As we moved from the last reading into our discussion we were asked what struck us about the song and the poem. It brought images of the movie Pocahontas and the song "Colors of the Wind" to mind for some.
For me the last line of each verse "God Loves us, so let us love each other with no demands, just open hands and space to grow" is very powerful. The sense of loving someone with no demands but recognizing that they are growing and moving. We need to encourage and support the growth of people around us, to love them and to help them to know God's love. I also like the contraditions in the second verse about being free while we are being embraced and that it is this sence of embrace, support, love that frees us to take risks and seek out what God wants us to be. Often it is not only risky to seek out who we are truly meant to be it is also scary, uncertain and anxiety causing. Are you trying to figure out what God is calling you to do? Are there risks involved with the direction you are being pulled? Can you ever be sure about your next step or do you just need to trust that you have people who love and support you and you know God is always with you.
From the third reading we went up to the reading from Mark and also the first reading. In the first reading Grounded and Moving Richard Rohr talks about the key to wisdom: being grounded in the center and still, from that deep foundation, knowing how to move out. How do you hold on to your center and move out at the same time?
The reading from Mark looks at the ease of divorce in Moses day. A husband just needed to sign a paper and say we are done, but Jesus does not agree with this. Pretty much a husband could just dismiss his wife, the ultimate diss. We discussed how we sometimes disreguard one another, how we sometimes can easily overlook someone or stereotype someone. When we are in a hurry we often assume a lot about the peole we pass on the street. Sometimes we can be in such a hurry that we can miss God in our midst. One participant spoke about walking by an individual sitting on a loveseat on the front lawn of a house drinking some coffee just looking like he was watching the day go by. The person who shared this story said the site of this man seemed odd, and he had decided just to walk by but the man on the loveseat was friendly and wished this person a good day. It caused the participant to pause as he reflected he wished he woudl have had a longer conversation with the man in the loveseat. Another person pointed out that when political parties with differing opions go after one another they often attack the person with mean stereotypes or short phrases which do not do much to further the discussion. Dissing someone or disrespecting their opinion shuts down communication and doesn't allow either person to grow.
I believe we all need to try to respect and listen to one another. Think back to a time when you felte dissed or disrespected, how did that make you feel? For me I felt worthless, I felt that my thinking was in someway flawed that I was flawed because this other person did not want to have a civil conversation with me. Through conversation and listening we can help each other to grow and stay grounded. I encourage you to think about who you may have dissed this week and figure out ways of listening and respecting all the people around you.
Finally at the end of the reading from Mark, the disciples try and shoo the children away from Jesus and Jesus tells them to bring the children to him for, "unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child you'll never get in." Children were often dissed in Jesus day and Jesus wanted everyone to notice, respect and learn from them.
My parents always taught me that you can learn something from everyone and they never put an age on it. They also taught me to treat everyone with respect and to try not to make assumptions about them. These are great lessons but they are not always easy.
Well these are just a few of my thoughts about last Thursday's Bread for your journey. Hope to see you next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment