White water rafting. Mountain-biking. Body-surfing. Broadway play: “Mary Poppins.” Seeing a movie: “Despicable me.” Writing a book. Spending quality time with my family. ... While I was away, I played.
But I also had a chance to reflect on my ministry here. Many times my reflection time was when I was alone, in silence; but also, conversations with people I met prompted me to question the grounds of my existence. Almost every time I talked to someone I got a sense of some larger purpose, that is: God, something or someone else larger than myself, is in charge. It was kind of like God was giving me a sign that humility will be the best plan.
Its funny how this line of thinking fits with our Bible passages for today. I was not expecting it.
As I was reading Hebrews I was listening to how the disciples and early Christian leaders were imprisoned, tortured, tormented and persecuted but this type of treatment only made them stronger, because through their devotion and perseverance, the experiences and God’s will increased their faith.
And then I saw in the Gospel lesson how Jesus predicted that faith in him will bring torment and conflict to people. And that people are always trying to predict what is going to happen next, or they want to explain things so that there is some type of rational explanation for events that unfold.
Sometimes there is no rational explanation. Why does it rain here and the sun is shining on Clark Ave? Why do hurricanes and tornadoes created? Why does the violence inside of people spill out and someone like Anthony Sewell goes on a rampage and a life is taken away? There is also no rational explanation for some of the most positive, creative activities of the universe as well. Why and how does a seed grow into a plant? Why does a little kindness go a long way? Why do we feel better after going to church? Why is God’s love best expressed through God’s people? It would be so much easier if God just gave us signals, or signs to show us the way.
Sign from God.
You know God gives us signs all the time. They may not be what we were expecting. One time God gave me a sign and it confirmed my ministry to the homeless mentally ill sexually active street walking male – basically just a weird guy. We were sitting out front on the curb and he was talking. Every now and then I would get a word in edgewise. But he got very serious for a moment, telling me about how he had been seeing angels for years. He saw angels around people. I asked him if he had been smoking something and he smirked, “Not this morning.”
Anyway, he told me that I had an angel over me. I asked what it looked like. He said it was tall with huge white wings, and it looked inviting and benevolent. It wasn’t so much that I believed him or not, it was that he experienced me that way. And I figured that the angel might have been invisible to other people but that this angel could influence my magnetic field, my aura and that would be enough to let people know about how I felt about this ministry. You know that your aura tells others how sincere you are.
And that is usually how I look at people myself, what their aura is telling me.
For example, I was at a traffic light, on the phone, and looked over and there was a black guy at a bus stop who looked out of place; and when I looked again he came over and told me his truck had broken down, he pointed to it over at the gas station on the corner, and could I give him a lift back to work. It was in East Cleveland at St. Clair and Eddy Road. I took one look at him and realized that he was sincere. He looked like he supposed to be at work – hard hat on top of a bandana, dirty jeans, green vest that highway workers wear, over a tee shirt; did I say dirty—make that filthy and stinky from sweating all day, but groomed perfectly. As I dropped him off, he said he was coming to church today . . . everyone says that . . . anyway, we talked about karma, about how our actions cause reactions. That the positive things we do have a rebounding effect that brings positive energy back to us. Everything that we do, say, think creates an aura around us that attracts positive actions, words, thoughts.
I want to highlight the life of one of the medical volunteers who recently perished while helping people make their lives better in Afghanistan. Cheryl Marie Beckett worked with Afghani people to “improve their nutrition, sanitation and first aid, and even help them plant gardens,” her grandfather said in the Plain Dealer interview. Beckett was from Cincinnati, loved and respected the Afghan people. She denied herself many freedoms in order to abide by Afghan law and custom. The grandfather quoted Cheryl in the article on page B6 of Friday’s paper: “Peace in Afghanistan can be achieved by the establishment of just laws for all people and the continued sacrifice and selfless love of people working together.”
