True Religion is This

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to share with my friends in Brownsville on the topic of True Religion. I didn’t use the phrase “damned religion” in church but the thought went through my head. So did the following image…

At one table: the folks who practice Damned Religion sit. Their traditions are lifeless, meaningless… they stand up, sit down, kneel at the right times… but there is no relationship, no compassion, no love in their motions. Talking about the folks “in church”? Sure. But also those that practice their brand of religion in front of the TV or computer, at the bar or arena or even the office… Some of the most religious folks I know never step foot in a church.

At a second table, the folks who practice True Religion sit. They have traditions… but it’s only part of the bigger picture. These folks… you will see them everywhere and you will know them… because of their love.

Folks who practice Damned Religion are an rowdy bunch… they love a good fight, especially if they can instigate it, but they have no greater purpose. It sure looks like a fun bunch until you realize they just do the same thing… over and over and over, again.

If those guys are rowdy, folks who practice True Religion are downright unruly. They run toward the fight, they are the first to help someone in need, they give out of their own need, they risk more, live with less, are willing to suffer and die for a cause and, more importantly, willing to live with purpose… and, in doing all of this: they rejoice with an unruly love.

As I meditated on such thoughts, imagine my surprise to receive a letter from my friend Robert. Robert runs an orphanage in Tanzania. This is part of that note:

“We cannot carry out the program due to lack of funding. And to make matters more worse, Tanzania was hit bad by drought and many will be starving to death. The scarcity of food has forced prices up. This is Scary! I have been experiencing sleepless nights thinking and looking for some ways on how manage with such the situation.”

You see, Tanzania has been hit by three catastrophes… AIDs/HIV has killed over 1.4 million Tanzanians and has created over 1 million orphans. Robert and his wife Mariam have dedicated their lives to serving the most vulnerable in their country. They provide food, clothing, shelter, education and their love and lives to 200 orphans. Now, a drought has come upon them and that drought has led to food shortages and leading toward famine.

Practicing True Religion is simple… be separated from worldly cares and concerns and care for those that are the most vulnerable among us. The vulnerable are widows and orphans. So, I was moved by conviction, as much as compassion, to send financial help and to share this story with you.

When you practice religion today, which table will you be with?

If you are looking for an opportunity to test your convictions, to sit at the table of True Religion and experience its blessing… please consider the Good Samaritan Orphanage in Tanzania. Their website is www.gsotanzania.com; there you will find more information and directions on how to contribute. Of course, I would be pleased to answer your questions and provide more information.

This is an Answer to Prayer, You will be Blessed

Last Thursday, the 22nd of January, I received a call from a crisis pregnancy center. Only a few days before I had sent a note introducing myself and an idea we had to partner with them.

“…We are wondering if there is a need and interest at Options to provide short-term housing for women in your care who are pregnant or caring for a newborn. We are able to donate a portion of the rent as well as partner through our non-profit ministry to make required additional costs very small. We can also provide encouragement and emotional support.”

The director of the center had a family in mind that desperately needs help. They have been praying and rejoiced at the news of this offer.

Later that evening I spoke with “T” who has a little baby girl and is six months pregnant. She and her husband are functionally homeless. So we are providing them with a home for the next 12 months.

I look forward to sharing more about this amazing story. The director of the center ended our conversation with the statement “you will be blessed”. We are.

We will be compiling a list of items this young family needs over the next days and weeks. If you would like to support them in any way, please let me know. You will be blessed.

Murtha to Bring Gitmo to Western PA

Rep. Jack Murtha has managed to keep quiet since his "racists and redneck" statements about his district. No more. I haven't decided to laugh, cry or be angry... (the distance between the lines above represents the distance between my house and the local/state prison)

Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa., says he'd be willing to house prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in his congressional district if President Obama makes good on a plan to close the U.S. prison there.
As one of his first acts in office, the president circulated a draft Wednesday that would shut down Guantanamo Bay within a year.

Murtha only has a minimum security prison in his district. But he says he'd have no reservations about holding detainees there in a maximum security prison.

"Sure, I'd take 'em," said Murtha, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. "They're no more dangerous in my district than in Guantanamo."

Murtha added that there was "no reason not to put 'em in prisons in the United States and handle them the way they would handle any other prisoners."

Merry Christmas

As we wind down the final days of Christmastide and head back to work, school and all of our 'realities'... take a look and listen to the video as a reminder of the Reality of All Seasons...

Newest Priest in Brownsville

The Rev. Keith Pozzuto was ordained into the Sacred Order of Priests on Dec 12. A blessing for the church and the community! The Brownsville Telegraph covered the service and took photos.

The Telegraph Article

Meditations on Hate

I am perplexed, concerned and preoccupied by hate. It’s nothing personal, it just seems that if hate isn’t in the news it is making the news.

On the first thought, look toward the political season where folks on both sides of issues and candidates accuse the other of hate. On the latter, hate consistently makes the news… most recently in the terrorist acts in Mumbai.

There is True Hatred and Counterfeit Hatred.

Counterfeit Hatred is convenient, it is accusatory, it is a deflection, it is ignorance. It is an ad hominem argument. It takes the form “If you disagree with me, you must be filled with hate.”

True Hatred and Counterfeit Hatred are sometimes exchanged and are frequently found together but they are intensely different.

True Hatred is directed at someone or something. True Hatred cherishes animosity.

Perhaps you are familiar with the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-51)? The story begins and ends with True Hatred.

Joseph was one of 12 brothers. He had the love of his father, a robe, and dreams of grandeur. His brothers were jealous and hated him for this.

The brother’s feelings were dear to them; they cherished this animosity, nurtured it and fostered it in their hearts and with each other. Encouraging it and perhaps treating it with tenderness and affection just as a mother looks upon her child. But this child is vile and contemptuous; it is hideous to the eye and would be reviled by anyone not caught in its spell. Their delight in this evil would lead to active enmity and violence against their brother.

Joseph’s brothers conspired to kill him but then opted to strip him, throw him into a well and sell him into slavery. They hated him and rid themselves of his presence. Joseph lived in slavery, then imprisonment but in the end gained the favor of pharaoh and became the viceroy over all Egypt during a great famine. It was at this time where Joseph’s brothers, in search of wheat, were reunited with Joseph. They feared that Joseph would repay their evil with evil… that he hated them.

They lived in this fear and when their father died, it came to light one final time. "When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" … But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

They believed that Joseph had cherished his animosity all these years and would now unleash this enmity at the death of his father. But Joseph had forgiven his brothers and not only saw the completeness of God’s plan but lived in and experienced its peace. Forgiveness triumphed over hatred.

These are my meditations on hate:

Hatred is a condition of the heart. It often ends in violence but it is born from pride, jealousy, envy, fear,… Jesus said "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

Few people experience True Hatred in the first person… a concerted and direct animosity from cherished sin intended to destroy – be it emotional, spiritual or physical destruction. I can think of 2, maybe 3 times in my life where I can say that I was the recipient of True Hatred.

Hatred changes the countenance of man. In perhaps the first manifestation of recorded hatred, it is obvious that hatred changed the countenance of Cain. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 5)

Hatred separates us from God. King David, also of the Old Testament, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66)

Hatred is a choice. By the grace of God, it is within our ability to escape its grasp through repentance. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15)

Discerning Moments

. . . it highly concerns us to know by what methods [nations] were founded; by what steps they rose to that exalted pitch of grandeur which we so much admire; what it was that constituted their true glory and felicity; and what were the causes of their declension and fall.

But another object of infinitely greater importance, claims our attention . . . [History] proclaims universally the greatness of the Almighty, his power, his justice, and, above all, the admirable wisdom with which His Providence governs the universe . . . that God disposes all events as supreme Lord and Sovereign; that he alone determines the fate of kings and the duration of empires; and that he transfers the government of kingdoms from one nation to another because of the unrighteous dealings and wickedness committed therein.

If the blessings of liberty are to be maintained, they need to be carefully identified and cherished by each generation. Let us not break faith with those whose blood was shed in behalf of us--their posterity. Let us be faithful to the next generations who follow us.

Rollin's Ancient History, 1730 quoted in Verna Hall's
The Christian History of the American Revolution: Consider and Ponder, p. 602, 604-605.