Prophesy fulfilled?
2014
You may have missed it, but a new religion has started:”Yeezianity,” the worship of Kanye West. No, I am not kidding. The Daily Mail interviewed the founder, Brian Liebman, 23, of Westchester, N.Y. Liebman believes West is a “divine being sent by God to usher in a new age of humanity…The idea of becoming like Jesus is intimidating, it is blinding. His perfection is so unbelievable, like looking at the sun. But Yeezus [West] is attainable. People can be like that, so Yeezus, I believe, is a stepping stone to Jesus. In other words, Yeezus is a realistic current day model of Jesus.” Almost 1,000 people have claimed on Liebman’s website to be “
What can I do?
We sometimes ask, “What can I, a single person, do to make a difference in the world?” Our power and influence seems weak to the point of uselessness and insignificance. But really, if you look at history and your life, the situation is quite the opposite. The history of the world and the course of your life turns on every choice. Everything matters. Everything is a small stone.
Richard Beck
Other people
“For most of us it is other people who make the necessary difference to our lives, guiding us, inspiring us, lifting us up and giving us hope. It is the quality of our relationships that more than anything gives us a sense of meaning and fulfilment. Most important of all, it is the ability to love that lifts us beyond the self and its confines. Love is the supreme redemption of solitude.”
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
apatheia
In Orthodox tradition, there is a goal, expressed in Greek as “apatheia” (“passionlessness”). Yes, that’s our word “apathy.” It does not mean “not caring,” but being free from the bondage of the ever-nagging sound of desires hounding our lives.
FR. Stephen Freeman
Liminal Space
I need too be reminded I am living in a liminal space.
Liminal space is an inner state and sometimes an outer situation where we can begin to think and act in new ways. It is where we are betwixt and between, having left one room or stage of life but not yet entered the next. We usually enter liminal space when our former way of being is challenged or changed
.The very vulnerability and openness of liminal space allows room for something genuinely new to happen. We are empty and receptive—erased tablets waiting for new words. Liminal space is where we are most teachable, often because we are most humbled. Liminality keeps us in an ongoing state of shadowboxing instead of ego-confirmation, struggling with the hidden side of things, and calling so-called normalcy into creative question. R. Rohr
Followers of the Way
Early Christians were called followers of The Way. By our love, folk will know we are followers of The Way, and what’s more, every step of that Way Jesus is with us, redeeming our solitude and sending us into the world as witnesses to that redeeming and renewing love of God,
Jim Gordon
Wonder
With the heart of a poet St. Gregory of Nyssa asserts, “Only wonder understands anything.” The role of wonder is (among other things) to slow us down, make us quiet, and help us pay attention. The “flat-landers” sail prosaically through life and miss most of what is true, drawing only the most obvious conclusions, even when what is obvious is incorrect. It is the things that are “out of place” that are easily ignored (they’re so bothersome!), while they are most often the clues that reveal the mystery.
Fr. Stephen Freeman
Telos
…when we are talking about material goods their telos–their purpose or function–allows the question of enough be raised and debated.
Money clouds this question. Money doesn’t have a telos like a house, car, or laptop. Thus, it’s impossible to say how much money is enough. Money erases telos, and without purpose or function all we are left with is raw desire. More money is always better.
Richard Beck
California wildfires
Environmentalists are right that, over the long-term, we need to cut carbon emissions to something close to zero. And conservatives are also right that, without radical changes to both land use and forest management policy, catastrophic wildfires will continue to plague the state. To engage these issues in good faith, protagonists on both sides of the debate will need to follow their arguments through to their logical conclusions rather than refusing to accept any inference that contradicts their ideological priors. To succeed in addressing either climate change or California’s wildfires, we will need to stop debates about climate change from degenerating into a stale culture war rather than imagining that we might win them.
A father said to his daughter “You have graduated with honors, here is a car I bought many years ago. It is pretty old now. But before I give it to you, take it to the used car lot downtown and tell them I want to sell it and see how much they offer you for it.”
The daughter went to the used car lot, returned to her father and said, “They offered me $1,000 because the said it looks pretty worn out.”
The father said, now “Take it to the pawn shop.” The daughter went to the pawn shop, returned to her father and said,”The pawn shop offered only $100 because it is an old car.”
The father asked his daughter to go to a car club now and show them the car. The daughter then took the car to the club, returned and told her father,” Some people in the club offered $100,000 for it because it’s a Nissan Skyline R34, it’s an iconic car and sought by many collectors”
Now the father said this to his daughter, “The right place values you the right way,” If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place. Those who know your value are those who appreciate you……Never stay in a place where no one sees your value. #knowyourworth #authorunknown
We need a why
…we need a why. Why am I getting out of bed in the morning? Why am I here on this earth? Why does this matter and make a difference? Why keep pushing and struggling and fighting?
Richard Beck
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