Who is there to hold our hands and let us wail in pain?
Who is there to pick us up until we can walk again?
Who will manage our friends in their attempts to take over?
Who will tell the world at large to take our grief a little slower?
We cannot all get over it when we have lost our mates,
In a true partnership, where there are so many states
Of our live's necessities, in which we shared the load.
How can we function alone when we, on two axles, rode?
If only we had wailing walls where we could place requests
For one to take the place of our mates in decisions about what is best,
For the future which we must continue to face without half of ourselves,
For a replacement for the arms that, by once, we were so tenderly held.
I was blessed by reprieves when I thought my loves would die;
I have often thanked My Maker, no matter the reason why.
I do know how desperately we hunger for human touch
When faced with losing a part of ourselves that we have loved so much.
How is it that we can continue to go on with our own lives
Without the earthly unity for which each of us strives?
When we've had it and lost it, how can we not long
For an end to our earthly brokenness. How can this be wrong?
Even those who believe that God waits for their return,
For the physical presence of their loved ones still burn.
Shouldn't there be a way for us to embrace Eternity
Without having to feel the pain of losing a part of me?
Some say we should give it to God;
Some say Jesus is the way.
But didn't Our Maker give us hands
To do something other than pray?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Looking for Absolute Answers
I'm just started reading My Sister's Keeper, a novel by Jodi Picoult. The story addresses the issue of genetic engineering of a sibling to save the life of a another dying child. We live in such a complex society with all the advances of modern science, it is difficult to know what we each would do in some of our most scary situations. There seem to be too many choices, and not enough absolute answers to go around.
While we like to believe that we know where our free will would take us, do we ever really know where we'd go, given secrecy and an endless supply of options? When it is something we desperately want, we often go with our own emotion and expect forgiveness from Our Maker. But when it is the heart's desire of another, we like to believe that we would make more moral choices. Can I say with certainty that, faced with the slow, painful death of my small child, I'd not take advantage of every option know to medical miracles?
We like to say that we leave our destiny to God, and offer all our suffering up as a sacrifice. How many of us don't take an analgesic when we have a headache? Is this not interfering in the natural order of things, our way over God's will?
When it comes to procreation, we think we know where we'd draw the line, as another life is in the balance. If it's okay to block a headache, is it okay to block ovulation or fertilization? The lines get fuzzy when we speak about interfering with fertility for purposes that support procreation, when one wants a child of one's own genetic material. They get fuzzier still when we want to save or improve the quality of the lives of those we already love.
I was born back in the day when all babies were created the old-fashioned way. I remember the philosophical furor over the first test tube baby's birth. Who knew we'd one day be storing what some say is already human life in freezers? How could we have predicted that medicine would be afforded the ability to "create" life?
While we like to believe that we know where our free will would take us, do we ever really know where we'd go, given secrecy and an endless supply of options? When it is something we desperately want, we often go with our own emotion and expect forgiveness from Our Maker. But when it is the heart's desire of another, we like to believe that we would make more moral choices. Can I say with certainty that, faced with the slow, painful death of my small child, I'd not take advantage of every option know to medical miracles?
We like to say that we leave our destiny to God, and offer all our suffering up as a sacrifice. How many of us don't take an analgesic when we have a headache? Is this not interfering in the natural order of things, our way over God's will?
When it comes to procreation, we think we know where we'd draw the line, as another life is in the balance. If it's okay to block a headache, is it okay to block ovulation or fertilization? The lines get fuzzy when we speak about interfering with fertility for purposes that support procreation, when one wants a child of one's own genetic material. They get fuzzier still when we want to save or improve the quality of the lives of those we already love.
I was born back in the day when all babies were created the old-fashioned way. I remember the philosophical furor over the first test tube baby's birth. Who knew we'd one day be storing what some say is already human life in freezers? How could we have predicted that medicine would be afforded the ability to "create" life?
An Activist's Prayer by Jack Riemer
I found this prayer online. It is written by Rabbi Jack Riemer. I thought it should be shared.
An Activist's Prayer
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war;
For we know that You have made the world in a way
That we must find our own path to peace
Within ourselves and with our neighbours.
We cannot merely pray to You, O Lord, to end starvation;
For you have already given us the resources
With which to feed the entire world
If we would only use them wisely.
We cannot merely pray to you, O God,
To root out prejudice,
For You have already given us eyes
With which to see the good in all people
If we would only use them rightly.
We cannot merely pray to You O God, to end despair,
For You have already given us the power
To clear away slums and to give hope
If we would only use our power justly.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease,
For you have already given us great minds with which
To seek out cures and healing,
If we would only use them constructively.
Therefore we pray to You instead, O God,
For strength, determination, and willpower,
To do instead of just pray,
To become instead of merely to wish.
An Activist's Prayer
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war;
For we know that You have made the world in a way
That we must find our own path to peace
Within ourselves and with our neighbours.
We cannot merely pray to You, O Lord, to end starvation;
For you have already given us the resources
With which to feed the entire world
If we would only use them wisely.
We cannot merely pray to you, O God,
To root out prejudice,
For You have already given us eyes
With which to see the good in all people
If we would only use them rightly.
We cannot merely pray to You O God, to end despair,
For You have already given us the power
To clear away slums and to give hope
If we would only use our power justly.
We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease,
For you have already given us great minds with which
To seek out cures and healing,
If we would only use them constructively.
Therefore we pray to You instead, O God,
For strength, determination, and willpower,
To do instead of just pray,
To become instead of merely to wish.
Friday, February 25, 2011
This Little Light of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine
There is a huge difference between feelings and actions of guilt and those precipitated by shame. Admission of guilt is the beginning of healing; it presupposes trust in the other and in the relationship. Shame seeks to hide one's actions, predicting that the other will be duped by the performance. This leads to further alienation, rather than to reconciliation. It seems to me that the sin of Adam and of Cain was the refusal to admit guilt and to ask for guidance in how to avoid the same sin.
We, as a people, seem to continue getting it wrong, attempting to hide our weaknesses from each other because so many still believe that all illness and loss is punishment for some sin of an ancestor or of oneself. There seems to be a legalistic understanding of Grace and God that we carry forward into our personal relationships and hand down from generation to generation. A system of rewards and punishments, ridicule and retribution. Life in the Light should help us get past these issues, but we continue to project our own limitations onto our beliefs about The Almighty. Babies are all born beautiful; only through the shame of our ancestors are we made to feel less than gifts of Grace.
My mother spent her life feeling ashamed of her birth status as a child born to a mother who had married a divorced non-(Roman)Catholic. Further "evidence" of God's displeasure with her mother was the fact that my mother's father had died when my mother was only three, her brother five, and her sister an infant. There were also two half-brothers that my grandmother had been bringing up as her own.
Like more "proof" of sin was needed, as my grandmother was in the process of moving her little ones to be closer to her mother and crippled sister for support, her mother died. This left her with the burden of her widowed father and crippled sister added to the burdens of her widowhood and child-rearing. In those days, there were no protections for a widow supporting her family. My grandmother spent the rest of her life atoning for her "sins" by attending daily mass, never again marrying, and shunning shows of love.
My grandmother seemed to buy into the notion that the sins of the father (and presumably the mother) are passed on to their children. She never expressed any joy in the value of herself, her children, or her grandchildren, as this would lead to pridefulness, another sin. My mother seemingly, couldn't get past this sense of shame. She followed suit in attempting to atone for the sins of her parents, of which she felt herself to be tangible evidence.
Our religion, in that time, insisted on earthly penance for our transgressions, rather than throwing ourselves on the mercy of Our Just Creator. It also never asked us to make amends to those we helped to move away from feelings of grace, only to offer ourselves and our pain as human sacrifices to assuage the sins of ourselves and our ancestors. The only way out of this unending trap was to deny any wrongdoing and/or to do eternal penance. There was really no "Joy in Jesus" when I was coming up. And forget the idea of the Light of Holiness in an average individual.
It was heart-breaking to watch my mother deny herself joy in her children's use of their God-given gifts. All pride in her progeny was turned by her shame into pain. This was, presumably, her penance and her protection from the continuation of what she referred to as "arrogance". Thankfully, she seemed to see some light in her grandchildren's lives. It is now up to us, who are still living our earthly existence, to continue to honor and nurture the Life-In-The-Light affirming use of all the talents that our family members were given.
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."
We, as a people, seem to continue getting it wrong, attempting to hide our weaknesses from each other because so many still believe that all illness and loss is punishment for some sin of an ancestor or of oneself. There seems to be a legalistic understanding of Grace and God that we carry forward into our personal relationships and hand down from generation to generation. A system of rewards and punishments, ridicule and retribution. Life in the Light should help us get past these issues, but we continue to project our own limitations onto our beliefs about The Almighty. Babies are all born beautiful; only through the shame of our ancestors are we made to feel less than gifts of Grace.
My mother spent her life feeling ashamed of her birth status as a child born to a mother who had married a divorced non-(Roman)Catholic. Further "evidence" of God's displeasure with her mother was the fact that my mother's father had died when my mother was only three, her brother five, and her sister an infant. There were also two half-brothers that my grandmother had been bringing up as her own.
Like more "proof" of sin was needed, as my grandmother was in the process of moving her little ones to be closer to her mother and crippled sister for support, her mother died. This left her with the burden of her widowed father and crippled sister added to the burdens of her widowhood and child-rearing. In those days, there were no protections for a widow supporting her family. My grandmother spent the rest of her life atoning for her "sins" by attending daily mass, never again marrying, and shunning shows of love.
My grandmother seemed to buy into the notion that the sins of the father (and presumably the mother) are passed on to their children. She never expressed any joy in the value of herself, her children, or her grandchildren, as this would lead to pridefulness, another sin. My mother seemingly, couldn't get past this sense of shame. She followed suit in attempting to atone for the sins of her parents, of which she felt herself to be tangible evidence.
Our religion, in that time, insisted on earthly penance for our transgressions, rather than throwing ourselves on the mercy of Our Just Creator. It also never asked us to make amends to those we helped to move away from feelings of grace, only to offer ourselves and our pain as human sacrifices to assuage the sins of ourselves and our ancestors. The only way out of this unending trap was to deny any wrongdoing and/or to do eternal penance. There was really no "Joy in Jesus" when I was coming up. And forget the idea of the Light of Holiness in an average individual.
It was heart-breaking to watch my mother deny herself joy in her children's use of their God-given gifts. All pride in her progeny was turned by her shame into pain. This was, presumably, her penance and her protection from the continuation of what she referred to as "arrogance". Thankfully, she seemed to see some light in her grandchildren's lives. It is now up to us, who are still living our earthly existence, to continue to honor and nurture the Life-In-The-Light affirming use of all the talents that our family members were given.
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Peace for Our Progeny
My recently deceased mother spent the last years of her life petitioning heaven for the healing of ancestral wounds. She seemed to think that it was enough to ask for the general healing without naming the wounds or those who suffered from these afflictions. Perhaps she didn't know the specifics, or she was too ashamed of her part in them to be able to name them. So many times we hide from our own sins in shame, which forever precludes the healing of their wounds. The sins of the ancestors are only passed down to subsequent generations because we refuse to recognize and repent of our wrong actions.
When we live in a society of fear, ridicule, and reprisal, where do we find words of guidance for our children and their children as they embark upon the waters of adult life and love in this fragmented world. Who will sit with them and listen to their anguish without attempting to interject their own weaknesses and those of their ancestors as justification for further wrongdoing? Tradition seems to trump careful consideration of what is right for individual relationship issues. Do young families have to resort to divorce court in order to be heard?
When two become one, we, as a society, should take their union seriously. We witness their vows, then do nothing to strengthen the union. Even in involved families, the norm seems to be holding onto our own children and insisting on the superiority of our family's ways, rather than releasing them to form their own families. When they ask for guidance, we seldom seek the wisdom of the elders of our communities in guiding our answers. We tend to be too busy protecting our own turfs, traditions, and reputations.
All growth is created in stress. Stress causes a seed to break open and become a tree. A marriage cannot produce offspring without breaking open. When children are born to a union, the young family is in crisis. With the work, wisdom, and wit of the elders, the new tree will flourish. But in the absence of the solid ground for growing and much nurturing, the new tree will either wither and die or splinter into several weakened branches.
It takes courage to carry the burdens of the young on our weary and stooped shoulders, but we must be brave if we are to help to create peace in the new lives of our progeny.
When we live in a society of fear, ridicule, and reprisal, where do we find words of guidance for our children and their children as they embark upon the waters of adult life and love in this fragmented world. Who will sit with them and listen to their anguish without attempting to interject their own weaknesses and those of their ancestors as justification for further wrongdoing? Tradition seems to trump careful consideration of what is right for individual relationship issues. Do young families have to resort to divorce court in order to be heard?
When two become one, we, as a society, should take their union seriously. We witness their vows, then do nothing to strengthen the union. Even in involved families, the norm seems to be holding onto our own children and insisting on the superiority of our family's ways, rather than releasing them to form their own families. When they ask for guidance, we seldom seek the wisdom of the elders of our communities in guiding our answers. We tend to be too busy protecting our own turfs, traditions, and reputations.
All growth is created in stress. Stress causes a seed to break open and become a tree. A marriage cannot produce offspring without breaking open. When children are born to a union, the young family is in crisis. With the work, wisdom, and wit of the elders, the new tree will flourish. But in the absence of the solid ground for growing and much nurturing, the new tree will either wither and die or splinter into several weakened branches.
It takes courage to carry the burdens of the young on our weary and stooped shoulders, but we must be brave if we are to help to create peace in the new lives of our progeny.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Love and Litigation
I'm in the process of a property dispute in which the seller is threatening litigation. I've read the prescription for settling disputes written in Matthew 18:15-17 "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." This passage begs the questions of who are our brothers and who are our church?
Lawyers were involved from the beginning of the relationship, as no contract on property can be written or enforced without them. I don't know anything about the lawyers involved with the writing of the original contract; neither do I have knowledge of the values of the closing attorney. I certainly have no idea as to whether the litigator has any sense of justice.
As soon as the subject of litigation came up, I consulted a lawyer to explain to me what the original legal documents meant. I was very careful in my choice of legal counsel to hire someone who is known to me to be a Jewish woman who embraces justice and peace.
Until proven otherwise, I choose to believe that the seller is a just person who has hired an equally moral attorney. I hope this is the case because my attorney doesn't do litigation. If this goes to court, who will be "the church"? Does it mean anything to swear on a Bible when you have no knowledge or belief in what the Bible says?
Lawyers were involved from the beginning of the relationship, as no contract on property can be written or enforced without them. I don't know anything about the lawyers involved with the writing of the original contract; neither do I have knowledge of the values of the closing attorney. I certainly have no idea as to whether the litigator has any sense of justice.
As soon as the subject of litigation came up, I consulted a lawyer to explain to me what the original legal documents meant. I was very careful in my choice of legal counsel to hire someone who is known to me to be a Jewish woman who embraces justice and peace.
Until proven otherwise, I choose to believe that the seller is a just person who has hired an equally moral attorney. I hope this is the case because my attorney doesn't do litigation. If this goes to court, who will be "the church"? Does it mean anything to swear on a Bible when you have no knowledge or belief in what the Bible says?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Lives in Holy Light
I'm so excited about this blog. I already have three folks commenting on the entries. One is a devout Jewish mom and soon-to-be grandma; the other is a long-time male pastor and preacher in a Pentecostal church who spent twenty years in Africa, where many to whom he ministered were Muslims. This is what I want to hear, how walking a walk of holiness enriches lives, of the writers and of those around them. Talk about different perspectives!
I'm hoping to hear from atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and anyone else who can tell their stories of walking in the Light of the Spirit of Oneness with all the good in creation. I want to know where and how they found this Holy Light in their lives, and how they apply it to achieving unity in our universe.
What are the manifestations of Holy Oneness in your life? What do you call this Light of Life? Where do you find support for your vision of Holiness? How do you share your Light with the rest of creation?
I'm hoping to hear from atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and anyone else who can tell their stories of walking in the Light of the Spirit of Oneness with all the good in creation. I want to know where and how they found this Holy Light in their lives, and how they apply it to achieving unity in our universe.
What are the manifestations of Holy Oneness in your life? What do you call this Light of Life? Where do you find support for your vision of Holiness? How do you share your Light with the rest of creation?
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