I ask this question because I
recently watched a news program about the Hubble telescope. The scientist being
interviewed said the minerals in our body come from the stars. If we are made
from the stars and there are more than a trillion stars in the universe then why are there so few of us, in comparison
to the number of stars, living on earth? I think it is because we are the
chosen ones!
Matthew
22: 2-10, 14
The
kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who prepared a
wedding feast for his son. He sent his servants to tell the guests to come to
the feast but they did not want to come. So, he sent other servants with this
message for the guests. “My feast is ready now; my steers and prize calves have
been butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. But the
invited guests paid no attention and went about their business, one went to his
farm, another to his store, while others grabbed the servants, beat and killed
them. The king was very angry so he sent soldiers who killed those murderers
and burned down their city. Then he called his servants and said to them ‘my
wedding feast is ready but the people I invited did not accept it. Now go to
the main streets and invite to the feast as many people as you find. So, the
servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find,
good and bad alike. The wedding hall was filled. Jesus concluded, many are
invited but few are chosen.
·
Chosen means one who is the object
of choice or of divine favor.
·
Chose means to select freely and
after consideration.
Every
one of us, 7.5 billion people, are chosen through our existence, our life. We
are ‘of divine favor’ because we are created, given life. And our life is the living
invitation to the wedding feast, the kingdom.
The
idea of God choosing only a few of us breeds separation among us because it
means that only a portion of the 7.5 billion people God created are favored by
God and this is not true. All are of divine favor. Otherwise, we would not be here on earth, alive and experiencing God's abundance. We would still be stars.
The
king’s servants invite the guests and they chose not to attend. They prefer to
take care of their fields, businesses, their everyday personal errands and
events. And this is how many of us are today. We are invited to cultivate God’s
kingdom through loving, liberating and life-giving relationships with God,
ourselves, others, animals and our planet yet we choose to remain as we are,
busy with our daily activities, harming and at times killing ourselves, others,
animals and our planet figuratively and literally.
We
have the opportunity to choose to say yes to God’s wedding feast invitation,
(being loving, liberating and life-giving) by cultivating seven qualities within ourselves and helping others do the same.
I
received most of the information below (italicized
text is my interpretation) from a Jesus Movement retreat presented and led
by the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellars. https://www.episcopalchurch.org/
Become Loving by cultivating the qualities of;
1.
Belovedness.
2.
Gratitude.
Become Liberating by cultivating the qualities of;
3.
Freedom.
4.
Curiosity.
5.
Humility & Resilience.
Become Life-Giving by cultivating the qualities of;
6.
Compassion.
7.
Joy.
How
to cultivate the seven qualities
Become
Loving by cultivating the qualities
of;
1.
Belovedness.
Belovedness is not a feeling, we claim it ~ I am beloved, I am possible. Recognizing that we are beloved enables us to be love for others. God
invested time and energy into our creation. Our life is the symbol of God’s
love. Knowing we are loved, God’s beloved, gives us courage to share an
open loving spirit that helps to heal the world and communicate the gospel.
Mark 1:9-11 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was
baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water,
he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And
a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.”
· Recall a moment when you truly felt
beloved by God. What was happening? How did you feel?
· How would being rooted in God’s love
change the way you share love in the world?
· What helps/would help you to
cultivate your belief in your own belovedness? How might you help to cultivate
that belovedness in others?
2.
Gratitude.
As beloved we feel gratitude towards
God, ourselves and others. We come to know that everything is a gift. The fact that we can consider to be thankful is something to
be thankful for. We cultivate gratitude
by practicing it throughout the day. Begin by writing one or two
people/places/things/experiences you are grateful for. Thank God throughout the
day for breath or the sun. As we practice gratitude it becomes easier and our
grateful list grows. Gratitude shifts our thoughts of scarcity to abundance. And as our gratitude grows we are able to give
sacrificially for the love of the world.
Life, hope, food, money pour out of us. Our
game changes from ‘the one with the most toys wins’ to sharing our gifts with others for all to 'win.'
Gratitude Resource:
Psalm 95:1-6 O Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout
joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout joyfully with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great
king above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of
the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; and His
hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel
before the Lord our Maker.
· Recall a moment when you felt deep
Gratitude. What was happening? How did you feel?
· Did your gratitude move you to act
or share with others differently? How?
· What helps/would help you to
cultivate an inner sense of gratitude? How might you help to cultivate
gratitude in others?
Become Liberating by cultivating the qualities of;
3.
Freedom.
We are free when we are able to be
our authentic self, help others find their authentic self and are excited when
we see someone being authentic. I visualize freedom through the soaring hawk
gliding through the air effortlessly. Being our authentic self means that we
know who we are, how to be and what to do with our lives. We accept ourselves and others. Cultivating freedom enables us to
celebrate and participate in others’ liberation.
Galatians 5:13-14 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But
do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly
in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love
your neighbors as yourself.”
· Recall a moment when you felt truly
FREE. What was happening? How did you feel?
· Did your sense of freedom move you
to act or to share with others differently? How?
· What helps/would help you to
cultivate an inner sense of freedom? How might you help to cultivate freedom in
others?
4.
Curiosity.
Cultivating curiosity enables us to receive hospitality and wisdom
of the other.
As an educated, trained and
experienced coach and spiritual director, curiosity it the most important
quality to have because it states that I do not have the answers for anyone but
myself. Being curious by asking open ended questions enables the person I am serving to find
their own answers. This process helps them to see what they could not see on
their own.
We help others cultivate curiosity by being aware that we
all hold a part of truth, allowing others to share their ‘stuff’ by talking less
and listening more, listening for what is
not being said. And coaxing the unsaid through open ended questions which leads
the other to ‘aha’ moments.
John 4: 7-12, 27-30 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The
Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a
woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus
answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to
you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you
living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is
deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor
Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”
….Just then His disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with
a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with
her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to
the people, “come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He
cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to
Him.
In the scripture passage, Jesus
pushes the cultural norms of His day by visiting with a Samaritan woman at a
town well. Back in that time, community wells were the source for water. And
women used this time to converse with other women of the town to hear the local
news. This is where the saying ‘heard it at the water cooler’ evolved from. This
woman is at the well during a time when she knows no other women will be there
because she is not liked by the other women. And here is Jesus talking with
her! LOVE it! He is so radical and courageous in His love for us, ALL of us!
- Why didn’t the disciples say anything about Jesus’ speaking to the woman?
- Jesus’ time with this woman inspired her to tell people (she knew did not like her) all about her experience. Have you ever been so excited about something that you had to tell everyone?
- The Samaritan woman’s enthusiasm inspired the people to leave to city to see for themselves! Has your enthusiasm inspired curiosity and action from those you told?
- Recall a moment when you were surprised by the wisdom of someone unexpected. What was happening? How did you feel?
- Did you become more curious or open to such experiences – and people -going forward? If so, how?
- What helps/would help you to cultivate curiosity within? How might you help others to cultivate curiosity?
5.
Humility & Resilience.
Cultivating humility and resilience enables us to take risks
and persevere for the gospel. Humility is a realistic assessment of who we are and who God
is. Humility and Resilience is strength. It
is being able to admit that I do not always live the way God calls me to, take
time to reflect and continue trying. It is being able to admit that I
make mistakes or I mess up, apologize and move forward with a ‘continuous
improvement’ mindset.
Mark 6:1-6 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his
disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and
many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being
done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of
James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And
they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are no without honor,
except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And
he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick
people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
This scripture reveals that our
inability to cultivate humility results in our inability to see the truth that
is right before us which closes us down from living freely. This scripture also
reveals Jesus’ resilience because he accepts that not all of the chosen is open
to his way of life and he continues to teach it all the way to the cross. His resilience
encourages us to share his truth of freedom (gospel) with those in our lives so
they too may live and share it.
· Recall a moment when you messed up
and were humbled but bounced back. What was happening? How did you feel?
· Did you approach failure or taking
risks differently after that experience? What did your capacity for Humility
and Resilience make it possible for you to do or to share later?
· What helps/would help you to
cultivate humility and resilience within? How might you help to cultivate an
appreciation of humility and a capacity for resilience?
Become Life-Giving by cultivating the qualities of;
6.
Compassion.
Cultivating
compassion enables us to partner for others’ healing and liberation. Compassion
is our capacity to feel for others. It gets awakened by being in touch with our
own pain then we can experience the pain of others and don’t want to see them
go through it. Other words to describe compassion are; womb love, tender love
from the mother place, gut love, concern for someone else, interdependence and
union, I am because we are.
Sometimes it is too hard to stay with
all the pain in our world. Watching the daily news is so heartbreaking and
frustrating because we don’t know how we can help and when we cultivate
compassion we desperately want to help. One way to help is through prayer. In the
1800’s, there was a woman named Adelyn who was bedridden due to illness. She
shared with her friend Emily that she wanted to serve Jesus in some way and was
frustrated because she was stuck in bed. Together, Adelyn and Emily, decided
that they would pray. Intercessory prayer became their way of service. And from
this desire to serve the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (SCHC) and
Adelynrood (Adelyn + rood which means cross) Retreat center was born. The SCHC
is comprised of women who take vows of intercessory prayer, social justice and
simplicity of life, they do not live in community, they live their lives like
we do and they live their vows. They run the retreat house and invite us to
join them in their service by attending various programs, volunteering
time/talents in running the retreat house or donating money. All of this came
about through the desire of one woman who wanted to help! What can we do!!!
With God’s help everything is possible!
Please visit http://www.adelynrood.org/ to learn more.
Deuteronomy
10:17-19 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great God,
mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. God defends
the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing
among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are
foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.
I think this passage spells out that
we are nothing without God which is a compelling reason to be compassionate.
· Recall a moment when you felt deep
compassion for the suffering of others… or for yourself. What was happening?
How did you feel? Where in your body did “compassion” reside?
· Did your sense of compassion move
you to act or share with others differently? How?
· What helps/would help you to
cultivate compassion within? How might you help others to cultivate compassion?
7.
Joy.
Cultivating joy enables us to share
joy and delight in God’s presence in the world. After we have cultivated all of the 6 qualities above we
understand that our life is love, liberty and life giving which results in
feeling joy and living joyfully all the time. And we become contagious, others
want to know what we know. And we can tell them with the hope that they will
open their hearts and mind to the truth of the gospel.
Isaiah 12:3-6 With joy you will draw
water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give praise to
the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among nations what he has done, and proclaim
that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
· Recall a moment when you felt great
Joy. What happened? How did you feel? How did you respond?
· Did your sense of joy move you to
act or move differently in the world? How did others respond?
· What helps/would help you to
cultivate inner joy? How might you help others to cultivate joy?
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