"Be a Blessing"

Perhaps one of the toughest challenges in our interactions with others,and there are many, is to not repay the harm another has done with the same,but instead repay them with a blessing. New testament scriptures which come to mind are Galatians 5:14: ¹⁴For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this;Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself and I Peter 3:8-11,"8...be like minded,be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with a blessing,because of this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue` from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek and pursue it (NIV).  In the Old Testament, Leviticus 19:18 states "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself"; 

I don't think it would be an overstatement to say that many have fallen short of the glory of god on this one. Getting even, making sure someone pays for doing you wrong and "tit for tat" can be tempting traps to fall into, if not simply perceived as the needed way to respond. In a world full of trouble, unexpected trials,unfair dealing, push and pull among factions for power and control, to do what is justified and timely to alleviate human suffering borne of war, and the constant strivings of the individual to come out ahead and ontop at the office, the political contest and other public forums is something with which we grapple continually. 

During this election season, the political ads are fired off with an intensity that makes you wonder if the insults and the tearing down would ever be replaced with a fuller examination of the issues and the candidates' true value. Toss into the arena daily back and forths and casual spats among family members and serious slights and abuses which strangers and sometimes close friends hurl at one another either intentionally or unintentionally.

The  Golden Rule which just about every religion and spiritual culture in the world has applied as an ethical principal since ancient times, crossing the boundaries of religious practice and applied by world cultures to resolve issues,"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" needs to rain down on us today. Like a mighty cloudburst, as it could stand broader and stauncher application today. A great number of prominent religious figures and philosophers have restated its reciprocal, "two-way" nature in various ways...1 

The simple question,  piercing in its accuracy is what will your ultimate act be? How will you respond when flashbacks of the bad things done to you by another i.e., the hurt, the inconvenience,trouble and trauma tug on your heart and mind?  Will your heart strings, your compassion and natural inclination for decency spur you on to do good, respond to the help for request and be a blessing? Will you give them a drink of water when they are thirsty? Or will you cut off the faucet as you reflect on the ugly things they have done to you?  If they are hungry, do you share your food or instead close the pantry door and lock it up?

Pray to God for guidance as you work through the challenge and strive to"Be a blessing..."

In the words of the song by Mary,Mary "Go Get It , Go get your blessing...Its your time. You can also be a blessing! Be a blessing. It's your time...

Cynthia Wilson
_________

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule

A Balm in Gilead...Lay Your [Automatic] Weapons Down:The Weapons War Revisited Locally and Globally at Aurora,Colorado

To the horror of many, on July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms.

Calling on the faithful, the prayerful people of God to pray and for God to send a powerful healing balm to that community.

The Balm in Gilead, that Biblical medicinal  healing balm, derived from a plant which has reached mythical porportions in culture and religion, made reference to in scripture, literary books, articles, poems and song is once again implored to present itself as a remedy, if not spiritual panacea for the troubled spirit of these times. This spirit which some have labeled evil, has embodied and manifested itself once again in the physical frame of a young low key, quiet, shy suburban man. This profile  has come in recent years to epitomize an unimaginable weapons war, the likes of which we have never before experienced in outlying quiet rural areas and suburbs.

 The serene locales of our society which have always until Columbine,Virginia Tech and now Aurora have been havens of safety, if not in actuality at least in our minds.  Real mad men are the soldiers who as if out of nowhere appear upon occassion, citing the lines or making reference to a new movie or song release, as monsters firing machine guns propelling bullets snuffing out the lives of unsuspecting grown folks and their innocent children.

 The “balm in Gilead” is a reference from the Old Testament, but the lyrics of this spiritual refer to the New Testament concept of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Balm of Gilead is interpreted as a spiritual medicine that is able to heal Israel (and sinners in general). In the Old Testament, the balm of Gilead is taken most directly from Jeremiah chapter 8:22: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Jeremiah 8:22


The obvious understanding for both; "my people" and "the daughter of my people" in Jeremiah 8:22 refers to the Jewish people living in the land of Israel. Rabbinic commentators like Rashi interpreted the balm as a metaphor for teachers, as if to say

 "Did they not have any righteous men from whom to learn so that they should improve their ways?"

Some Christians interpret this same passage as a prophetic allusion to Jesus. This symbol recurs in some Christian hymns and popular song lyrics. In the refrain to the gospel song "Healing" (1999), Richard Smallwood and his choir ensemble sing the assertion "There is a balm in Gilead".

We call on god, our great and nagnificent healer to comfort and heal now i  the mighty and matchless name of Jesus. Let there be a Balm in Gilead to bring healing and comfort to the victims of this atrocity and their grieving families. Keep them all lifted in prayer. Continue to pray for victims of gun violence everywhere as well as the proponents of harmful weapons and other killing machines that could only based on obvious design and construction be purposed for mass murder. 

Pray for forgiveness and that god will intervene and help us improve our ways.

Give Whitney Good Love,Prayer and Care

Image Credit- Richard Avedon, Arista Records-Public Domain-Wikipedia

As our hearts break upon the recent and unbelievable news of yet another beloved music icon's untimely death,let us pray to god for her and her family. Let us also pray to god to help in the understanding and healing transformation of a cultural pathology which makes death at a young age so common among our great recording artists. Such a sad fact to face on this Sunday morning that Whitney Houston will no longer be here among us. Yet many of us will find a measure of consolation in her phenomenal talent which remains worthy of respect and celebration beyond her years.

 Perhaps we should question intently the quality of care provided our treasured artists with the same degree of fervor and zeal we purchase their records,concert tickets,download their music and clamor for more. Rest in peace and may god rest your soul...

Prayers of comfort and consolation go out to her family.

Cynthia Wilson,the Chaplain of Pop

Edited 5.19.26 to include image and sentence extending prayers of comfort and consolation  to her family.

Restoring A Sense of Home:The Great Foreclosure Settlement

 The administration and those negotiating the recent multi-billion dollar (26 billion)settlement with the banks have inspired confidence that the country is on the right track,set on a firm course to obtain a just and fair result. Individual homeowners and entire communities devastated by questionable banking practices which resulted in unprecedented foreclosures can now see hope on the horizon. It is a substantive start and provides significant momentum for the pending investigation underway with the Housing Fraud committee. It is heartening that this settlement was reached. Good faith efforts to heal the housing crisis will go a long way in off-setting the banks'  image of insensitivity and  indifference to homeowners. It also restores a sense of home to those who are being foreclosed or currently have mortgages under water. The 2,000 opportunity could help to get some homewoners into another house or dwelling until they get on their feet.

Caring Big:Written On The Heart and Minds

"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."Hebrews 10:16

Part of the problem with those who take advantage of the woes of those lacking in material resources  to operate their personal lives and businesses successfully is an apparent refusal to think and share big. In a free enterprise system where rugged individualism and profit motives "I got mine,you can get yours" have been accepted as a matter of course and advocated as necessary evils in the scheme of things, those of goodwill can't help but wonder if it is at all as simple as that. With many people currently jobless and homeless many ask why couldn't morsels of those trillions and billions which bailed the banks out have at least trickled down in the thousands or hundreds to those who are still without homes as a result of the foreclosure crisis? Why couldn't money have been thrown into some form of employment pool with the same degree of fervor and urgency as the funds allocated to the banks?

Several praying women, pressed to the point of righteous indignation by the drastic state of homelessness and abandonment of homes which they have witnesses in their communities felt the need to call members of their community together to voice their concerns in a letter writing campaign to government officials. Inspired by the work of Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize recipients who inspired the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell, spiritual leader and minister of Transforming Love Community in Detroit,Michigan recently led a writing seminar for women in the community. The purpose was to come together as concerned,praying and caring women of god inspired, moved and called to make a difference by writing their concerns in letter form about the plight of their city as witnessed by each in their service to the community,on the job, in their churches and in their neighborhoods.

The problem:the housing and foreclosure issue and how it has ravaged Detroit, destabilized the communities of church members and left many unexpectedly homeless i.e., the people you would least expect. Where two or more are gathered in his name, god is in the midst. That goes as much for spoken as written prayers. When a community comes together and cares big enough to wage a letter writing campaign-writing on paper what they hope to ultimately be written on the heart, the message is bound to get through to those who can do something to help.