Fall Meditations--In the Right Place

Last Sunday, I suggested you look at your life or work in terms of what your feel your ministry and/or calling is. Did you find that difficult or easy?

Identifying ministry can be an interesting challenge. Some find it easy. Perhaps you have always wanted to be a doctor or teacher or cake decorator. You put all your energy into achieving that goal. All the gifts and talents you have help you become the best in your chosen field.

More of us, I would guess based on the number of books on the subject, have a harder time figuring out what we should be doing. From “What Color is Your Parachute” to Bible studies focusing on finding your gifts, there are shelves and shelves of resources (secular and spiritual) to help us figure out just what we should be doing. And there is nothing wrong with that. We each need direction in our lives and want to know we are doing our best and using our gifts in the best possible way.

However, every so often God steps in and changes the direction of our life. There are many examples of this in the Bible. One is Esther. She had her life planned out as the nice Jewish wife of a religious Jewish man chosen for her by her uncle. ‘Good wife and mother’ was her idea of her ministry and calling. Then she was gathered up with other virgins to satisfy a foreign king’s desires.

She came to terms with her new life and as queen and favorite wife. No doubt she decided that her life would consist of being the sweetest and most gentle queen she could be in order to please him. Then she faced a test…Haman’s plot to have all the Jews in the kingdom massacred.

“Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this,” Mordecai tells Esther. He says she is in the right place to act and save her people. God has positioned her perfectly to be an instrument for God’s saving action. She has to accept her calling and act on it. So do you and I.

How we do this is not as important as accepting that we are the only one who can do exactly what we need to do in “such a time as this”. God has put each one of us in exactly the right place and this is exactly the right time to serve God. We may be the person to ‘give a cup of water’ for the sake of Christ or we may be the one who starts an orphanage. It might be that you are supposed to invite your neighbor to church or perhaps you have been asked to lead a Bible study and don’t think you can.

Your ministry and calling may change over time. I know mine have. Max Lucado reminds us, “All of us have a donkey. You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and his story further down the road.” (I wish I could tell you which of his books this is in, but I haven’t been able to find the citation.)

What you have to remember is: you are in exactly the right place to “move Jesus and his story further down the road.” Like Esther, God has positioned you perfectly “for such a time as this”.

Ministry is simply “Building up the Body of Christ to the Glory of God.” It is living out the Golden Rule and Great Commandment to the best of my ability and yours. How are you moving the kingdom down the road? Remember, your gifts are just exactly the ones needed to accomplish the ministry you find in your life today.

Next week we’ll have another Fall Meditation. See you then.

Fall Meditations-Ember Day Letter

Four times a year, the Church sets aside three days to focus on God. These are "Ember Days," or Quatuor Tempora, in Latin. These dates fall close to the changes of the seasons and are meant to help us focus on God in our lives and in all creation. Ember Days are traditionally observed on the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after the First Sunday in Lent (February or March), the Day of Pentecost (May or June), Holy Cross Day (September 14) and December 13. 

In the Episcopal Church (and probably some other denominations), Postulants and Candidates for the diaconate or priesthood are required by canon law to report to their Bishop in writing at each of these seasons. Guidelines for these letters say, “It is not enough to say that you read a book or took a course, but how did it affect you? Did you learn something that you didn’t know before? Was it helpful or challenging? Are you struggling with long held beliefs that no longer seem tenable? If you are like most of us, your spiritual journey has ups and downs. Where are you today? What works? What is hard and why?”

During the sermon on Holy Cross Day, everyone at St. John's was challenged to write an Ember Day letter outlining our ministry or calling and how well we feel we are following it. We were encouraged to look at our lives in terms of that ministry or calling to see what works and what is not so joyful about it. (You can hear the sermon itself here: http://stjohnsabq.org/sermon_archive.php, scroll down to Sept. 13)

So, why is it important to look at our lives in terms of our ministry or calling? Putting your Rule of Life down on paper is a time honored discipline of monastic and lay orders. Most of us don’t live in monasteries and the majority are not members of lay orders, either. As the Ember Day guidelines point out, “It is important for you to know and to explain your own spiritual journey for it is in that way we begin to understand and empathetically respond to another’s journey.”

In taking up the challenge to write an Ember Day letter, I discovered that my own life is rather like a braided rope with three interconnected strands of ministry that use my gifts in different ways. There are at least 3 ways I use the gifts from God to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

One is in my work-a-day world as an administrative assistant, using gifts of organization and administration to keep the behind the scenes tasks of the Cathedral running smoothly.

Then there are the various named ministries I am involved in, such as Daughters of the King. Being chapter president involves similar gifts of administration and teaching as well as a servant’s heart to carry out the Rule of Life of the Order: Prayer and Service and Evangelism to women and girls.
My writing is another strand of the rope of ministry. The process involves being open to the ‘whispers of the Eternal’ and discovering the link between the lives of our spiritual ancestors and our faith journeys today. The gift of teaching is also involved, not only in my books, but in the studies, retreats, and even these blog postings I write.

It was an interesting process to undertake an Ember Day Letter and actually take time to look at the ministry I am involved in and how I feel about each part of that ministry. I would encourage you to take some time over the next week to evaluate your life and ministry in terms of your gifts and calling. A place to start is with the three questions used weekly by men and women who have attended Cursillo. These questions help you look at the important parts of your Christian Walk.
With what spiritual aids have you nourished your vital union with Christ? (piety)

What have you done to understand the gift of God and form your mind after the mind of Christ? (study)

What apostolic success did the Lord accomplish through you? (evangelism/action)

If you are like me, you will probably find it easiest to write these down and look at while mulling over your answers. However, some may find it more beneficial to think 'outside the box' and make a collage or draw your feelings about these topics. Maybe it will involve making something like the braided rug above. It is for your benefit, so you can do it any way that fits you.
See you next week for another Fall Meditation.

Golden Rule IV--Stretching and Sharing

GoldenRule.com is a way of learning how to live into the dreams God has for each one of us. As children we have amazing imaginations and make grand plans for what we will be ‘when I grow up.’ Most of us, somewhere over the years of growing up, forget how to dream dreams and imagine grand things for ourselves. The child who said, “I’m going to be an astronaut,” settles for a 9-5 desk job. The athlete with dreams of big name stardom may become a Little League coach.

Did Henry David Thoreau have it right when he said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them”? When we give up our childish dreams and quietly despair of making a difference, we can become indifferent to the Golden Rule. “What difference does it make [to me] if I treat others well?” we may say. “They never did anything for me.”

God had a better plan. God never gives up on us. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

We may not, at first, see the bigger and better plan God has in store. The truth is, each of us can make a difference where we are. And in reality, we are exactly where we are supposed to be in God’s plan. That is a comforting thought, especially when the days feel like a treadmill—we’ve all had them.

Each of us is gifted and planted by God to live into the plans God has for us. We are meant to produce the good fruit that Jesus talks about in Matthew (7:17-20) and Luke (6:43-45). He says, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”

Forgetting that we are in God’s plan can lead us to drift into ways that are not God’s. Then it is simple to forget that we are supposed to be treating one another as fellow beloved children of our Father. Living the Golden Rule involves stretching ourselves and reaching beyond our comfort zone. Treating others like you want to be treated means expanding your horizons and realizing that we are in relationship with everyone else. We need to ‘walk a mile’ in each other’s shoes. Elvis Presley did a song (written by Joe South) with a refrain reminding us to “Walk a mile in my shoes, just walk a mile in my shoes before you abuse, criticize and accuse, then walk a mile in my shoes.”

The rest of the song has thought provoking lyrics as well (I’m not an Elvis fan, so I didn’t know this song existed until I did a search for ‘walk a mile’. Did you know there was a Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event to combat rape?—the internet is amazingly full of surprising trivia!) Anyway--

If I could be you, if you could be me
For just one hour, if we could find a way
To get inside each other's mind
If you could see you through my eyes
Instead your own ego I believe you'd be
I believe you'd be surprised to see
That you've been blind

REFRAIN

Now if we spend the day
Throwin' stones at one another
'Cause I don't think, 'cause I don't think
Or wear my hair the same way you do
Well, I may be common people
But I'm your brother
And when you strike out
You're tryin' to hurt me
It's hurtin' you, Lord HAVE mercy

REFRAIN

Now there are people on reservations
And out in the ghetto
And brother there, but, for the grace of God
Go you and I,
If I only had wings of a little angel
Don't you know, I'd fly
To the top of a mountain
And then I'd cry, cry, cry

REFRAIN

In the second verse the powerful lyrics say, “Well, I may be common people, But I'm your brother And when you strike out You're tryin' to hurt me It's hurtin' you, Lord HAVE mercy.” GoldenRule.com is all about seeing God in each other and knowing that we are all brothers and sisters with the same Father. It doesn’t matter who we are because “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28. Really living the Golden Rule can make a big difference in our day-to-day relationships and in the world around us. The Golden Rule is about sharing God's goodness with one another. It's as easy as my grandson telling his cousin about the fish at the zoo.

GoldenRule.com believes God is on your side.
GoldenRule.com is producing good fruit.
GoldenRule.com is seeing God in each other.
GoldenRule.com is loving one another because we are one in Christ.”
GoldenRule.com is reaching outside your comfort zone.

Thinking back over the past month, what things linger with you? Has this journey in living as GoldenRule.com changed your outlook and the way you “love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself”? Are you more aware of how you treat others? Is there a call on your heart to do more? Have you been stretched outside of your comfort zone?

You might be inspired to do something new yourself like one of these people featured by People Magazine and the Oprah Show. http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090416-tows-heroes-help-donate. One of these people said that all we need to do is, “See the need, see what you can do to help, and have a go.”

Is there a need only your heart can fill?

For the next few weeks you'll find Fall Meditations here. During Advent there will be thoughts on preparing for Christmas, and book specials. Hope to see you then.

Golden Rule III...Loving past worry

Living GoldenRule.com can be difficult when we get distracted by worries in our life. The cares and concerns of our day to day living nibble away at our good intentions. We forget that we have set out to “treat others as we want to be treated” It is easy to get distracted by our needs, but Jesus assures us that God will provide.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matt. 6:27-34)

One of my favorite early morning activities is to sit on the deck and watch the hummingbirds at their feeder and the sparrows and mourning doves at theirs. I think the birds have a lot to teach us about this passage. They trust me to provide for them.

The birds have gotten so used to the morning routine that it I’m late filling up the feeder with seed, the doves and sparrows line the fence and perch in the bushes waiting for the food. Even more heart-wrenching is what happens when I take down the hummingbird feeder to refill it. There is nearly always at least one panicking little bird buzzing hysterically around where it is supposed to hang. I can almost hear him saying, “I know it was just here. Where did it go?” Sometimes they fly off to reassess the bearings and come zipping back to hover impatiently until I return the feeder.

I’m not sure that I always trust God’s providence for my needs like the birds do. Certainly, I should be, because I have seen God provide money or supplies at exactly the right time and in the right amount, but I am too easily distracted by the fact that I don’t see the solution in front of me. Like the hummingbird, I start panicking when I don’t see the feeder right there. I start flying around looking for help in all the wrong places.

Hummingbirds are surprisingly protective of their feeder as well. Rarely will two settle to eat at the same time. Usually it’s more of a contest to see who can grab a sip and then chase the other bird away. The mourning doves also try to hog all the food at the bird feeder, even from the one that they can't quite eat from. The one in the picture is trying desperately to balance and get the seed, but he's too big to fit on the perch.

We are more like the birds than we might like to admit. Our fears of not having enough keep us from sharing what we do have and trusting that God will provide. There are many who need our open hand offering help instead of our fisted hand protecting what we claim as our own.

GoldenRule.com trusts that God will provide.
GoldenRule.com is not afraid of what tomorrow will bring.
GoldenRule.com invites others to come and be filled.
GoldenRule.com has open hands.
GoldenRule.com seeks the Kingdom of God by sharing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

What are you worried about that keeps you from treating others as you would like to be treated?
Is there a kindness you can do to share the Kingdom of God?

Maybe you can pick up an extra can or two of tuna for the local food pantry when shopping.
Perhaps it’s sorting your closet to see what can be donated.
It could be helping with a project like gathering school supplies.
Possibly it is getting involved with a bigger enterprise like Habitat for Humanity or Special Olympics.

Did you find some new way to do a kindness for the sake of the Golden Rule? How did you feel?

Next week is the last in this series of GoldenRule.com. We will look at how we can Be Fruitful as we live the Golden Rule.

Golden Rule II...Agape Love for my Neighbor

How did you do with Loving Yourself as a Child of the King? This week we'll look at living the Golden Rule (Do unto others, as you want them to do to you), in how we love our neighbors. Not just the people living next door or working in the next office, but seeing each person we meet as a neighbor.

Loving your neighbor may not be the same as liking them. Rather it is each of us seeing everyone we meet as an individual and as deserving of God’s love because they, too, are royalty. We don’t have to be in competition with one another because God has enough love to go around.

It’s a trap that is easy to fall into. Our own insecurities make it so easy to try to find something “wrong” with our neighbor in order to feel better about ourselves. Jesus suggests a better way. He says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37) The Golden Rule is one measure of how we can love, forgive, and give to one another.

Jesus then goes on to ask “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,” when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”

That log in my eye is my inability to see you as a fellow child of God. I can be happily superior when I notice that you have a ‘speck’ in your eye, while complacently ignoring the log blocking my own vision.

Golden Rule.com is a call to Agape Love—active, unconditional, self-giving love as defined in I Corinthians 13:4-7. We’ve all heard the citation: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” It’s easy to recite the words, but not always easy to live them. That’s where GoldenRule.com comes in.

Golden Rule.com love—seats the despised at table.
Golden Rule.com love—washes the feet of those who we differ with.
Golden Rule.com love—embraces the leper.
Golden Rule.com love—offers the coat you are using to the one who has none.
Golden Rule.com love—puts others first.
Golden Rule.com love—believes that everyone is a fellow beloved Child.


Animals can sometimes teach us more than anything else. Reader’s Digest recently highlighted animal heroes who saved their families in spectacular ways. There are innumerable stories about dogs helping raise orphaned squirrels or puppies or even tiger cubs. Recently one story made the email rounds about a cat who acts as a seeing eye helper to the family dog who is blind. Cashew is a blind 14 year old Lab and Libby is a 7 year old cat who goes everywhere with him to make sure he gets to his food and anywhere else he wants to go. It's a touching story, that teaches us something important.

If the creatures we call ‘dumb animals’ can cross species boundaries--even interacting with natural enemies, then we should be inspired to extend our hand across cultural boundaries without fear. We are each loved unconditionally by God. Jesus died for each person, not just those we consider good or proper. What can you do to love your neighbor?

Maybe it’s a note or card or email that says ‘hi.’
Perhaps it’s a thoughtful action like picking up a dropped paper in passing their desk.
Possibly it’s extending your hand to someone in need.
Or it might be just a hug that says ‘I’m here for you.’
Often it's just a smile as you pass a stranger on the street.
It could be that you feel the need to forgive someone who you feel has wronged you, keeping in mind that forgiveness is more about you letting go and moving on than about changing the other person or excusing what happened.

Share some of your ways of loving your neighbor. Doesn’t the act of friendship and kindness bring you into a closer relationship?


See you next week when the topic is "Loving Past Worry".

Golden Rule I...Love Yourself

Living the Golden Rule can only be done by living another ancient mandate: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:28, Luke 10:25). It is one of the oldest commandments about how to live in community.

In Genesis 1 we learn that God created everything, including humankind, and declared “It is good.” In Michelangelo's famous depiction in the Sistine Chapel, we see man reaching toward God's finger in an image reminiscent of the way a baby grasps a parent's finger.

We are each a Beloved Child of the One who created us—the King of Kings. Because of that, we each deserve to be treated as being a Princess or Prince by one another!

Matt. 7:7-11 tells us that God loves us so much that when we, “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Jesus asks, “Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

In the same way this peacock mom is carefully watching and guiding her chick, (he's there between her feet and the bush), our loving Father gives us what we need. We each yearn to be treated as a Beloved Child, as a Princess or Prince. Too often we don’t believe we are loved by God. That rubs off in the way we treat others. We strive to grab all we can and to be first and “win” and forget that what we “do unto others” comes home to roost in their response to us.

The flip side is that when I realize that I’m a beloved child of the King of Kings, I can love myself—no matter what shape or size I am or what I may have done wrong in the past. Through God’s forgiveness I can start anew and live like a true member of the royal family. True royalty does not oppress, but rather eases the load of others. Loving yourself is the place to start living GoldenRule.com.

GoldenRule.com is: believing you are beloved of God.
GoldenRule.com is: believing that God loves you, just as you are.
GoldenRule.com is: loving yourself as God does.
GoldenRule.com is: forgiving yourself for all the little and big mistakes, just like God does.
GoldenRule.com is: letting God bless you.
GoldenRule.com is: asking God for all you need.
GoldenRule.com is: accepting God’s gifts day by day.
GoldenRule.com is: living your life as God’s beloved child—a son or daughter of the King of Kings.


The little kitty certainly is contented and knows he's loved--how often do you feel that way? Start this journey toward living the Golden Rule by doing something nice for yourself.
Maybe it is as simple as telling yourself that you are valued. (Not really as simple as it sounds, sometimes.)
Perhaps it is allowing yourself to take some time to do nothing!
Could be reading that book you’ve been putting off.
Possibly loving yourself means treating yourself to a new outfit or a special meal.

What are some of the ways you love yourself? Don’t you feel more loving toward others when you care for yourself first?

See you next week for Agape Love...

Golden Rule.com, an introduction

Nearly everyone knows what the Golden Rule is: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Even more simply stated it is: “Treat others as you want to be treated.” It is part of Jesus’ teaching on life. It is found in both Matthew (7:21) and Luke (6:31).

There are some recent ‘social movements’ like “Pay it Forward” and “Random Acts of Kindness” that encourage us to think of the needs of others. Oprah Winfrey even gave $1000 to people so they can “make a difference” and People Magazine recognized everyday heroes who are making a difference. GoldenRule.com is a bit different.

GoldenRule.com is not me alone or you alone.
GoldenRule.com is Christian women and men choosing day by day and even moment by moment to make Jesus’ words their Rule of Life.
GoldenRule.com is deciding to “Treat everyone in the way you would expect to be treated” in all your actions and relationships.
GoldenRule.com is more than an ethical way of life.
GoldenRule.com demands dedication and self sacrifice to consciously put other people first.
GoldenRule.com calls us to be a living website manifesting God’s Golden Rule.

Easy—no. Rewarding—yes.

From the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) to Native American spirituality and even Humanism and Wicca, the Golden Rule concept is found in most belief systems. Some of these statements sound very similar to “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Here are just a few examples.

"All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really one." Black Elk
"Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you” British Humanist Society.
"An it harm no one, do what thou wilt." The Wiccan Rede.

In a world where everyone often seems to be at odds with everyone else, the Golden Rule is a good place to return to. How do you live out this Golden Rule, esp. when there is conflict and confusion? GoldenRule.com is a place to come to for an exchange of ideas on how we can live our lives by the Golden Rule and learn to treat others as we would like to be treated.

Golden Rule.com is a challenge to change the way you interact with those in your life. Check back every week for meditations on living out GoldenRule.com. You can share your successes and your failures by commenting so that we are all encouraged and strengthened.

Ecclesiastes (4:9-12) reminds us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Together we will strengthen each other in following the Golden Rule. John Donne states us “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

We are meant to live our faith journeys in community with one another and the internet can extend that community beyond our immediate friends and neighbors. For the next 4 weeks we will look at some citations in Matthew and Luke related to the Golden Rule and how they inform our actions toward our Family, Friends, Acquaintances, and even Strangers. A good place to start is with the Great Commandment. Come back next week to explore the connection between the two citations.

A little visual aid to help you is an Infinity Loop with the Golden Rule on one side and the Great Commandment on the other. When you twist it correctly, you will have a never ending loop and can trace the Golden Rule and then the Great Commandment without picking up your finger. A 2-sided paper has become an endless loop that reminds us of our plan to live the Golden Rule.

You can download directions at: http://cynthiadavisauthor.com/Enrichment.htm