Wednesday
December 1, 2010
WORLD AIDS DAY
“Still I feel like a wrapped up Lazarus,
Haven’t made sense of the mystery,
But it makes sense of me”
Still In One Peace by Peter Mayer
You can download a free copy of this song
http://petermayer.com/AUDIO/siop/PeterMayer-StillInOnePeace.mp3
One of my favorite Bible passages is Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The entire 11th chapter of Hebrews is like a Hall of Fame for Faith. It is a family scrapbook full of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, sons and daughters who have been filled with faith. It is the Facebook of Faith!
The angel in the picture is named Hope. As you can see in the photo taken by Brenda Greenwald, Hope has a shadow. Sometime, you and I get to see the real deal and other times we only get to see the shadow. Delia Stewart designed Hope and as she likes to say, “Everyone needs a little Hope.” You can contact Delia at deliastewart@comcast.net
Today on World Aids Day there are folks who are living in the shadow of hope. You can raise awareness to what’s going on with this devastating disease in the world by checking out the following links
http://www.one.org/us/onesabbath/lazaruseffect.html
http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Poverty-Ministries/HIV-and-AIDS/World-AIDS-Day-December-1.aspx
Peter sings about feeling like Lazarus. There are times when we get so wrapped up in the clothes of death that we can’t even move. But, I believe that Jesus stands outside the tomb and calls us to become ALIVE!
John 11:43 tells us about the scene at the tomb of Lazarus
When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Some of the most alive people I know are the ones who have been diagnosed as being “terminal.” And at the same time some of the most Spiritual “zombies” I know are folks who think they are immortal. Go figure!
My friend, Dr. Donald Messer has a new book out called, Names, Not Just Numbers.
If you go to his website you will see a banner which reads, “WE ALL HAVE AIDS.”
http://
Another friend, Julie White (who works with Don) has created a ministry to hire
women in India who are hiv+ to sew and make beautiful quilts. You can check out her life-saving love at www.onemother.org A “tag line” on the website states, “sewing lives together.”
I invite you today to be an angel of HOPE! If you don’t know much about AIDS, then get informed. If you are informed, then do feel something. If you feel something and care, then DO SOMETHING. As Dr. Messer says, “KNOW, CARE, ACT!”
The story of Christmas includes characters like HOPE + LAZARUS.
Joyfully,
rtg
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