Picking God Out in the Crowd

On Beliefnet.com there is a feature that allows readers to share their favorite pictures of Jesus. There are images of Jesus dead on the cross. There is an image of a musclebound beefcakes kind of Jesus snapping the cross like a twig. There is a Dr. Doolittle kind of Jesus. There are all kinds of mental pictures of who Jesus is and what he might look like. A famous church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan, wrote a book "Jesus through the Centuries" that shows how different historical eras saw different things in him. In 1996, there was a popular song "One of Us?" by Joan Osborne that captures musically the fascination people have with what he would look like today. You may have heard Jim Carrey sing it in the movie Bruce Almighty. See it here.

There is a nice blessing in Numbers 6:22-26 that goes like this: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD’s face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD look upon you with favor and give you peace." When you imagine God's face what does it look like?

Jesus Prays in the Garden

The Lord's Prayer is not simply something Jesus came up with on the spot in response to questions from his disciples. It is something he lived. The intimacy we see in his calling out to "Abba" or "Dad" is clear and touching in the Garden of Gethsemane. As he prays there with his disciples struggling to keep it up, he reaches out for the only one who can comfort him in that moment. It's good to have friends around. Family provides a good base. But there are times when nothing less than an act of God will still the raging storms in our heads and our hearts. Jesus' prayer, "The Lord's Prayer," leads us to the place where God does act. It takes us on a spiritual journey to the innermost reaches of our heart where we are alone and safe to raise up our hands and arms and say "Dad". heqigallery.com/index.html The image posted here is from the He Qi Gallery. Check out the website.

OUR Daily Bread

One of the most often overlooked words of the Lord's Prayer is the word "our". Jesus said to pray for "our daily bread." Most often, I suspect, we personalize it to the point where the poor and hungry fall off our spiritual radar. But Jesus chose his words carefully. Receiving daily bread is something we do as a community. God provides all people thoughout the world with food. "Then why," you might ask, "are there so many hungry people?" Here are some facts on hunger from the ELCA's website: 854 million people are hungry --
In Developing nations 820 million people are undernourished, 1 billion people live on less than $1/day , 146 million children under age 5 are underweight, 10 million children under age 5 die every year, over half of hunger-related causes, 1 in 6 people is hungry, 1 in 6 people lacks safe drinking water. In
Industrialized/developed nations 9 million people are undernourished
In Transitional nations, 28 million people are undernourished

God does provide enough bread for the world. The problem is partly distribution. On Sunday, February 3, we participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring, a Sunday when Christians around the country contribute to help redistribute the bread. There are other well-known and effective ways to help end world hunger. Check out these websites:

http://www.bread.org

http://www.heifer.org

http://www.equalexchange.com

http://www.elca.org/hunger

What are your thoughts about daily bread?

The Lord's Prayer Sung in Aramaic

Angelina Jolie as Virgin Mary?

This painting of Angelina Jolie, "Blessed Art Thou" generated instant controversy from the moment of its exhibition at the Miami Art Fair in January of 2007, attracting coverage by all the major television networks as well as major print media outlets around the world. Commenting on the painting in a weblog post Kretz says, “I was raised on a regimen of Catholicism and Technicolor films. This rich, lurid vocabulary, full of resplendent light, is used as a seductive devise to pose questions about the more complex or convoluted aspects of the world surrounding me . . . . This painting addresses the celebrity worship cycle. The title, ‘Blessed Art Thou’, is taken from a line in the Catholic prayer ‘Hail Mary’: ‘blessed art thou among women.’ Our culture is deifying celebrities, but in the bible, it is the meek who are blessed, so the title presents a question for the viewer to ponder as to who is ‘blessed.’” (http://katekretz.blogspot.com/2006_12_1_archive.html)

It is a very interesting work of art. Matthew 5 reads: 1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying: 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

One of the surprises Jesus brings is a reversal of fortune. He came to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the lame. He came that the first might be last, the lost might be found, and the dead might rise. He often uses words that jump out at us to get across his point. Its the kind of thing you see with with the reality tv show "The Biggest Loser". Normally being a loser is a bad thing in our society. People use the sign of an "L" made with the thumb and forefinger on their forehead as an insult. To be the biggest loser is especially bad...but not on "The Biggest Loser". Really the biggest loser is the biggest winner.

Jesus reverses the fortunes of the world. Thou Art Blessed!

Public Displays of Affection

This video on You Tube was released on September 22, 2006, and by January 4, 2008, had gained just over 22 million views. According to the video summary, it was recorded in Sydney. In the video, the main character who is giving out hugs, (identified as "Juan Mann", a pseudonym and a homonym of "one man"), walks through the Pitt Street Mall holding up a sign with the words FREE HUGS written on it. Music for the video is provided by Sick Puppies, an Australian band that Mann met a year earlier. Shimon Moore, the lead singer of the Sick Puppies who worked at the mall, shot the footage which he later compiled into a video for the song. Initial distrust of Juan's motives eventually gave way to a gradual increase of people willing to be hugged, with other huggers (male and female) helping distribute them. After some time, security guards, then police told them they must stop, as Mann had not obtained public liability insurance worth $25 million for his actions. Mann and his companions used a petition to attempt to convince authorities that his campaign should be allowed to continue without the insurance. His petition reached 10,000 signatures. He submitted it and was allowed to continue giving free hugs.
There is a story in Acts of Paul preaching so long, a boy in the third story window fell asleep and then fell out. People were, of course, alarmed and upset. Paul went over to check on him, and then gave him a big hug.
"Paul went down, stretched himself on him, and hugged him hard. 'No more crying,' he said. 'There's life in him yet.' Then Paul got up and served the Master's Supper. And went on telling stories of the faith until dawn! On that note, they left—Paul going one way, the congregation another, leading the boy off alive, and full of life themselves." (Acts 20:10, The Message)
It never ceases to amaze me how powerful human touch is. It doesn't matter who you visit in the hospital, a kindly little old woman, or a big strapping dude -- both will reach out for a touch. You can hug them in their bed, hold their hand, or kiss them on the forehead when you leave. It doesn't matter how it is done, just that it is done.