Wisdom's Way Beyond Words

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Richard-Rohr-s-Meditation--Beyond-Words.html?soid=1103098668616&aid=Gx4m7L2ARws



Please reflect on the post above by Richard even as you read these mere words.  Happy Love! Happy Peace! Happy Community! in 2015....and beyond!  Paz y Amore! RV

Welcome Charlotte Alexandria Creese

January 10th see's the arrival of my new grand daughter Charlotte Alexandria Creese in Denver to proud parents Alexandria and Tim.  Welcome to the world, Princess!  

Both of your names infer that you are a "helper of mankind" and a "strong feminine leader".  I see great opportunities for your generation in service to mankind, in spite of all our problems.  Bless You my darling and my blessings on your parents as they guide you in the coming years.  I hope to be available to you as well for many years to come.  Love All Ways!  Grandpa!

By Try Grace

The video/chant above is a beautiful musical path to sensing the beauty of All
creation.  I am not familiar with many spiritual paths in this world and do not feel especially comfortable in the presence of unfamiliar languages.  However I believe that trying to appreciate the similar goals of all mature spiritual seekers is one small step toward understanding, in spite of cultural and linguistic differences.
This past week saw a terrorist attack in Paris, France.  The perpetrators were identified with radical Islamic sects and were attacking a publishing house which they viewed as being defaming of their path.  Several interesting events happened during this ordeal.  In the initial attack in which a dozen or more were killed, one of the dead was identified as being a fellow Muslim, collateral damage or just a different sect.
Several Muslim Imams from France were visiting Pope Francis at the
Vatican.  In a joint statement they denounced the terrorist acts of hate and at the same time admonished poor judgement in publishing which defames others beliefs.
The most significant event occurred on this past Sunday when more people took to the streets in peaceful support of Islam and free press than took to the streets on VE day at the end of WWII.

All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.  Love Wins! All Ways!  Paz Christo!
RV  P.S. - When looking at this post it appears that I misspelled the title of By Thy Grace.  Then I thought more about it and decided that the title sounded just fine :0)

2015 and Beyond

Happy New Year! Paz y Amor!

Language is such an interesting part of being human.  The use of words and the ability to put them together forming some forms of communication as well as formulating abstract concepts is part of what our heritage tells us is "being created in the image of God".  As beautiful as this is it is also indicative of one of our greatest limitations to relate to and describe that very God.  God who is a mystery and beyond our finite ability to adequately describe. It is kinda cool that we keep trying as long as we do not get so wrapped up in the thought that God meant for His ultimate "Word"  to be written in "King James English". :0).  
Hence the reason for the heading for this post.  It appears to me that the "romance" languages may have a leg up on my native tongue as far as partially capturing the essence of a beautiful carol of the Incarnation, Silent Night.  

This kind of dials into what I mentioned earlier regarding the lack of the word "Love" in any of the foundational creeds of  Christendom.  God who is Love according to the Gospel of John would most likely have "inspired" one of those early church fathers to throw Love in the mix.  Maybe the problem is that we were talking about church fathers and not Mothers!

Anyhow I was very pleased when reading the Spanish translation of Silent Night.  In any language it is a beautiful song and sentiment.  In Spanish however it is a lot more vibrant and rich in meaning.  Silent Night,(quiet night) becomes Noche de Paz, (Night of Peace)!  And Holy Night,(pure or Not us night) becomes Noche de Amor, (Night of Love)!

May more of our nights and days be filled with Peace And Love in the coming year and may we all be guided in a path which can bring this prayer to fruition.  Paz y Amor!  RV

Another Advent Thought!

The previous post was from Henri Nouwen and was most certainly "A Broader View" (the title of the reflection).  It is a view which we should all reflect upon, especially in this country, as we live in a democracy and even though we sometimes feel powerless the facts are that We Are the Nation.  This nation has been blessed greatly from it's inception.  We have done Some great things for the world but we should also confess our failures as well and try harder from a communal standpoint in the future.  I would suggest once again a book by Marianne Williamson titled "Healing The Soul of America".  To those whom much is given, much is required.
I loved Henri's use of two great metaphors:  Leaving the "House of Fear" and entering the "House of Love", where reconciliation, healing, and peace can reign.
There were just a few words in this piece which bothered me and thought I would mention why.  A lot of scripture as well as theology in general is couched in varying degrees of "Imperial or Kingdom" terminology.  This is understandable considering the world when these lofty concepts were written but today there could be a more accurate choice of wording to reflect the life of our Christ and the Spirit of our God.
To begin with he quotes Matthew "observe his commands".  In my opinion I feel a more accurate word would be to "observe his path"  as what the "red letter text" says is not near as important as how Jesus walked His path.  He modeled the path for us He did not just command us as to what to do.  He walked the walk as well as talked the talk.

Secondly, "The whole world is to be converted!  True, but I feel that a more appropriate word would be "Transformed".  "converted" smacks of the idea that the whole word should be converted to the  "Catholic"/"Lutheran"/"Evangelical"/"Christian"(or another one of the 3,000+ denominations out there) church.  In the "Emerging" perspective the most accurate use of the word Christ is Far greater than Any of the churches which carry His name and  claim to have The truth.  I was recently blessed to get a copy of a Palm Sunday sermon given by a Baptist preacher regarding his study of Mahatma Gandhi, (Martin Luther King Jr. 22 March 1959 in Montgomery, Alabama). It demonstrates the point I'm trying to make much better than can I.   In a nutshell, I present the following quote but if you can google the sermon it would be well worth the read. ""It is one of the strange ironies of the modern world that the greatest Christian of the twentieth century was not a member of the Christian church".

My poor final point here is in reference to the "House of Love" quote above.  While I agree with the word "reign" used here it feels that a better word would perhaps be "Thrive".  Kind of picky I know but in the final analysis this is my blog and sometimes I can be picky if I wish :0)

P.S. - Just another reflection.  Last night a group of us kindred spirits watched a webinar regarding an "alternative orthodoxy".  One of the presenters was Richard Rohr and he made a very intriguing point regarding one of the pillars of conventional orthodoxy, The Nicene Creed ( he did credit the point to a question asked him by a student) .  He stated that not once in this primary document of the Christian faith is the word, Love, used.  Interesting!  Merry Christmas!  RV

    

An Advent Thought!

One of the most read writers for the Christmas Season is Henri J. M Nouwen.  I came across a reflection he wrote in one of his books, Lifesigns, and wish to share it here.  It really ties the mission of Christ to the movement toward Social Justice and Love. It is preceded by:

 Psalm 72:11-12

May All Kings fall down before Him,

All Nations give Him Service.

For He delivers the needy when they call,

the poor and those who have no helper.

We must develop a global spirituality in which the demands of the Gospel guide not only the behavior of individuals but of nations as well.  Many will consider this naive.  They are glad to accept the teachings of Jesus for their personal and family lives, but when it comes to international affairs the consider these same teachings unrealistic and utopian.  Yet, Jesus sent out his apostles to make disciples not just of individual people but of all the nations, and to teach these nations to observe his commands (Matthew 28:19-20).  At the last day, Jesus will call these same nations before his throne and raise the critical question: "What have you done for the least of Mine"? (Matthew 25:31-46).  The life of discipleship goes far beyond individual piety or communal loyalty.  The whole world is to be converted!  Nations, not just individual people, are called to leave the house of fear -- where suspicion, hatred, and war rule -- and enter the house of Love, where reconciliation, healing, and peace can reign.  Lifesigns

As I transcribe these thoughts above, some others have come to mind.  However I value these so much I would like to just reflect on them for a bit and I would like to comment some more from an Emerging viewpoint tomorrow.  Pax Christi!  RV

NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

http://conta.cc/1uH66UF.  Please take a moment and read this post by Richard.