“Bread”

   Do you remember the quartet from the 1970s, Bread?  Led by David Gates, this soft rock band released one chart-topping hit after another: Make It With You, It Don’t Matter to Me, Diary, Baby I’m a-Want You, Lost Without Your Love, etc. 

 

These guys made a career out of mournful, pull-at-the-heartstrings ballads.  I know.  I bought every album Bread released.  Not exactly a bright move for a teen who’d just been dumped by her boyfriend.  But I learned something from the experience.  Tender lyrics and beautiful orchestration aside, David Gates and company could put me in a blue funk for days.  Until I had an epiphany (aka: a “Duh moment.”).  For a melancholy like me, “Bread” was toxic. 

 

IBM was right: G.I.-G.O.  Computerese for Garbage In, Garbage Out.  Not that all Bread tunes are garbage, but sentimental, emotional lyrics dripping with enough sugar to land me in a diabetic coma was a poor choice for me.  So I got rid of ’em.  Fast.

 

What about you?

 

What do you listen to?  Watch on TV, the theater, or bring home from Blockbuster? What and who do you tune into?  What books do you read?  Why?  

 

IBM was right.  But the concept didn’t begin in Silicon Valley.  God’s Word puts it this way:  “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”  (Proverbs 4:23, to cite just one verse on the subject.)  

 

When it comes to true Bread, there’s only One.

 

by Kristine Lowder

“First… and Last?”

   Well.  That was a First.

 

Out with my faithful canine companion, Eve, on our morning walk the other day, I saw something I’ve never seen before. 

 

We’re chugging down the street, minding our own business when Chicken Little shows up.  Well, not quite.  It was actually a sparrow.  Whap!  The bird fell out of the sky. No warning, no squawking, no ruffled feathers.  He just dropped out of the sky like a ton of bricks.  A soundless thud.  Dead as a doornail.

 

I’ve no idea what Eve thought – she’s pretty unflappable – but Matthew 10:29-31 flew into my head:

 

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  (NIV)

 

Talk about attentive!  This hits home when you’ve just moseyed past a “dead doornail.”  I’ll never look at a sparrow quite the same way again.

 

Kristine Lowder

 

 

 

Carrying Our Crosses

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever wishes to save his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

There it is in black and white: the cost of discipleship. Contrary to what many people seem to believe, Jesus did not say, “Follow me and have an easy life.” He told us that if we are to follow him, we are going to have to suffer. He Himself set the example. The passage that immediately precedes this one has Jesus telling the apostles that he is going to suffer and die before being raised. Peter tells him that this should not happen, and Jesus rebukes him strongly: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Matthew 16: 23)

Like Peter, we are human and we think like humans. We like comfort and ease and try to avoid suffering, often at all costs. Yet, suffering is an integral part of life. We don’t need to seek it out. It finds us.

Every person you meet is suffering in some way, no matter his age, sex, race, or economic status. Crosses can come in many forms – physical ailments, emotional pain, relationship issues, heartache, grief, employment problems, spiritual pain, and economic pressures, to name some of the most obvious. At any time, any one of us is most likely carrying more than one. Some are very forthcoming about their difficulties – they go on ad nauseum about them and will complain to anyone who comes within earshot. Others keep their pain entirely to themselves, and never let anyone help them carry their crosses. Others fall somewhere in between, perhaps sharing their difficulties with a close few friends. Regardless, one should always be kind. We never know for sure what crosses another person is struggling to carry.

If we are to follow Christ, we are to accept those crosses and carry them. We are not to run from them. This doesn’t mean we don’t seek appropriate help for whatever difficulty we are having. It does mean that we accept the difficulties that have come our way. It means that we pray for God’s will to be done, even if it means that we will continue to suffer. It means that we trust that our suffering is serving a higher purpose, even if we don’t know what it is.

Jesus had to suffer and die before he could rise from the dead. So do we. This life is not about taking the easy path. It is not about indulging all our desires, or trying to collect the most possessions. No, if we profess to be Christians, the purpose of our lives is to deny ourselves and accept whatever crosses that may come our way. No one ever said it would be easy, but we have Christ’s word that it will be worth it!

- Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com

Do We Recognize Jesus?

This week’s Gospel (Lk 24:13-35) features Jesus and two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus walks with them and talks with them and still, they do not realize who is in their midst until he breaks bread with them.

One thing the Resurrection appearances of Jesus have in common is that those who first see Him did not immediately recognize him. His glorified body was somehow different. Those who knew him best were not able to know who He was until he spoke to them or performed some action or showed them His wounds. Then they knew; they understood.

As we go through our daily lives, we often fail to recognize Jesus in our midst. Matthew 25:31-46 tells us that whenever we care for our brothers and sisters in this world, we are caring for Jesus. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Yet, do we see it that way? When our children need our care, do we see Jesus? When our parents grow old and need our help, do we see Jesus? When our friends are hurting, do we see Jesus? When our neighbors are in need, do we see Jesus? When a homeless person begs on the street, do we see Jesus? When our enemies are suffering, do we see Jesus?

Jesus comes to us in all sorts of disguises and it can be very hard indeed into recognize Him. He can be rich or poor, clean or dirty, young or old, a person in our home, on our street, or a stranger on the other side of the world. He can be our best friend or the person who pushes all of our buttons the wrong way. He can be someone who we feel has it made or someone who we judge to have made all the wrong choices. Yes, Jesus comes hidden and we are called to serve. We are called to love.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta is known for the service she gave to all those she met. She invited each of us to reach out in a personal way to those around us. She stated, “I believe in person to person. Every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is the one person in the world at that moment.” May we follow her example and reach out to Jesus in all His disguises in our world.

- Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com

To Serve and Be Served

The scripture readings during the course of Holy Week offer several examples of service. On Holy Thursday, there is the beautiful image of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles (John 13:1-15). Here is the Son of God bending low to remove the dirt from his follower’s feet. He instructs his followers: “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

On Good Friday, we walk the way of the cross with Jesus, and witness the service of Simon of Cyrene (Mark 15:21). Simon was pressed into service to help Jesus carry the cross. It may not have been willing service. In fact, Simon may have regarded himself as being in the wrong place at the wrong time, yet serve he did. After the Crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate and asks for Jesus’ body so that he may bury him in his own tomb (John 19:38). Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome hurry to the tomb as soon as the Sabbath is over in order to anoint Jesus’ body (Mark 16:1). These, too, are examples of service.

Most of us understand that we need to be of service to others. Sometimes, like Jesus, we do so willingly. Other times we are more like Simon of Cyrene and perform our duty somewhat reluctantly, perhaps even with a tad bit of resentment. Still, we serve.

If we are serving, however, then someone else is being served. In Scripture, Jesus not only serves. When He is in need, He allows himself to be served. If you are anything like me, you might find that to be the harder part of the serving equation. I am happy to serve (at least most of the time). I try to do what I can to help other people. I find it incredibly difficult, on the other hand, to allow someone else to serve me. I am much more like Peter at the Last Supper, protesting to Jesus, “You will never wash my feet.” (John 1:8)

I know I can’t do everything alone. Without question, I need God’s help. I pray daily for it and can’t imagine life without His assistance. It’s having other people help me that makes me cringe. I like to be self-sufficient. Stuck in my pride, I’m like a three-year-old stubbornly insisting “I can do it myself.”

I have gotten a little better with age. I’m still reluctant to ask for help, but if it is offered, I do try to accept gracefully. I have come to understand that other people need to serve as well, and sometimes it is OK if I am the beneficiary of that service. Indeed, I am thankful for it. We all need each other in this world. As important as it is to serve, it is also important to allow oneself to be served. Sometimes, that can be the harder lesson to learn.

by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com