Attentive to God's creation...
The 21st C has seen unprecedented progress and tragedy. Rape of the environment, genocide, global poverty, exploitation of children (child soldiers, sexual trafficking), explosion of the city.
At dark times in the history of the world God has raised up groups, individuals to speak prophetically – not predict (foretell) but declare (forthtell). A book has been written "The new Friars", youth around the world are responding in similar ways, yet independent of each other.
Missional, incarnational, devotional, communal, marginal. Like St. Francis of old – they are discovering spiritual disciplines, solitude, fasting, silence, and discovering new reverence in love for creation, creatures, God, fellow human beings and themselves.
Shane Claibourne is one – he traveled to India to work with Mother Teresa, in attending to the lepers in Calcutta. He found most lepers did not have a word for thank you in their vocabulary – no had ever given them anything. He found a new word: a conventional Hindu expression of greeting - namaste - I honour the holy one who lives in you – or I see Jesus in you – he would here these words when attending the needs of the lepers.
A prayer I have recently learned is this: “Lord help me to see each person whom I meet today as someone of infinite value and immense worth”.
It is a matter of being attentive to God’s creation – his creatures – we are made in his image, with a capacity for ill yes, but a capacity for goodness. Loving others as ourselves, being attentive is a good start.
This was strengthened during a recent trip to Haiti – for two weeks – no running water, fourteen people in a one-floor three bedroom house, in a unique culture. Lost six pounds, was quite ill for two days, but met beautiful people, many who were fortunate to have one meal every two days, and had tremendous physical needs, but were rich and deep in spirit, living perseverance, trust, crying out to God.
Our trip we went to learn from our sisters and brothers and learn we did. We stood in solidarity with them, and it was an encouragement. We return not to guilt other Christians, but to challenge them about sharing of our resources. We return able to constructively pray.
Often we are not attentive to God’s voice – filled with TV, muzak, ipods, busyness. Often we are oblivious to trends to manipulation, to the corruption of souls by materialism, indulgent living.
We all need each other – the rich in goods, poor in spirit western church needs the poor in goods, rich in spirit third-world church. We need to journey, do pilgrimage, we are shallow, we are superficial. God help us to be attentive to his creation.
At dark times in the history of the world God has raised up groups, individuals to speak prophetically – not predict (foretell) but declare (forthtell). A book has been written "The new Friars", youth around the world are responding in similar ways, yet independent of each other.
Missional, incarnational, devotional, communal, marginal. Like St. Francis of old – they are discovering spiritual disciplines, solitude, fasting, silence, and discovering new reverence in love for creation, creatures, God, fellow human beings and themselves.
Shane Claibourne is one – he traveled to India to work with Mother Teresa, in attending to the lepers in Calcutta. He found most lepers did not have a word for thank you in their vocabulary – no had ever given them anything. He found a new word: a conventional Hindu expression of greeting - namaste - I honour the holy one who lives in you – or I see Jesus in you – he would here these words when attending the needs of the lepers.
A prayer I have recently learned is this: “Lord help me to see each person whom I meet today as someone of infinite value and immense worth”.
It is a matter of being attentive to God’s creation – his creatures – we are made in his image, with a capacity for ill yes, but a capacity for goodness. Loving others as ourselves, being attentive is a good start.
This was strengthened during a recent trip to Haiti – for two weeks – no running water, fourteen people in a one-floor three bedroom house, in a unique culture. Lost six pounds, was quite ill for two days, but met beautiful people, many who were fortunate to have one meal every two days, and had tremendous physical needs, but were rich and deep in spirit, living perseverance, trust, crying out to God.
Our trip we went to learn from our sisters and brothers and learn we did. We stood in solidarity with them, and it was an encouragement. We return not to guilt other Christians, but to challenge them about sharing of our resources. We return able to constructively pray.
Often we are not attentive to God’s voice – filled with TV, muzak, ipods, busyness. Often we are oblivious to trends to manipulation, to the corruption of souls by materialism, indulgent living.
We all need each other – the rich in goods, poor in spirit western church needs the poor in goods, rich in spirit third-world church. We need to journey, do pilgrimage, we are shallow, we are superficial. God help us to be attentive to his creation.
posted by Agent of Renewal @ 12:02 PM
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