There's a catch somewhere because no one really gives away anything truly valuable...and why all the blood? ...don't make me guilty for this man's blood. That is totally uncalled for. ...what would happen if, every day, you tore a little bit of your flesh, your spirit, and your sanity away from yourself? Some people call that sin.If you keep doing it, you'll be bloody and broken. What does it cost to put all of that back together? It's expensive, time consuming, and painf...

--from jesusmartinezgordo.info "Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.' Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father,if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.'" --Matthew 26:36-39 In this passage, I find a place in Scripture where I can more closely identify with the feelings of Jesus. In other places in the gospels, He seems powerful, wiley and wise in dealing with the Pharisees who wanted to trap Him in an incorrect statement, and miraculous as He healed sick people, fed hungry people, and raised a dead man, Lazarus. Here I encounter the human part of Jesus, someone wh...

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." --Jesus Christ, in Matthew 10:34-39 (New International Version) Here Jesus is quoting the Old Testament book of Micah (chapter 7, verses 6,7), in which is described the possible conflict of family and faith. From experience I have learned the choice of fairness and right believing-thinking-acting does not always lead to harmony, unity, and happy feelings. Sometimes it lead...