h2odevos encores 031512 Under the Broom Tree

"In my work I grow weary

Lost on this road of desires

Where is the path that leads homeward?

To bring me back to your fire.

Lift these eyes of sadness into gladness at Your peace

I am lost and weary, come shepherd me"

Ever Walk With Me Lord by Peter Mayer

I'm not exactly sure what a "broom tree" looks like, but I believe I've probably sat underneath one. The good news for me, is that I'm not currently sitting underneath one either in my professional or even in my personal life.

Elijah the prophet was in a bad place and space in his life. He had "burned out" and appears to be experiencing what many folks would consider to be depression. It seems that what he likes to do is sleep and eat.

"But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: 'It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.' 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, 'Get up and eat.' 6He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, 'Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.' 8He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there." (I Kings 19)

There are times when we are simply looking for a "cave."  A place to rest for the night. There are also times when God or another loved one has to remind us to eat, "otherwise the journey will be too much for" us. I must confess that has rarely happened to me (to be reminded to eat). In the past, I have had to be reminded to not each so much.

Parker Palmer (often quotes Outward Bound's motto) by saying, "If you can't get out of it, get into it."

So, if you find yourself on this Ides of March feeling like Elijah or what Peter is singing about, find yourself a broom tree to sit underneath. Some bread and water might be brought to you as you ponder what is going on with your world. You might just offer up a silent prayer for the Good Shepherd to come and shepherd you. I can promise you that you won't have the "wool pulled over your eyes."

May your "eyes of sadness" be transformed into "gladness at Your peace."

Peace,

rtg 

h2odevos encores 031412 Anchors of the Soul

"We are joy, we are broken pieces

Upon a spinning, changing world we are borne

But for the love that will not release us

Our Rock of ages and our carry home

And we'll sing it to the hills and the valleys

From every land 'cross every sea

We will sing it when our hearts are breaking

And rejoice in a final victory"

We Are Changed by Peter Mayer

The lyrics of this song keep going around and around in my head. I'm thinking and praying about folks who aren't feeling very hopeful these days. Maybe they are down a quart or two in the optimistic compartment of their souls. So, if that sounds like you, then I want you to know there is someone praying for you.

I've read some things that seem to indicate that for some people, Holy Week is a very difficult time. Whereas one would think or assume that because it is an amazing drama that conveys God's love for the world manifested in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, that folks would feel joy and hope. Unfortunately, the opposite appears to be true. Instead, some people feel that the good news applies to everyone else but them. So, there is a loneliness which tends to be a constant companion.

There is a lovely verse from the Letter to the Hebrews which goes like,

"We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the innershrine behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." Hebrew 6:19-20.

Peter sings about that "anchor of the soul"

"But for the love that will not release us

Our Rock of ages and our carry home

And we'll sing it to the hills and the valleys

From every land 'cross every sea"

You might feel cast adrift on a sea of chaos.

Your boat might appear to be sinking.

Or maybe you feel "overboard" and are sinking down.

The good news is that there is a Life-Saver. You are sure to be swept up in the arms of grace.

Peace,

rtg

h2odevos encores 031312 Bittersweet Concoction

You plan I wait we waste the time we should have spent

An innocent mistake

A careless word you'd prefer I'd never sent

We could bend or break

I could live without you but my songs about you

Nothin's gonna change my mind

First you say you'll leave me then you say you need me

Somewhere in between we're fine

The bittersweet concoction of fear and grace

Chases me inside

But what's the harm in hoping that time won't erase

This momentary rhyme

Somewhere In Between by Roger Guth & Peter Mayer

When I heard the phrase "bittersweet concoction," I immediately thought about chocolate. (Of course, when I hear most words or phrases, I immediately think of chocolate). I remember as a youngster going through the shelves of a particular cabinet in our kitchen which contained spices, powders, baking soda, salt, flour, those colorful "do-dads" for cupcake decorating and other necessary supplies when I came across what appeared to me to be the mother lode of chocolate, a large candy bar looking repository of Baker's Chocolate. There might have been a warning label on the wrapper, but I doubt it. I indiscreetly broke off a chunk of that black gold and put it in my mouth. Words cannot accurately describe what happened next. (I will let your imaginations color the picture for you.) Needless to say, I never did that again, although I must confess that I have been tempted again and again. Anything that looks so good and smells so good, would figure that it would taste so good. I also had a similar experience with vanilla. Now, I just dab a little of that delightful liquid extract behind each ear.

Peter stirs ups or mixes up a beverage for us, this image of the

"Bittersweet concoction of fear and grace"

I find that to be an appropriate image for what is often a motivating issue for individuals, couples, families, communities and our institutions. We are all acquainted with the phrase that something is "fear-based." That means a person or persons' motives and actions are deeply rooted in some kind of phobia or in the attempt to avoid a particular situation. Of course there are situations and events which are to be avoided and prevented. It makes perfect sense to want to protect others who are unable to protect themselves from forces which would seek to harm them.

On the other hand, I am wondering how familiar or popular "grace-based" activities are in our daily lives? Do we wake up in the morning with a desire and expectation to experience what God is all about? Or do we brace ourselves and initiate security provisions and precautions to insulate ourselves from the cares and needs of those around us?  Of course, it's not so cut and dried in our daily experience.  Is it? There are the bittersweet concoctions.  In fact, we ourselves at times are bittersweet concoctions.

I believe that's what St. Paul was writing about when he confessed,

1"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members." Romans 7

Lent is that "somewhere in between"  time to wrestle with these things. As Peter states, we could "bend or break." And yet, I know that God's hand wraps our hand,

The solitary pleasure of your hand

Makes my heart beat strong

Until tomorrow,

rtg

h2odevos encores 031212 Prayer Changes People

"In this blueprint for living

From the word that touched the earth

Round this house we plant a Garden

God's grace is our rebirth

Lend your voice in celebration

Lend your hand in lifting up

This is the day of creation

Built on the cornerstone of Love"

Blueprints by Peter Mayer and Jim Mayer

Last night the online newspapers started reporting the results of a study on prayer recently released in the American Heart Journal. You can read the abstract of the text HERE.

It's rather heady stuff for discussions about matters of the heart and soul.

The headline in The New York Times reads, "Long Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer.  Click HERE to read.

I remember making plaster of paris  plaques in Vacation Bible School which read, "Prayer Changes Things." While the plaques did not come with any official guarantee or contain  results of scientific studies, I trust they proclaimed the truth. And while I fully appreciate scientific affirmation of what people of faith do, part of the operative term in all of this is the word "faith." It's great to have collaboration with the scientific community, but a big issue in all of this is related to the command, "pray without ceasing,"  (I Thessalonians 5:17). We pray because that's what God has invited us to do.

Peter sings,

"Lend your voice in celebration

Lend your hand in lifting up"

I believe that Peter is calling us to sing, to pray and to also literally help "lift up" people who have been brought down by events in their lives. I believe that prayer not only changes things, it changes the pray-er and the pray-ee (the person prayed for). And while this study may or may not prove the efficacy of prayer, I know the effects of prayer first hand. In fact, it is all in God's hands.

The ELCA has a great resource online regarding prayer.  Check it out:  http://www.elca.org/prayer/

I'm praying for you today and ask that you pray for me, too.

Peace,

rtg

h2odevos encores 031112 Only You

"I hear You in the gentle wind blowing through the trees

I hear You whisper in my dreams

Only You conceived the starlight that shimmers through the night

Only You can call me home from this life

I know it in my heart to be true

The answer to me is only You"

Only You by Jim Mayer & Peter Mayer 

Have you ever been lost? Have you ever been confused? Have you ever been sold a bill of goods? Have you ever been fooled? Have you ever felt like quitting? Have you ever wanted something, anything to be true, just so you could believe again?

That's what I think about when I hear this song. If you haven't listened to it, I invite you to do so, by clicking on:    "Only You" audio 

It's so elegant and yet simple and basic, "Only You" is what it is all about. And that line,  "I know it in my heart to be true the answer to me is only You" always causes me to shake my head in agreement, yes, that's right, that's true. It is so great that God comes to us through the wind, through dreams, and  through starlight. It is wonderful that God calls us to be what we're meant to be.

"The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
   and turns deep darkness into the morning,
   and darkens the day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea,
   and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
the Lord is his name," (Amos 5:8)

I'm praying for you today that you experience the uniqueness of God's love for you today.

Peace,

RTG

PS- I'm preaching [today] on the 10 Commandments. My sermon is out on the Bethany Lutheran Church website www.bethany-denver.org

And if you click on this link you'll get the text of it in a pdf

http://bethany-denver.org/documents/4Lent-ThePromiseofRelationships.pdf

h2odevos encores 031012 Sand

"From a raindrop to a river

From one word into a song

Source of all gifts, 
Friend and Forgiver

Bring us together, to pass it on"

Pass It On by Peter Mayer & Patricia O'Reilly

Sometimes when I am talking or teaching about liturgy, the topic of "call and response" comes up. So, I say, "I'm going to say a few words, and you respond with what you know comes next." It often goes something like:

"As the sand of the hour glass..."

(response) "So go the Days of our Lives."

For daytime television viewers those words come from the program by the name, The Days of Our Lives.  There is a book called Sirach that is included in the Roman Catholic canon of Scripture, but referred to by Protestants as being from the "Apocrypha."  It has the following saying in it,

"Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand,

  so are a few years among the days of eternity." Sirach 18:10

Tonight or early Sunday morning at 2AM many of us turn our clocks ahead 60 minutes (Spring forward/Fall back). There just might be a sermon or two in that refrain. Time, or at least how we measure it into years, months, days, hours, seconds and nanoseconds, flies by. Most people I come in contact with state that one of their "issues" is they simply don't have enough time. In one way that suggests other people have more time than some people. Perhaps that is true, but maybe it isn't. A related "issue" is time management. Do we mange time, or does it have its way with us?

 

The photo on this page was taken in the Wadi Rum area of Jordan. This particular picture is just a little itty-bitty sample of acres and acres of reddish pink sand. Particles and particles of sand for as far as the eye can see.

The Psalmist sang,

"How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

      How vast is the sum of them!

18I try to count them - they are more than the sand;

      I come to the end - I am still with you." (Psalm 139:17-18)

Peter reminds us that raindrops come together to make rivers.  And words congregate into songs. I suppose the challenge or more appropriately the call and response for us today is to imagine what happens when you and me, WE get together to form community.

Spring Forward my friends,

rtg

h2odevos encores 030912 Be Etc.

Believe, be Light, be love just because

All along you've belonged

In this love song

This now, befriend

Come what may, with you heart begin

Believe Be Light Be Love

 Be Etc by Peter Mayer 

Peter's song provides an invitation for daily living with a  light and lovely touch. It is all about more "being" and perhaps "doing" less.

Believe, be Light, be love just because

"Just because" is a great reason, isn't it? I'm sure when my parents would say those words to me, that I rejected their line of reason. But, I must confess that over the years I have claimed a personal privilege with our children, "just because."

All along you've belonged, now maybe that's the real reason to be, due to the fact that we are connected, we are in relationship, our prayers and longings of the heart have been answered, we belong.

In this love song

This now, befriend

It is in the moment that we can be. When I get off track and out of alignment, I think about something that is going to happen in the future. Instead of "daily bread," I think about bread two weeks from now, or two months from now. But, Peter invites us to make pals with the now, to befriend the very moment.

I believe it's about having a "be-attitude"

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 

2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.   (Matthew 5)

Being Still In One Peace,

rtg

h2odevos encores 030812 Good Fruit

"How can I come before you?
What worthy gift could I bring?
What glorious feast could I offer?

What songs of majesty sing?

Lift this heart of sadness into gladness by Your peace

Before I can come before You, You come to me"

Ever Walk With Me Lord by  Peter Mayer

St. Paul catalogues the things not to do, but then he writes,  "By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." (Galatians 5:22-23)

I once led a weeklong Bible study and lecture series entitled, "The 7 Deadly Sins meet The Fruits of the Spirit." It was a blended version of HBO confronts the VeggieTales. My purpose was to provide concrete examples of being able to bear fruit in one's spiritual life while at the same time acknowledging those things "we have done and left undone."

My motivation this morning is similar. It is my intention to help you feel and see that there are things you might already be doing that are "fruit of the spirit." Just stop for a moment today and meditate on "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." You might even want to write those "fruits" on a post-it note around your home, office or car. How can you grow and nurture these actions and feelings on a daily basis?

As you know, I am a proponent of increasing physical activity and decreasing caloric intake. I'm also a big fan of 5-9 Fruits and Veggies per Day. Check out this wonderful resource: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/

My hope and prayer for you this day is that you will bear good fruit and also eat some today and each day this coming week. Let me know how it is going for you.

And as Peter sings, "Before I can come before You, You come to me."

That's grace, Amazing Grace!

Peace,

rtg

h2odevos encores 030712 Bread and Water

"Only You can break down the walls that hide me away

Only You can turn the night into day

Only You can stop the darkness from overtaking me

Created the land the sky and sea

I know it in my heart to be true

The answer to me is only You!"

Only You by Jim Mayer & Peter Mayer

Perpetua and her companions,  202

Thomas Aquinas, 1274

RTG Baptismal Anniversary, March 7, 1954 

This song is lovely. It just says it all so very well. I've been thinking a lot about what's important. I'm sure that happens quite often when one moves and starts a new position. And so at times it's very important to just slow down and pray, to reflect on what's important. When I take time to do that, it leads me to meditate on who is important in my life. When one boils it down to that question, it is pretty obvious that one's relationship with God is primary and it gets expressed via relationships with family, friends, colleagues and even strangers. Peter is correct when he sings, "I know it in my heart to be true, the answer to me is only You!"

I know enough about family dynamics to realize that I don't know enough about family dynamics. Specifically, I'm thinking about Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael.  Their story is written in Genesis 21. Hagar and Ishmael are expelled from the family unit with just a skin of water and some bread. After the food and water are consumed, Hagar assumes that the end is near. An angel appears to her and says,

" 'What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.' 19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink." Genesis 21:18-19

I am intrigued, could Hagar not see the well of water until God opened her eyes? Did she have a physical-vision problem? Or could she not see because of her grief, anger and fear? How often do we stand next to an oasis and are unaware? Do we, like Hagar, have a "vision" problem?  I'm also haunted by the drought in Kenya. Perhaps God is opening our eyes and hearts to see those who hunger and thirst.

Maybe God is calling us to be a well. What do you think?

"I know it in my heart to be true, the answer to me is only You!"

Peace,

rtg

If you want to know more about Perpetua, check out

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/perpetua.html

If you want to know more about Thomas Aquinas, check out

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm

If you want to know more about how the ELCA is helping people in Kenya, check out

http://elca.org/disaster