Love Inspires

What are you afraid of? 

Fear stops us from doing many things. 

Oftentimes we are worried, 

or afraid of what other people will think of us. 

When we worry too much about what others think, 

we are trapped by fear.

Sometimes we are afraid of change. 

We don’t want to do something new or different 

because we are afraid that it won’t work out. 

We would rather stay stuck in our current problems 

than to face the fear of the unknown.

Sometimes we are afraid of failure. 

We don’t want to face the consequences 

if our endeavors don’t turn out as we hope and plan 

and so we never begin. 

Fear prevents us from experiencing a larger life.

Fear is a thief and robber. 

Fear shuts out love. 

Fear keeps us stuck. 

Fear imprisons us in a cell of our own making.

Mary’s anointing the feet of Jesus 

is a story of courage and moving beyond fear

—fear of what others thought, 

fear of doing something radically different, 

and fear to be misunderstood and to fail.

It is a story of radical courage and strength 

and it was made possible because of love and devotion. 

The same is true today. 

We may move beyond our fears when we are motivated by love.

 Love for God inspires us, 

fills us, 

and moves us forward. 

Love will take you places nothing else ever can or will.

A Bountiful Harvest

It is harvest time in our world. 

What that means to you will vary depending on your belief system. 

To me it means that it is time for the words and works 

of Jesus to come to fruition, 

it is time for the Kingdom of God to manifest in our lives.

Jesus spoke of a middle way of being in the world. 

His words and works spoke of balance and equality. 

He spoke against the domination society 

that he lived in and tried to awaken within people

 a desire to learn a new way of being and doing.

The domination culture that he lived in 

was one that had been taken over by the Romans. 

It was an oppressive culture 

and there were a few who had much 

and many who had little. 

The kingdom that Jesus spoke of 

was one where everyone had enough.

Jesus was not so much interested in material equality 

as he was in spiritual equality. 

He taught that if you sought spiritual enlightenment 

that everything else would follow in its path. 

He taught that all people, 

male or female, 

slave or free, 

had access to the teachings of the Spirit.

The domination culture of today 

is one of materialism and of doing. 

We are too busy to take time to stop 

and learn of spiritual things. 

We are victims to our over-commitments 

and rushing about. 

For the kingdom of God to manifest in our lives today, 

we have to learn to be still 

and learn about our spiritual nature 

and of God’s plan for our lives and our planet.

Mary sat and learned at the feet of Jesus. 

He called this the better part. 

Let’s take a page from the lesson book of Mary and Jesus 

and make time for the Kingdom of God in our own lives. 

It will bring about a bountiful harvest.

Women in Ministry

In conservative circles, 

the ordination of women into ministry is still a hot topic. 

Some of the world’s major religions still exclude women 

from serving in this capacity. 

If Jesus were here today 

how do you suppose he would view the issue? 

It seems that there were a lot of women involved in his ministry 

here on earth. 

Ironic isn’t it?

One of the things that Christ accomplished in his life 

was to build a bridge back to God that had been lost 

because of man’s fall. 

This fall resulted in an imbalance between men and women. 

Part of what Christ was doing in his earthly ministry 

was to re-establish equality between men and women. 

He did this by example. 

Women played a major role in his ministry. 

It is the subsequent record of scripture that fails to speak 

more about the role of women.

The person entrusted with the resurrection story was a woman. 

We discover through the Gnostic Gospels 

that were written during a similar time period 

to the canonical gospels 

but were subsequently lost, 

that the male disciples still had a difficult time overcoming 

their cultural biases towards women 

and that they found it difficult to believe that Jesus 

had entrusted important truths to a woman.

So, here we are 2000 years later, arguing over the same things. 

When are we going to truly listen to the Master’s words 

and begin to follow the essence of his teachings? 

At the heart of Christ’s teachings 

is the theme that each person is a precious child of God. 

One is not more important than another. 

No gender is superior, no race is better than another, 

and every soul is gifted to serve in a unique way. 

The heart of Christ’s message is love. 

Let’s put the heart back into the body of believers.

Begin At Jesus' Feet

Isn’t it interesting that religion is so much like it used to be? 
I think about the time of Jesus
 and the way the church was then.
 It is very similar today. In fact, it is almost exactly the same. 
People dress differently now.
 They drive cars instead of ride donkeys. They mostly ride rather than walk. 
And folks in general have a lot more stuff. 
But the attitudes are remarkably familiar.

This is especially true within conservative circles 
that pride themselves in their knowledge and beliefs. 
The religious teachers at the time of Christ
 felt that they knew exactly what the Messiah would look like when he came. 
He stood right in front of their faces,
 and they accused him of being the Devil. 
Today, religious leaders talk a lot about Christ,
 but if he were to come to their church, they would eventually throw him out 
thinking that he was a spiritualist 
in league with Satan.

Jesus performed miracles 2000 years ago, 
but there were many who were never healed
 because they didn’t trust where his power came from. 
Today, almost no one is healed or is able to heal others 
because they do not trust that the Spirit can still do mighty things today.

Isn’t it interesting that we have learned so little? 
Perhaps sitting at the feet of Jesus
 with the humble mind of a beginner is a good place to start. 
Nothing else is really very important.

If Mary Were Alive Today

If Mary were alive today, what would she be like?

Would we love her the way we think we do? 

The scriptures record her as a very real woman 

with a very real past. 

I’m not so sure she’d be at the top of everyone’s social list. 

Don’t get me wrong,

I think it’s lovely that people like her now; 

it’s just that I’m not so sure they loved her then 

as much as we do now. 

Women weren’t particularly thought of that highly anyway.

In fact, there were probably many reasons 

that she didn’t quite fit inside the parameters 

of the roles of women of her day

And she was, more likely than not, 

left out more often than included.

Of course, we never treat women that way today.

We have grown, have we not—beyond 

jumping to conclusions and making judgments? 

Today we understand that life is a journey 

and that our many experiences prepare us to serve in the world.

We allow all people latitude on their journey

And we practice grace in our relationships with others. 

Well, in lieu of accomplishing total acceptance 

at least we honor those who are dead,

like saints and such.

So if Mary were alive today, 

I wonder how she might see the world

and how we might treat her?

Perhaps we might use our love for her 

and our understanding of her life 

to learn how to love and accept others. 

In reality, what we love about Mary 

is that she represents us all.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus. 

Completely whole. 

Fully loved.