Category: Kim’s Blog

People I don’t like

Maybe it’s not Christian to not like someone.  But to be honest, there are people I just don’t like.  It doesn’t happen often.  And it’s not enough to keep me from doing what I want to do and being who I am trying to be.  I can usually overcome my negative feelings, but sometimes there are people that I just don’t like.  

And I am grateful for these people.  On reflection, I find that if I am open to it, I can learn a lot from people I don’t like.  Why don’t I like someone?  Figuring that out can tell me something about myself and my values and concerns.  Why is this person annoying to me?  What is it about their behavior?  Exploring these questions helps me discover more about who I am and what makes me tick.  

Then there is the idea that what we don’t like in someone else is usually something that we don’t like in ourselves.  So, when I don’t like someone, and I can figure out why, I may learn more about my myself and what I don’t like about myself.

Oh yes and something else about people I don’t like.  They help me to grow as a Christian.  Even if I don’t like someone, I still want treat them with dignity and kindness because that is who I want to be.  Dealing with someone I don’t like helps me to work on treating all people as precious children of God.  It’s a lot easier to do that when you like someone.  With someone we don’t like, it stretches us and helps us grow.

So, today I give thanks for people I don’t like.  

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:16   

Lazarus

The story of Jesus summoning Lazarus from the tomb is an assigned lectionary reading for this month.  [See the Gospel of John chapter 11.]  It’s a beautiful story.  Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are three siblings.  They live in Bethany.  They are friends with Jesus.  You may remember the story of Mary and Martha.  Well, as the story goes, Lazarus is sick.  Mary and Martha have sent for Jesus.  Jesus delays in coming to Bethany.  By the time Jesus gets to Bethany, Lazarus has died and been put in the tomb.  And the sisters are consumed by grief.  It has been four days since Lazarus died.  It was thought that it took three days for the spirit to leave the body.  So maybe there was a possibility that Lazarus could be restored to life within those three days.  But after four days there is no hope.

As the story relates, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb and he appears wrapped with grave clothes.  The impression is that he was really dead.  And now he is really alive.  

I am wondering about what hopes and dreams and desires we put in a tomb.  What kind of things do we let die?  What do we give up on?  What do we abandon?  What do we lock away never to be revisited?   Our faith teaches us to be peace makers.  Have we given up on nuclear disarmament?  On gun sense laws?  Our faith teaches us to value economic arrangements that are just.  Have we given up on economic justice?  Our faith teaches us to cherish the environment.  When we hear about the trends with global warming, do we simply ignore the statistics because we have given up on mitigation?  Our faith teaches to pursue forgiveness.   Have we given up on mending a relationship?  Our faith teaches us to be servants.  Have we given up on being able to make a difference?  Our faith invites us to health and wholeness.  Can we change our habits and face our addictions and dis-eases?  

The story of Lazarus reminds us of the persistence and resilience of the hopes and dreams of our faith.  Maybe they have been shut away but they can be restored.  What dreams have you given up on?  Divine Love can breathe new life into our dreams.

I am grateful that we are part of a religious tradition of hope and promise.  No situation is beyond redemption.  Restoration and healing are always possible.  

 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:16   

Lynching Revisited

Several days ago, I wrote about the poem and song, “Strange Fruit” which describes lynchings in the southern United States. I have recently read Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Café Society, and An Early Cry for Civil Rights by David Margolick written in 2000. That propelled me to YouTube to watch videos of the song performed by various artists starting with Billie Holiday. Yes, her performance is emotionally wrenching to watch as are the renditions of the song by Nina Simone and other African American artists.

Then I noticed a more recent performance, 2013, by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa. These people are white. Hm. What would that be like? I was skeptical. I watched the video. And I watched it again. And again. The vocals. The guitar. Haunting? Breathtaking? Tortured beauty? It’s hard to describe.  You can watch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qf_aytrlpQ

That performance led me to new thoughts about lynching. Yes, it is horrific to think about what it was like for black people to be the victims of such heinous evil. Again, hard to find human language to talk about something so inhumane. I am white. Can I say I am grateful that I am not black and was not subject to that depravity?

But watching the Hart/Bonamassa video stirred a different perspective within me. Here were these white people putting on such an authentic, pained, gut-wrenching performance. Maybe it is better to be black, to be associated with the victim rather than the perpetrator of such horror. Maybe it is worse to be white and to know that people of your kind did this, lynched people, hung them from a tree. With no semblance of justice involved. Can some say I’m grateful that I’m not white and not associated with behaving with such depravity?

We revisit this topic today, the 104th anniversary of the lynching of John Evans who was lynched in St. Petersburg near MLKing St. and 2nd Ave. S. by a mob of 1500 white people.

Can we be grateful? White and black? Can we be grateful that such a horror would not happen in St. Petersburg today? Can we be grateful that we are making progress in confronting racism? We have not come far enough. There is still a long way to go. But I am grateful that the majority of our society wants to end racism in the United States.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Veterans Day

This is a difficult day.  It’s a day to remember all of the suffering and sacrifice of those who have served in the military.  Yes, it is good to thank our veterans and remember their honorable service to our country.  But it is also a day of conflicted perspectives and feelings for me.

Jesus was adamantly anti violent.  He was a pacifist.  Thus he was against armed conflict and war.  So as followers of Jesus, we, too, are to be against war and violence of every kind.  

So to me it feels like there is a tension between the commitment to following Jesus who was against war and expressing gratitude to those who have served in the armed forces on Veterans Day.  

There is also the underlying tension between the view that the armed forces protect our safety and security and the view that the armed forces are used to undermine working for peace in the world.  

So, there is a sense in which Veterans Day is a day fraught with mixed feelings and contradictions.

I am wondering about truly remembering our veterans.  What if we were to commemorate each and every person who has served this country in the armed forces?  What if all those thousands and thousands of people were named and identified?  What if the toll that was taken on their lives and the lives of their families was cataloged?  What if their scars, emotional and physical, were charted?  What if all of their stories were told?   What would that be like?  To know who all of these veterans were, what they did, and how it affected their lives.  What if we spent Veterans Day, a holiday, pouring over the stories of veterans?  Listening to their stories?  Surrounded by published lists of all of their names?  What if we really remembered each and every veteran on Veterans Day instead of shopping, going to the beach, and sleeping in since it is a day off?  

Maybe if were really thought about the human cost of serving in the military as well as the financial cost, we would re-think our military-industrial complex.  

Stanley Baldwin, British statesman and three time Prime Minister, declared, “War would end if the dead could return.”

Maybe the most significant way we can express gratitude to those who have served in the military is by abolishing war.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:16   

Finding Gratitude through the Back Door

There is a wishing trees garden within the Arlington Garden in Pasadena, California. This public garden features native and drought tolerant plants. It has tables and chairs and benches for people to sit and enjoy the natural beauty. There is a labyrinth made from stones in the garden. And there are several trees blossoming with ribbons and papers that convey people’s wishes.

 

One post on the tree conveys these wishes:

I wish my husband will stop drinking alcohol and smoking.
I wish I will have job soon
I wish for best of health for my whole family
I wish I win in lotto.
I wish to have house soon.

After seeing that and some of the other wishes, here is my wish:

I wish to be more grateful!

 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16