Jesus & The Kingdom

What are your thoughts?

The Buddhist and the Bishop

In his hotel room the other day, my brother caught the morning news story on TV about Pittsburgh's new bishop, David Zubik, and how he was flying into town from Green Bay. Bill idly wondered how the bishop was traveling there as he waited for his own flight to Pittsburgh. When he boarded the plane and took his seat, he immediately recognized the man next to him and said, "You're Pittsburgh's new bishop, aren't you?" That acknowledgement sparked a conversation that lasted most of their flight. Bill told me the bishop said a couple of times, "I don't know if you're Catholic..." and my brother kind of sidestepped the question. As they talked of spiritual matters Bill said that he'd be praying for the new bishop, that he would be a blessing to all those he's going to serve in his new role. And then finally in answer to a direct question he said no, he's not Catholic, he's a Tibetan Buddhist. The bishop raised his eyebrows. "Really?" My brother went on to explain that it wasn't that he didn't believe in Christ, it's just that the Christian church hadn't seemed very spiritual to him, but only a place where one put in their time on Sundays. Bill spoke about his practice of meditating an hour each night, and Bishop Zubik was surprised that he devoted that much time each day to his spiritual practice.

My brother told me later that he felt so honored to have been seated next to a man who has devoted his whole life to his faith. At the end of their time together the bishop said, "I think God had a purpose for seating us together today." My brother thinks so too. The Buddhist will be praying for the bishop, and vice versa I think.

I'll be remembering the reverence my brother had for his conversation with a man, and how it didn't matter at all to him that they followed different faiths. His respect was for another human being who has devoted his life to following God and serving others. God bless them both, and may I see the lesson in the mutual respect these two men on different spiritual journeys gave each other.

Crickets @ Twilight

This isn't something I designed for our prayer garden or Creative Collaborative. But after designing some of the materials for our prayer garden/sanctuary for this series, I am feeling drawn to continue on in this vein. The words were taken from a prayer I wrote two years ago:


Dear Father,
In the crazy, busy, stressful
Torrents of churning life,
In the storming downpours,
May you be a gentle rain,
A calming brook,
A deep and quiet river within us.
May your voice be a summer’s breeze,
A gentle lapping of waves
on the shores of our soul.
May you fill our hearts with peace
Like the whisper of wind
Caressing the meadow grass,
Like the cricket’s song welcoming twilight.
Amen.

Lake Faith

I went to a lake last night to watch the sun set. The weather was perfect, the sky was pure blue, and the leaves...oh, the leaves were every shade of green imaginable. The lake's right near me, but I'd never been there before. I don't get out enough, I don't see a still lake with gentle ripples from hungry fish as the sun goes down. As the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky, the water turned shades of pink, blue, aqua, and silver. The quiet wooded trail made my soul sing. I think my theology keeps getting stripped down to having my spirit filled with beauty and love and cherishing each moment I can create an awareness of how grateful I am to God for this life.

Yes. You.

Pretend an angel suddenly appears before you and says, "You are God's favorite". How does that make you feel?

In Silence

For the prayer garden we'll be using for this upcoming series. A place to be in silence would be a wonderful sanctuary for me. Tonight it was my small backyard, with a beautiful breeze blowing through the trees. I'm grateful for this perfect evening weather, when I can sit outside and feel God's presence in all of his world around me.

Crayola Prayers

More people I am colorfully praying for.
"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant." The Message