GOT SOUL?

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3

 

I call myself a “reborn Christian.” I was not a believer, and now I am, a circuitous route for me, to be sure. But since the day I decided to lay my life at the foot of the cross, I have never, not for one day, thought my faith was failing. My belief that my lost soul could not have found its way out of the deep mire without the saving power of Jesus Christ, Son of God, is as natural to me as breathing.

 

Recently, I read something written by Franciscan priest Richard Rohr*: “My sense, after being a priest for almost 50 years, is that most Christians are trying to save something they have not even found.” Rohr seems to give us wretched humans a pass. “The soul,” he continues, “is the blueprint inside every living thing that tells it what it is and what it can become” (italics mine). So…Jesus isn’t needed here? This “soul” theory applies to every living thing? My dog, the blooming Catalpa tree in my yard, the fish my husband catches and releases? God created all those living things, but do they have…souls? And does that mean I’ll see all those dogs I’ve loved and lost in heaven along with the human varieties in the same category (loved and lost, not dog-like)?

 

But just when I am confused enough about this “born again” thing, Rohr* gives me this quote by Barbara Brown Taylor: “You only need to lose track of who you are, or who you thought you were supposed to be, so that you end up lying flat on the dirt floor basement of your heart. Do this, Jesus says, and you will live.” So now it starts to make sense: becoming “born again” can happen to any of us, at various times in our lives, more than once, even! This is what my Aunt Bess meant when she said she’d been “born again” several times! When we get to the end of ourselves and we realize we are completely off the rails (which has happened to me more times than I care to admit), God will take us back. Again! Born again, again.

 

Praise You, Lord, that You gave us souls and help us keep discoverimg them! Amen

 

Quotations are from the daily devotional writings of Father Richard Rohr, “a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard’s teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy—practices of contemplation and self-emptying, expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized” (from the website https://cac.org/richard-rohr/richard-rohr-ofm/ )

 

GOT SOUL?

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3

 

I call myself a “reborn Christian.” I was not a believer, and now I am, a circuitous route for me, to be sure. But since the day I decided to lay my life at the foot of the cross, I have never, not for one day, thought my faith was failing. My belief that my lost soul could not have found its way out of the deep mire without the saving power of Jesus Christ, Son of God, is as natural to me as breathing.

 

Recently, I read something written by Franciscan priest Richard Rohr*: “My sense, after being a priest for almost 50 years, is that most Christians are trying to save something they have not even found.” Rohr seems to give us wretched humans a pass. “The soul,” he continues, “is the blueprint inside every living thing that tells it what it is and what it can become” (italics mine). So…Jesus isn’t needed here? This “soul” theory applies to every living thing? My dog, the blooming Catalpa tree in my yard, the fish my husband catches and releases? God created all those living things, but do they have…souls? And does that mean I’ll see all those dogs I’ve loved and lost in heaven along with the human varieties in the same category (loved and lost, not dog-like)?

 

But just when I am confused enough about this “born again” thing, Rohr* gives me this quote by Barbara Brown Taylor: “You only need to lose track of who you are, or who you thought you were supposed to be, so that you end up lying flat on the dirt floor basement of your heart. Do this, Jesus says, and you will live.” So now it starts to make sense: becoming “born again” can happen to any of us, at various times in our lives, more than once, even! This is what my Aunt Bess meant when she said she’d been “born again” several times! When we get to the end of ourselves and we realize we are completely off the rails (which has happened to me more times than I care to admit), God will take us back. Again! Born again, again.

 

Praise You, Lord, that You gave us souls and help us keep discoverimg them! Amen

 

Quotations are from the daily devotional writings of Father Richard Rohr, “a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard’s teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy—practices of contemplation and self-emptying, expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized” (from the website https://cac.org/richard-rohr/richard-rohr-ofm/ )

LIBRARIAN LIFE SAVERS

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

 

Quick: what do a librarian and a paramedic have in common? I doubt the first thing you thought of was that they both might know something about saving lives! But for some librarians in certain parts of the United States, providing emergency first aid has indeed become part of their job description. For some time now, public reading rooms have been a haven for homeless and disenfranchised people who need a place to escape the elements, just pass the time, and maybe to use the bathroom to shoot up. As the opioid epidemic grows exponentially, public library staff are finding themselves on the action end of helping those whose drug use leads to life-threatening overdoses. At McPherson Square Library in one of Philadelphia’s toughest neighborhoods, staff member Chera Kowalski regularly springs into action. One day, she might administer CPR until an ambulance arrives. Another day, it’s using her Narcane administration training to revive a user who has overdosed. “It’s not normal,” she says, “but it’s their normal.” She and other librarians in the country’s inner cities and rural neighborhoods are just doing what they have to do, not what they were trained to do in library science classes.

 

I am reminded of Jesus’ words, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15). The writer of 1 John tells us it is our duty to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. What does that mean, exactly, in this world of comfort for many and hard times for many more? Are we to die for another? Perhaps. But what if “laying down our life for another” means giving our time, our skills, and our concern, even when it means going out of our comfort zone to do just that. It’s rising to the occasion, even when that “occasion” wasn’t what we signed up for. It’s courage to do the next right thing, as Jesus would have us do.

 

Lord, give me the audacity to serve others without one thought of whether or not I should. Amen

I SEE YOU

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” “You see the people crowding against You,” His disciples answered, “and yet You can ask, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” Mark 5:30-31

 

How important is it to us to be noticed? Perhaps not all that important, if we feel pretty good about ourselves, if we have a fair degree of self-esteem and can go about our business unconcerned about what others think of us. But what of our brothers and sisters who long for someone to show them concern, who may not have the worldly status and possessions we so easily take for granted?

 

The huge crowd was crushing against Jesus when suddenly He asked, “Who touched Me?” What an incredulous question, the disciples thought! What does it matter who touched Him, when so many were there? But in His mind’s eye, Jesus knew one particular person had brushed His clothing. And not just any person, but a woman who had said to herself, “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed….“(v. 28). And she was healed; she immediately felt that the bleeding she had endured for twelve long years was gone! Her faith was that strong. But when Christ called attention to her, she “came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth” (v. 33). Had she made some great mistake, expecting that Jesus might see her as someone worthy of receiving His healing? He had indeed “seen” her, and He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (v. 34).

Jesus had a special way of looking at people—the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:7-10), little Zacchaeus in the tree (Luke 19:5), Nathanael before He had even met him (John 1:48)—and really seeing them, deep down in their souls. His gaze was the difference between making someone feel inconsequential and making them know He loved them. Can we look at the people we meet in this world and really see them, not for their outward appearances, but as Christ sees them?

Lord, help me see those who cross my path in this life with the eyes of Christ, to honor Him and love His children as He loves them. Amen

Meg Blaine Corrigan is the author of three books: Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child; Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist; and Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico and has worked with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and war veterans.  Her books may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .

AS YOURSELF

He has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. Psalm 22:24

 

According to Wikipedia, “We Are the World” is a song written in 1985 to raise money for African famine relief. Harry Belafonte first conceived the idea, and Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie were tasked with writing the song. Completed just one night before the song’s first recording session, the historic event brought together some of the most famous musical artists of that time. The song was a worldwide success and garnered over $63 million ($141 million in today’s dollars) for humanitarian aid for African and the USA. Not surprisingly, the recording was the first single ever to be awarded a Quadruple Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January, 2010, a remake of the song by another all-star cast, entitled “We Are the World 25 for Haiti,” raised money to aid survivors in the impoverished island nation.

 

“It’s true we’ll make a brighter day/Just you and me,” the song says, “We are the world/We are the children….So let’s start giving.” And give they did. People all over the planet showed that all nations, tribes and tongues are capable of coming together to help their global neighbors. This phenomenon is repeated over and over, when horrendous natural disasters occur, when wars tear nations apart, when children are hungry, when neighbors are in need. There will always be human need that can only be met by the kindness from other humans. This is the reality of living in our broken world.

 

Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was. He said, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” He continued, “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31). The part of this passage that touches me the most is “as yourself.” God made us in His image, and we are to grow into that image. And when we see God in ourselves, we cannot fail to see God in every one of our fellow human beings.

 

Healing Father, make us a part of this mixed up human race, all together, every day. Amen