I Wonder...from inward/outward

I experienced a few things at FreeSpace nearly 2 weeks ago that I have wanted to write about. I simply haven't made the time.

For now, another entry from the inward/outward blog:

I wonder what would happen if
I treated everyone like I was in love
with them, whether I like them or not
and whether they respond or not and no matter
what they say or do to me and even if I see
things in them which are ugly twisted petty
cruel vain deceitful indifferent, just accept
all that and turn my attention to some small
weak tender hidden part and keep my eyes on
that until it shines like a beam of light
like a bonfire I can warm my hands by and trust
it to burn away all the waste which is not
never was my business to meddle with.

Source: Pilgrimage, An Exploration Into God, by Ivor Smith-Cameron

technorati tags
broken heart manifesto

Love Your Enemies

Jillian, Jude and I attended a peace vigil for the Iraq war on Tuesday evening. Here's a shot of Jude in his Mei Tai baby carrier and the sign I made (thanks to Thomas Knoll for the broken heart image).

It was an interesting night. The first sign I paid attention to was one held by an elderly lady sitting on her walker/chair. It said, "Make soup, not war." Nice.

It was interesting to see people's responses as they drove by. Many more people honked or gave us the peace sign than yelled demeaning/confrontational things. But really, people seemed to try to avoid eye contact with me.

One bold young man was stopped at the red light with his girlfriend in the car. He looked at my sign, looked ahead, and then stood up through his open sunroof and shouted, "George Bush is the shit!" I smiled while his girlfriend shot him a look, shrunk down in her seat, and gave me a timid smile while mouthing the words, "I'm sorry."

Another young man yelled as they pulled away from the light, "Our enemies hate us!"

It reminded me just how polarizing and counter-cultural the Gospel really is. It really isn't a rational thing, is it? To go the extra mile; to turn the other cheek; to be a leader washing people's feet. But this is just part of what it means to follow the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Help us to love well, Lord. And help us to love the enemies in our own day-to-day lives as we proclaim Your message of love and reconciliation. Amen.

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broken heart manifesto, bhmt07, iraq war

broken heart manifesto: entry 01

my friend thomas has posted the brokenheartmanifesto and i think it's really, really great.

in light of my decision to not just try to follow his efforts but instead joining in as a signatory, here's my first offering:

tonight was the last night of my 2 youth groups' "summer park nights" at the field of the local elementary school. a good turnout for us this summer (7 kids + me = a decent game of kickball); one freshman boy was having his birthday party tonight, so he invited his friends to come to the park first. brilliant!

while we threw around a football waiting for others to arrive, a group of skateboarders showed up at the other end of the park. there were at least 5 or 6 guys, all high school age. i noticed they had a few frisbees and a football (we have played ultimate a few times this summer), so i suggested we should maybe see if they wanted to join in.

everyone kind of stuttered and stammered. i was a bit surprised how fearful they seemed. nobody thought it was a good idea to approach this crowd. i let it lie, and we started our game.

i asked the group 2 more times while we played. the other kids had descended the hill to the opposite side of the long playing field and were casually tossing a football and their frisbees. still, my crew did not want to invite them over. one girl said, "i know it would be the very christian thing to do." but even with that realization the answer was still, "no." a few of my kids had overheard someone saying something about stolen cigarettes, and they also seemed to think it was a crowd that i could walk up to and ask for some weed.

part of me wishes i had made the decision as the youth group leader to be an example and walk over and invite the other group to join us. another part of me wants to respect where my kids are at and find some way to make this a teachable moment without causing them too much anxiety.

so much for "no one else will love for me."

suggestions?

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broken heart manifesto, bhmt04