paravanes:meditations

Readers, I am taking a summer break from blogging until September. Please explore the blog and enjoy previous posts. Any new comments you share will be answered in September. Your readership and support are appreciated!

(image from wikiwand.com) A hymn I grew up with--one  I seldom hear anymore--was titled "Higher Ground." In the chorus of the hymn, we sang these words: "Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith, on heaven's tableland, A higher plane than I have found, Lord plant my feet on higher ground." What is a tableland? A tableland is a plateau, a mesa, or an elevated flat ground. Often sheep would graze on tableland. What is heaven's tableland?  Many commentators have said it is the afterlife, when we all live in the heavenly kingdom of God's goodness. Not so fast. Heaven's tableland is not for the future; it is for now. It is for us to live on now. We won't need faith in heaven. It is only in this world that we need faith. Note carefully what the hymn writer wrote: "Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith , on heaven's tableland." In this world, we need faith. We need heaven's tab...

Graphic: Holy Fire Ministries (holyfire.co.nz) I've noticed increasingly strident and even angry blog posts and opinion pieces recently regarding the question of what the true church can or should  do in days of apostasy. For some reason, many seem to believe we are in a time of extreme apostasy.  I am not certain this is true, but once again the topic has arisen. Here are some thoughts on the subject. First, it is important to remember the church has always been challenged by apostasy (false teaching by those who have turned away from the true gospel they once professed).  There is no time in church history when the church has not faced apostasy and apostates.  This is not a 21st or even 20th century phenomenon. As you read through the New Testament,you will find the apostles Paul and Peter warning the early church about the false teaching of apostates. The entire Book of Jude in the New Testament is a warning against apostates and includes teaching ...

Sodom. This is not a name we generally associate with mercy. In Genesis 18:23-33, one reads a conversation between Abraham and God. God decides to share with Abraham the divine plan to destroy the city of Sodom because extreme wickedness has been attributed to the inhabitants of that place. In response, Abraham wonders aloud if God would destroy the good and honest people who just happen to live in Sodom.  In the conversation, Abraham asks the question: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" As the conversation progresses, God tells Abraham if fifty righteous people can be found in Sodom, the city will not be destroyed. Abraham, knowing his nephew Lot lives there, bargains God down to ten. That was an expression of God's mercy. In other words, if ten righteous people could be found in the city (historians estimate the population of the city was between 600 and 1200), God  would not destroy it. For the sake of ten righteous people, God would a...

Like many, I watched video of family members of the Charleston Nine ( Emanuel AME Church members murdered in a mass shooting at the church this week) express forgiveness to the confessed shooter during a court hearing. It has been suggested it is too soon to forgive. What does that mean? Why does it matter? It is never too soon to affirm the intention to forgive. That's where forgiveness begins--with intent. From intent, we may move to the deep, emotional freedom that comes with true forgiveness. That true forgiveness frees us from the poison of an offender's words or actions. That's why Jesus taught his disciples to forgive. It all begins with intent. When I watched a sobbing woman lament the loss of a loved one in open court and heard her broken voice proclaim forgiveness, I knew I was watching a true disciple of Jesus Christ. This woman was not proclaiming damnation for the mass murder. No words were spoken about God's vengeance and hate, or Hell and sufferi...

In my Facebook feed, a news article about the closing of a large, nationally significant Catholic church building in a downtown central business district drew some noteworthy comments. One commenter lamented the "loss" of a beautiful building, stating members of "his church" relocated to suburban areas two decades ago. He went on to suggest Baptists or Lutherans --traditions of quite different origins and worship styles--would soon take over "his" old building. Another commenter wrote of the irony of the Archdiocesan Office shuttering the sanctuary, but leaving open the attached Senior Center which serves nearly 2,000 people per week, offering food assistance and a safe place to meet for socializing and fellowship. Was the Senior Center's work of placemaking and feeding the hungry more meaningful than the activities and rituals held on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings in the sanctuary? Jesus said "For where two or three come together...

National Association of Non Custodial Moms:   www.facebook.com/NANCM.org Parental Alienation Awareness Organization:   http://paawareness.org/ Have you heard of these groups? When you learn a woman does not have custody of her child, do you assume she is an addict of some type, or mentally ill, or  morally unfit to raise her child or children? If you make these assumptions, you are wrong. Many noncustodial moms lost a legal battle with a well funded or abusive ex husband or ex partner. Perhaps this mother trusted someone who promised to take care of her child during a crisis, but that someone was simply creating a pretext for taking custody of that child. Perhaps this mother fled an abusive situation (taking her children with her) and was unable to finance the legal battle to maintain custody. Yes, there are some women who are not ready or willing to raise their children. But, there are many who were not able to prevail in a court system that favors the well con...