[Propertalk] Fwd: RE: All Saints' Day - Part 2

[joeparrish]

Forwarded from Bob Morrison:


From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.

-------- Original message --------
From: robertpmorrison at charter.net 
Date:10/31/2015  11:07 AM  (GMT-05:00) 
To: 'joeparrish' <joeparrish at compuserve.com> 
Subject: RE: All Saints' Day 

Part 2

            There ARE some things that seem to be able to tie us up in knots, that make us feel as if were dead, or as good as. Anything which makes us imagine that our lives have lost their meaning; anything which seems to impel us to sit in our chairs and not move, even finding the activity of eating and interacting with others too much; these can paralyse us hold us fast physically. And the same goes for mental activity. Rocky challenges, changes of many kinds, can arrest our minds and make us feel quite isolated, as if shut away and unable to come out of our funk.
            The pressures on our lives these days CAN be enormous. Still, Jesus comes, speaking sometimes loudly, sometimes softly, sometimes unrecognisably, talking about what may not seem to make any sense at all. After all, grave clothes and stone-sealed tombs DO seem pretty final! Jesus comes, Jesus speaks directly to us, telling us to come out, to risk engaging in the different, the dangerous, the impossible, He invites us to let Him unbind us from everything which imprisons us and keeps us from discovering how much joy there is in knowing that our souls – every one of them – the souls of all the other righteous are in the hand of God. I mean, really, that DOES cut away at the bandages of fear, doesn’t it?
            Even in the midst of rocks, of deserts, of troubles, of challenges, of loneliness of every sort, God is present to offer hope and reassurance that all shall be will. THIS was what helped keep our familial and spiritual ancestors going. This is what enabled them to keep working through all sorts of discouragements and disappointments.
            I remember reading one of those hand-calligraphed cards on which there was a fascinating inscription. To paraphrase, it said, “Saints were not saints because they were fantastically great. Or world-renowned, or even particularly honoured in their communities. We call them saints – God recognises them as saints – because they persevered; they travailed; they shared; they followed in the footsteps of others, who followed in the footsteps of others, who followed in the footsteps of Jesus and the disciples, and Lazarus! And they did that so that each generation could, in turn, show those who came after them that God’s Presence was and always will be in our midst.
            This Feast of All the Saints is an opportunity for us to take great hope, and to say “Thank God for Jesus. Thank God for our ancestors or family and congregation friends. Thank God for Lazarus.
            Why for Lazarus? Well, having been brought into new life, he devoted himself to spreading the Gospel that Jesus taught. He was given courage. He found depth of faith. He found that he had abilities that he could use to impact the lives of others and set them back on their own paths. And he was SO successful at this that, “according to Orthodox tradition, sometime after the Resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea because of rumoured plots on his life and came to Cyprus.” 2 He was too much of a threat to those who weren’t interested in dealing with those who were struggling beyond making sure that they could squeeze the last coin out of them. Lazarus had been so unbound, he’d taken to heart that his soul, and those of all the righteous, was in the hand of God, that he wouldn’t let anything stop him.
            I wonder if the verse from The Wisdom of Solomon and the story of Lazarus are given us this day as some sort of a parable about never avoiding anything, even the things that makes us uneasy, the things that we can’t understand, or feel that we can do nothing about. Is this not a parable for us in this room, at this very moment, encouraging us, at the voice of Jesus calling out, to unwrap ourselves and our friends from everything that inhibits life, and love, and happiness, and productivity, to believe that NOTHING can keep love and life from bringing miracles in our midst.
            Brother Geoffrey Tristram, who leads the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, wrote something that encouraged me. “Over the years, in spite of all the easy in which I have been foolish, made mistakes, been faithless – with my hand on my heart – God has always been faithful.” 3
            And as one really encouraging sign of Jesus unbinding people in our own day. Think about Kobi Tzafrir “the owner of the Hummus Bar at the M Mall in Kfar Vitkin”. In the midst of all the terror and killing, he’s advertising, “Scared of Arabs? Scared of Jews? With us there are no Arabs, but also no Jews. With us there are people! And genuine excellent Arabic hummus! And Jewish, excellent praiseworthy falafel with free refill on every hummus, whether you're Arabs, Jews, Christians or Indians. Special bargain: 50% discount on hummus to a table where Arabs and Jews sit together. Valid Sun-Thurs.” 4
            What an unbinding might there be there? And what of Albany? What unbinding will come to us, will be accomplished by us – especially as we think of each of those we’ll name in a moment?
            As Kfar said, “If there's anything that can bring together these peoples, it’s hummus.”
 

NOTES:

[1]           “The Raising of Lazarus” by Duccio di Buoninsegna (c. 1255-1260 – c. 1318-1319)  - Google Art Project.jpg



2           See   Church of Saint Lazarus, Larnaca - Wikipedia, the free ...  https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Church_of_Saint_Lazarus,_Larnaca    



3           “Compassion”, Brother Geoffrey Tristram, “Brother give us a word”, 24th October, 2015. ssje.org/word/ 
 
4           “An Israeli hummus cafe is giving 50 per cent off to Jews and Arabs who eat together
19th October, 2015” Posted by Matthew Champion in news
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/an-israeli-hummus-cafe-is-giving-50-per-cent-off-to-jews-and-arabs-who-eat-together--WyxvWQdJdl




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