God Is In Our Response

"I Was Sick And You Visited Me"

When we watch or hear the news we can be a bit overwhelmed with all of the negative stories. 

Once in a while we see a nice "puppy story" or a report about a person or group of people that may be working toward a better community, but there still seems to be a lot of negative incidents.

Death and violence are part of our nature, but so is life and good people working hard to better the small part of the vineyard they are in.

One such situation came to mind while I was at work the other day.  

I noticed a woman sitting on a bench under the tree with a man in a wheelchair.  It was one of those really hot and humid days and I wanted to take a few moments to appreciate the good in the world.

With so much violence in this community, one homicide occurring just a few blocks from where we were, I saw God in action.

I finished my task and took a walk across the street to spend a few moments with the two.  As I approached the two became clearer and I saw that the woman was holding the hand of the man who was physically unable to move about freely.

It reminded me of the passages in St. Matthew's Gospel, The sheep and the goats, 

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?…

There in the midst of a busy day was the Face of God, Christ, was sitting with a man under a tree comforting and enjoying the breeze on a summer day and I was quickly reminded that, indeed, God is alive.

People ask me all of the time; "Where is God in this messed up world?" My answer is; HE is in your response. God doesn't ask us to fix the world in a magical swing of a wand. 

You see, evil actions and events will occur.  Situations like starving children and violent acts pollute or mind everyday and we can easily become hardened to the needs of the world.

How can we cure or fix the entire world?  We can't unless we are in a position to do so, globally any way, but for most of us we are not asked to fix the world globally.  We are asked to work right where we are.

Seeing the face of God in a fellow human can be hard to see, but I wanted to share what I saw and remind you that it is not in the big things, necessarily, where we see God, but in the responses to the small things.

Spending time with each other is a wonderful way to spread love and be an example for others.

We may not be able to change the world but we can make our little part of the world a better place.

Look and you shall find! 

Violence In America

There is this need for people to answer the question "why?" when events happen that we have no explanation for or that seems to go against the major consensus in a culture.

For example, youth violence has been in the media lately across the land and in my hometown a 14-year-old boy shot an 18-year-old boy because he wanted the boys bike and was told "No."

The obvious questions that have been asked were directed at the parents and why didn't they watch over or instruct better or maybe why didn't the community get involved sooner.

When we look at American History, it's violent.  The entire history of humanity is violent.

When I was growing up we would pretend to chase and shoot the Indians, but I never felt that actually shooting a gun at someone was OK or chasing a group of people to kill was acceptable.

So, what's different today that alarms us so much?  One may propose that there is a media frenzy when there is a youth shooting and here is the secret ingredient; Mainstream Media and their agenda.

Let's look at the current news and ask; "Why has it been prepared this way for us?"

There is a young man that is draped in a Confederate flag and kills 9 people at a church. There are police officers that shoot innocent, unarmed people for no apparent other than not agreeing to submit to the orders of police.

What do you see in your minds eye when I describe this scenario: "Hundreds killed and more wounded when a late night attack by Insurgents led to the capture and control of the citizens town of. . ."  "Wiretaps Reveal Criminal Activity and Plots"  "Concentration Camp Occupants Rally and Demand To Be Treated Fairly"
"No More Welfare For Those That Don't Need It"  "Drug Test To Be Used Before Receiving Governmental Aid."

Did you think about Christopher Columbus, Richard Nixon, Newt Ginrich, Power Companys and General Motors, and the last one I just thought would be interesting; If we tested the people that would benefit from the Federal subsidies and tax breaks, would they pass?

Here is the skinny- We LIE!  we lie to the kids in school about the murderous and felonious activity of a man we celebrate as a holiday, Christopher Columbus.  Newt Gingrich lobbied for support of "less government involvement" while what he really meant was less involvement when it comes to the rich, not the poor.  General motors and Electric companies (parent companies) have been given hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks and government subsidies.

We got all in arms over the confederate flag while ignoring the crimes of our own flag.  We branded Eric Snowden a treasonous felon because he, at the very least, brought the criminal U.S. activities to light.

The inner city and urban populations are no more than "concentration camps" that are crime infested because of the oppression.  Our economic growth is violent and survived because of slave labor.  Slave labor is working for minimum wages so there is a privileged sector that keeps the slave down and vulnerable.  Ask any parent that works for minimum wage if they can afford to challenge injustices and poor working conditions.

So, Where is God?  In the Truth that sets us free, accountability.  When Jesus said; "How do you notice the splinter in your neibors eye and ignore the plank in our eye" We need to see the truth and that is hard to do when we are not informed.
The youth of this world see violence from their first days in school, American history is violent, and the media confirms the continued violence.

Humanity is violent, so why are we surprised to see a 14-year-old shoot another over a bike, when we have been taught history through a clouded and dirty lens?  Is this any different than the way we have treated people in our history?  We want America, Indian, so we are taking it and killing you or putting you on segregated land.

Accountability will go a long way, and it may be violent, too.

Be Jesus for each other.

Terrorism and Jesus.

There was a news feed showing up on my facebook relating a story regarding a Nazi War Criminal that is on trial for his participation during the holocaust.  (link provided)
http://thebea.st/1KvT5nP

What continues to baffle me is when I read these stories and then I see the same acts of violence on humanity.  There have been numerous accounts of the United States committing atrocities throughout the world and we don't view it as such.

There are terrorist acts committed daily within the United States too.  (link provided) 
http://bit.ly/1LQKu03

When I think about how this applies to finding God it's as difficult to see as the Christ who stood in front of Pilate bloodied and beaten.  Pilate asked; "What is Truth?" The Truth was in front of him and he couldn't see it.  He couldn't see the truth because it was covered up with blood. We can't see the truth because it's covered up with the propaganda that shrouds the cultures senses. 

If we can proclaim Christ and His Gospel, then we need to proclaim the injustices that bloody our cultures. OUR culture is guilty of terrorism unless we adapt the Relativism theory.  We oppress diverse minds and thought through the pretext of Americanism.  If you don't believe in the Christ, believe in the good for humanity.

If you don't agree with oppressing Muslims, because of the rogue actions of radical Muslims, you are labeled anti-American.  

If you don't agree with equal rights for "non-traditional" marriages you are labeled a dissenter.

If you fight for the rights of those who have not (globally) you are a "bleeding heart liberal."

Jesus fought against the hypocrisy, The Woman Caught in Adultery and Healing of the Sick on the Sabbath. 
Get the idea?  Keep fighting!  You're in good company.  Jesus faced hypocrites in his day and was faced with the same responses that those who fight for the rights of justice and equality face today, "Even unto death" 

If we are not hypocrites then let's stop acting like hypocrites.  If we are, we need to stop.  "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Here are some good sources to research.
Moral Truism-
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/200310--.pdf
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10312.htm

Moral Relativism-
Moral relativism is the view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are culturally based, and, therefore, subject to a person's individual choice. We can all decide what is right for ourselves. You decide what's right for you, and I'll decide what's right for me. Moral relativism says, "It's true for me, if I believe it."
Terrorism- 
The Department of Defense Dictionary of Military Terms defines terrorism as: The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.

Memorial Day, A Time To Remember

There are plenty of social media venues that are posting about the purpose of today's holiday.
Memorial Day, a time to remember those who fought for the freedom of the country and the citizens.
My brother fought in VietNam and was never the same again.  I can't imagine the horrors that come along with being engaged in a war or police action but what I do know is that many lives were permanently changed due to the wars.
My brother, John, was one of them.  At age 18 he went to war and when he returned he was severely altered psychologically and never the same again, in fact, the rest of his adult life has been torturous.  John has very serious issues as a result of the war.
John suffered from what we now know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  There is no pretty side of a war and for those who have family and friends or may have served in war know all too well what follows.
I had a professor in college that remarked about a vet that had lost all limbs; "Geez, that guy has short arms and legs."  Initially, the class was taken back, but he opened up a dialogue that was fascinating.  The point of the comment was to get people to think of the results after all is over.  There are real people that suffer and this war decision is not one to take lightly.
There were staunch military supporters and those that had beliefs that were not as supportive of the military and no matter what the individual views were I wanted to see why they had their views.
Most, unfortunately, they acquired them from a family structure that was a military biased source and never investigated the reality of their belief. They had not thought for themselves.
It's sorta like people that affiliate with a religious denomination that never look into the "telescope" (A reference to the Galileo trial)
I have a perpetual gratitude for my "freedom" and while the system is flawed, it may be the best the world has to offer.
What I have a problem with is the multitude of KIDS that go off to war with this delusion that they are effecting a change for the better and risk their life for a lie. They return without limbs, they have PTSD, and a host of other issues.  They also don't make it home.
When the camera goes off, someone still has to care for them.  There are huge costs to the human population, that fight and are in military actions, which we don't always consider.
VietNam, from a political standpoint, was a sham and on a human level was an atrocity.

"The American war was criminal in two major respects.  Like the Dominican intervention and the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, it was a case of aggression, conscious and premeditated. In 1954, the National Security Council stated that the US reserved the right to use force "to defeat local Communist subversion or rebellion not constituting armed attack,", i.e., in violation of "the supreme law of the land." The US acted on this doctrine. Furthermore, the conduct of the war was an indescribable atrocity. The US goal was to eradicate the revolutionary nationalist forces that, US officials estimated, enjoyed the support of half the population. The method, inevitably, was to destroy the rural society. During the war of annihilation partially succeeded in this aim, the US was never able to create a workable system out of the wreckage."  
~Noam Chomsky~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwQLj7MIk4o

I will fight for the right of truth, I would die to defend the freedom and liberty of ANY person, I won't die for Congress, big business, and propaganda that poses as American Loyalty.

Since World War II the US has murdered roughly 60 million innocent people all over the world and ruined the lives of hundreds of millions more, in CIA and military “interventions.” (The 60 million figure comes from Chomsky and Vltchek’s book On Western Terrorism; for some of the details, read William Blum’s book entitled Killing Hope.) This so-called American Holocaust of post-World War II crimes, like the holocaust of African slaves and the holocaust of Native Americans, dwarfs the Nazi holocaust against Jews, gypsies, and communists.

We, Westerners, are free to grossly underestimate the number of victims of our own holocausts. But anyone who argues that significantly fewer than six million Jews were killed by the Nazis risks imprisonment. Is “Holocaust denial” illegal because the revisionist arguments cannot be successfully countered using logic and evidence? Or are these laws and prosecutions simply the neurotic symptom of a West that demonized the Nazis in order to cover up its own crimes, and conceal its own guilt?

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/03/21/ww2myths/

Where is God in all of this?  In the TRUTH, we are obligated to search for and write about, so we don't repeat history.  

There are very good reasons that people like Noam Chomsky are labeled anti-American, pacifist, fanatical, and conspiracy kooks.  It's because, like Socrates, the gadfly MUST poke the horse.  There MUST be people to challenge the ideas and current beliefs to be the conscience for the people.  

WE The People are in fact WE.

May God Bless all of our troops and their commanders that they may always be protected and guided by the Truth of Christ!

"The Good Shepherd"

The Good Shepherd, what does that mean to you?  The good shepherd lays down his/her life for the sheep.  

Now, we don't have to be martyrs to lay down our life.  Life can be giving up things we may selfishly desire or have that keeps the sheep in danger.

If the shepherd leaves the sheep in the field because there is a party or maybe he/she is tired and decides to take a nap when the sheep are vulnerable the shepherd is failing the sheep.

There is a very real responsibility to our call to be the shepherd.  There also is a responsibility to transform the sheep the shepherd.

This parable is only a way to glimpse into the world of Jesus at the time it was written.  We are called to be the shepherd to those who need help and part of the call is teaching the sheep to be shepherd, free and independent from the shepherd that they may lead, too.

We cannot be caught up in the restricted, narrow minded, and literal words of the parable.  We need to look past that and really see that this shepherd is accessible and loving, so much so that the desire is that sheep grow and become the shepherd with their own flock to shepherd.

Let's bring that to our life.  Simply, it's being a parent, sibling, friend or stranger.  The actions and words that we perform each day is the shepherding and the listening and attentiveness to those around us is growth of the sheep.

We are not called to be dependent, indecisive, or fearful people.  We, free from ego, will naturally grow together because that Divine Light shines in each of us.  There is no fear of evil when we remove the ego, the freedom of Love will conquer it.

Perfect Love casts all evil, remember that!  Perfect Love is that Divine Light that shines in us and the great thing is as you an I breathe each breath,  we are breathing the life of God.

We got away from that as a church.  We took Jesus out of the field and placed Him on a throne way out of reach.  Our church architecture, also,  showed it to us and that was a powerful illustration for the people that still keeps us captive.

Be free and know that the Spirit of the living God is in each of us and no matter the prejudices passed on from the "little sheep" generations, we are called to a greater understanding that we, too, may become shepherds.

My prayer: "May I always see Christ in others and may those I meet always see Christ in me."

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Entering this Holy Week, let us be ever mindful of the sacrifice of the Son for the atonement of our sins.

The Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the world presented himself as an offering to fulfill the Sacred Scripture and lead humanity from the chains of death.

"O' Death where is your victory, O' death where is your sting?"

Be still and meditate on this beautiful Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

bit.ly/1CMf1tx

Hosanna!

Rob Lopez

The account of Christ riding into Jerusalem on an ass fulfilled the prophecies from ages prior and the greeting that Christ received was similar to a presidential inauguration.

The people are only concerned with their individual problems and Jesus is no performer that does a trick upon request.

The misguided joy and excitement that is surrounding this entry into the holy city must have been one of the most difficult moments that Jesus went through.

I assert that the pain of knowing that people don't "get it" is worse that the pain of a crucifixion. There is a definitive end to a crucifixion.  

Hammering nails in a person's hands and feet are horrible but with the knowledge that people "don't get it" there is a perpetual pain that greets you daily and for a lifetime.

Jesus said many times that his closest friends "don't get it" and how did He expect strangers, that only wanted someone to overthrow the present governmental state to understand.

Palms waving and cheering crowds are surely met with a sad heart.  Jesus knew what was coming and the "blindness" he so often spoke of was right in front of him.

If only we can SEE with the heart of Christ.  If only we STAND with an understanding of LOVE.  If only we could LIVE with trusting more in the Steersman than with our plans.

Palm Sunday begins Passion week, the final journey to calvary.  We stand cheering with an expectation of a trick or favor only to be disappointed in the realization that Jesus does no tricks and favors.

Now, what do we do?  We crucify him and look for someone who will fulfill our need.

This brings us to our life, today, in 2015.  Holy Week is a time to LIVE in the life of Christ in those final days.

Be well my readers and know God Loves us ALL, in spite of our selfish ways.  The cheering should be at the tomb on Sunday when we are saved and not by our standards.