Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. by Heidi Jakoby

Please go to http://breadforyourjourney.blogspot.com/ to read, listen and reflect on the poem, song and gospel chosen for Nov. 12.

As we lisented to the words of Robert Frost the phase "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" resonated for me as it was put to me in High School in the form of a question for the debate team for the year, "Do good fences make Good Neighbors?" and for the entire debate season we had to be able to argue both sides of this question.  With last week being the anniversary of the Berlin wall coming down, it has been interesteing to think about that wall coming down and the walls being built in the United States between the US and Mexico and those being built between Israel and Palestine ( check out this link to learn more about Peace Not Walls, campaign for peace http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Peace-Not-Walls.aspx )

Also, in the reading form Mark Jesus talks about how the temple will be desctroyed. If you look at ruins of ancient cultures we all know that nothing lasts forever. Walls and fences will not stand forever, they too will come down.  As we look at our individual lives what walls do you have in your life? What are you walling in ore walling out?  What walls do you need to break down in order to live your best life?

In the song from the Newsboys they talk about the secrets we keep that may be preventing us from really knowing love or truly knowing how wonderful life can be.  What secrets are you not facing?  What are you afraid to share with the world?

One cannot look at the reading from Mark and not reflect on the end of the world.  As you may know by now on Friday the new movie 2012 came out and was #1 at the box office.  Why do we enjoy these apocolyptic movies?  What do they offer us?  This movie is based on the belief held by some that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012 and this was concluded from the ancient Mayan Calendar.  If you knew when your life would end would you live each day differently?  Would you go on a trip?  Would you stop working?  Would you spend more time with your family? Martin Luther when asked what he would do if the world would end tomorrow, "I would plant a tree today." When I think about Luther's statement I know that the best is yet to come and that when my life ends I will be with God so it is all good and I get great comfort from my faith. Where do you get your comfort each day?

I look foward to your comments and thoughts on these reflections.

How do you wait expectantly? by Heidi Jakoby

Mark 13:1-8 (New Living Translation)


Jesus Foretells the Future

1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.”
2 Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him privately and asked him, 4 “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 6 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’[a] They will deceive many. 7 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 8 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

As I have been reflecting on this reading I think it is telling us to be ready and to live our life expectantly. As I live in the northeastern United States this is a time when all the leaves fall and there is a clear ending to Summer and the beginning of a new season. Living all my life in an area that has four seasons I am always expectant of the next season. I am not quite sure how to describe that sense of expectancy. It is thinking of those favorite activities, smells and tastes of each season.

In the beginning of this lesson Jesus talks about the temple being demolished. All of the walls will fall. John Meunier commented on his blog “I think of it [Mark 13:1-8] as a metaphor for the walls we construct in our own lives and our own psychology. When they fall, how terrible it can seem. Even when the collapse is necessary.” What walls do you have up? John's comments reminded me of Rihanna who last Friday was interviewed by Diane Sawyer on 20/20 where she outlined her abuse at the hands of Chris Brown, is she letting some of her walls down? http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1625783/20091107/rihanna.jhtml

Then this week was the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. As a person whose parents are German and with a Mom who had to escape from East Germany to West Germany it is still amazing to me that Germany is again one country, united. How did these walls fall? Were people on both sides expectantly waiting for that day? With walls going up between Israel and Palestine, I wonder if people on both sides are expectantly waiting for those walls to fall?

How do you wait expectantly? If you knew you only had 6 months to live what would you do differently?

These are just a few thoughts. Consider joining us for Bread for you journey on Thursday Nov 12th 7pm at the Crowne Plaza or come back to this blog and see what we talked about.