DailyConnections.net

FRIDAY THOUGHT 4/29/11

HOW GOD PLAYED “GOTCHA!” WITH IOWA WILLY

I recently had dinner with Bill Sheridan– a dear friend, wonderful guy, and clay-footed man of deep faith.  He told me the following story with awe, laughter and shame:

On his way to a weekly Bible study some time ago, he passed by a man in an alley rummaging through a trash dumpster.  Bill only had $4 in his pocket; that was the amount each Bible study attendee usually threw into the kitty for goodies.  He could easily have peeled off a single.  However, when he saw the man, he hesitated, debated with himself, and then kept moving.  

As Bill slinked (slunk) past, the man apparently found something good in the dumpster, because he proclaimed, “Thank you, Jesus!”  Bill, ashamed and mortified (though still pulling a Maundy Thursday Peter move and running away) beat feet for his meeting.  However, troubled over his lack of action, which would have cost him perhaps a single dollar, he vowed that, when next he met a person in need like this, he would share.  Promise.  No excuses. 

Some time later, well, it did happen again — different man, different dumpster, but a similar scenario.  Bill, without hesitation, offered up his own “Thank you, Jesus” prayer, dug into his pocket, and approached the man. 

One problem:  This time, however, remorseful Bill had only a single bill in his pocket … it was a 20!  Still, a promise is a promise.  So, without hesitation (or at least much), he walked up to the man, handed him the money, offered him a blessing, and walked away … shaking his head and giggling and God’s playful justice.     

Moral to the story?  Well, either always carry a few small bills in your pocket or (and this sounds a bit more Christian) never pass by an opportunity to (A) help someone in need; (B) know that God is a God of second changes, with a playful sense of humor; and (C) learn to laugh at and forgive yourself.  God bless and have a joy-filled weekend.  – jri

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 4/27/11

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A MIRACLE?

It was a miracle.  Peter healed the lame man outside the temple, and the man leaped up, danced and praised God.  And after that?  We do not know.  However, we can speculate that he had a dramatically changed life … and it was probably challenging, if only because his income as a lame beggar was probably cut off.  

For me, I marvel more at Peter and his changed life.  Tempestuous Peter – the first to stand by Christ and acknowledge Him as Lord, as well as the one who turned and ran like a coward after denying he ever knew Christ on the night of Christ’s arrest – here he was generously sharing the blessings, forgiveness, and grace he had received.  

My point:  I know I receive blessings every day.  Oh, sure, times can be tough, but I know I am blessed. What do I do with those blessings?  Do I grunt, stuff them in my pocket and go about my day?  Too often, yes.  However, I try to remain aware of them; I try to share them; I try to let the world know that I am blessed; I try to be a pinpoint of light and hope in a troubled world.  – jri 

I see suffering all around: illness, despair, people struggling with addictions and loneliness.  Yet I also see joy and strength and hope.  Either way, I try not to be a passive bystander, a watcher of a movie.  I am part of this world, and I hope to make a difference, if only to offer a kind word and a prayer, sharing the many miracles and blessings with which I have been graced.  I invite you to do the same, never forgetting that every kind act and loving prayer we offer and deed we do does matter, does make a difference.  God never stops showering us with blessings.  Share them.    

John Ingrisano

209 Church Street

Algoma, WI 54201

(920) 559-3722

www.dailyconnections.net

April 27, 2011

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 4/20/11

FLIMSY FAITH

I marvel at times how, for all my pious pontificating, my faith can be knocked catawampus by the slightest of setbacks.  Give me a bad night’s sleep, coupled with a missing shirt button, and the God I profess to love and serve unconditionally may very well be in for an earful of whining and “Why me?” lamenting.

 My flimsy faith makes me realize that, as we observe Holy Week, I would most likely have been one of the crowd who cheered on Palm Sunday and then jeered on Good Friday.  Not a very reliable follower.  Still, I know that, though Jesus might have stared at me in pain as He walked to the cross on Friday, He would also have smiled at me, forgiven me, and beckoned to me on Resurrection Sunday.  

My point:  God cannot possibly expect us to be perfect.  It’s not our nature, flawed creatures that we are.  And that’s the total and complete, bottom-line point:  We are loved, and we are forgiven … no matter how many times we screw up, turn away, or fail to measure up.  That’s the freedom, that’s the blessing, that’s the Great Gift that Jesus gave us. – jri 

Please pray this week for the soul of a man who I had not seen for more than 40 years, who died last week.  Fortunately, after years of struggle, he died as a man of faith.  Also, please pray for his sister, an old friend, who has endured much loss in the past several years.  Thank you and God bless.   

John Ingrisano

209 Church Street

Algoma, WI 54201

(920) 559-3722

www.dailyconnections.net

April 20, 2011

TUESDAY THOUGHT 4/19/11

AT THE INTERSECTION OF FOOLISHNESS & WISDOM

This is Holy Week, a time when believers bow their heads and doubters shake theirs.  It is a time of hopeless foolishness, when Our Lord, at the peak of his popularity, is arrested, tortured, publicly humiliated and slaughtered, when it all ended in …. Well, nothing.  Such foolishness!  

However, while it is a death of one kind, it is a birth of another, a new beginning.  It is death that brings life, just as the planting of a seed ends the existence of the seed, but leads to the bursting forth of a new life.  This is why we celebrate Easter, the Resurrection, the triumph of life over death.  Such wisdom! 

My point:  Holy Week is the exact point where foolishness and wisdom intersect, where those who embrace the foolishness find wisdom and those who shake their heads see … nothing.  – jri 

The wisdom:  “Most assuredly, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground

and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it

produces much grain.”

             –  Jesus Christ (John 12:24)

Perhaps my greatest blessing or gift – besides faith and forgiveness – is the ability to embrace both reason and spirituality.  (I originally chose the word “mysticism,” but that sounded a bit too hocus pocus, even though I believe in the gift of discernment through the Holy Spirit.)  I embrace the logic of this wondrous world; I also embrace the unseen truths – faith, grace, the gifts of the spirit.  It all fits into a perfect whole, especially in this holy of holy weeks, where foolishness and wisdom intersect.  Cherish the gifts of this week.  Because of them, we are all blessed.

FRIDAY THOUGHT 4/15/11

WORRY WARTS

As believers, we should not worry.  We should live in confidence in our faith.  Still, I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I have a penchant for worrying.  Give me a sunny day, and I’ll worry that it may rain tomorrow.  We worry because we do not know the future, and we worry because we have a suspicion what the future may be.  We worry even though we know that God chose us long before we were ever born.

In this respect, even though I worry, I know I’m a tad special.  You see, when my mother was pregnant with me, she was gravely ill.  She was warned that she would not survive the pregnancy.  Under the laws of New York back in 1950, she could have had an abortion.  However, she and my father, who rarely agreed on anything, decided that they would put it in God’s hands.  Surprise!  Surprise!  It all worked out quite well.  

My point:  Over the years, I began to realize that I was chosen, blessed, gently guided and gently chided, and watched over, often in spite of my own foolishness.  I’m not alone.  We have all been chosen by the Lord.  Every day, patiently and lovingly, He calls us, watches over us, waits for us and loves us deeply.  How wondrous! – jri

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 4/13/11

WHO KILLED JC?

I recently had a discussion with someone over God’s decision to “kill” a young woman (his choice of words) by giving her a fatal disease.  I’ve also heard people over the years question a God who could slaughter His own son by allowing the crucifixion. 

Tough issues.  I don’t have all the answers, though I do know that there is a fair amount of God-sanctioned killing in the Bible, where our angry God “slaughters” those who do not follow His rules.  (Check out Jeremiah 25 for details.)  However, I also know that Jesus chose to be the sacrificial lamb; he was not compelled or ordered to die by God the Father.  He did it for us, and that’s terrific!  

My point: The death of Jesus was not God-ordered murder, but a Jesus-inspired act of love, the greatest act of  love ever undertaken.  – jri 

TUESDAY THOUGHT 4/12/11

PAP FOR THE SOFT OF HEAD? 

Some time ago I took it upon myself to add an acquaintance (a good man, with many toys and a carefully controlled life) to my Daily Thoughts contact list.  I did so without thought, except that I hoped he might enjoy my ramblings.  When next I saw him, he gently thanked me, but pointed out, somewhat defensively, that he did not require my writings.  I think he saw my thoughts as Karl Marx viewed religion:  opiate for the masses (aka, pap for the soft-headed).  His life was fine, thank you.  

Forgetting about my ramblings here (which are nothing more than an attempt to share what I have learned/encountered in my faith journey), I think a lot of people think that way about God and faith in general:  Go for it, embrace it, if your life is a train wreck. Whatever gets you through the night!  It’s harmless, and if it makes you feel okay, that’s great.  

My point:  Well, first of all, I’m terribly conscious that I seem to be comparing my writings with the Bible.  Please, no, I am not.  My real point is about those who see and those who are blind, though I am having trouble summing it up.  (Tuesdays can be like that.)  Actually, my real, real point is that God is not a unicorn or pointless salve for those who need solace.  He is true. He is real.  – jri 

FRIDAY THOUGHT 4/8/11

TO HELL AND BEYOND

Ever hear people say, “I’ve been to hell and back”?  Well, I’ve seen people come through hell (addictions, bad marriages, recovery from serious illness, and more), and they aren’t the same afterwards that they were before they began their descent into hell.  If they’ve been honest and done it right, they’re new; they’re different.  They didn’t go back … they went beyond to a new place, a new life. 

In today’s reading from Forward Day by Day (http://forwardmovement.org/Today-s-Meditation/), a friend of the anonymous commentator wrote that this was his friend’s reaction after seeing the movie Crazy Heart, about a self-destructive, alcoholic country singer (Jeff Bridges), who finally hits bottom and is ready to begin life anew: “We don’t get back what we’ve lost; we get what we never had.”  

My point:  When it comes to life and our faith, we do not want to go back.  We want to go on, to go forward, not so much to be refreshed, but to become new, to be transformed and spiritually transported into a new life.   – jri 

I admire recovering addicts/alcoholics.  They have a self-awareness, as well as a new awareness of others and of life itself.  They take nothing – not a single day – for granted.    Whatever your “status” – never had the demons, had them but are beating them back now, or are still losing to them each day – celebrate today the hope of new life, of the life Christ chose for us.  God bless and have a joy-filled weekend.   

THURSDAY THOUGHT 4/7/11

TUESDAY THOUGHT 4/5/11

THE DARK SIDE OF ST. PAUL

St. Paul struggled.  Whether alcoholism, sexual struggles, a bad temper or a food addiction, who knows?  Though honest and candid, he was decent enough NOT to be specific, thank God.  Now, a lot of folks (especially doubters) giggle and take delight in speculating about those specifics under the “Gotta Pull a Good Man Down” doctrine.  They’re missing the points. 

First, Paul was honest.  Some people accuse Paul of being a bit anal and didactic, not warm and fuzzy like my favorite saint, the passionate and sometimes hapless St. Peter.  Maybe so, but he could have kept his struggles to himself like we do.  Instead, he fessed up.  Second, Paul had a special, up-close-and-personal relationship with God … even had a rather testy, one-on-one conversation with Him on the road to Damascus when he was blinded by the light.  Even though Paul was special, he struggled and had clay feet just like we do. 

My point:  Maybe it is that we are all human; we all struggle with some challenge.  So, go easy on yourself.  It would be nice to be perfect, but we’re not.  So, get over it.  – jri 

 I have come to believe that the universal pain (along with others, sure) is being convinced that we are simply not good enough; we are always lacking something in ourselves.  However, I’ve also come to understand that being not quite good enough is, in fact, good enough.  Have a joyful day of self-acceptance, trusting in the knowledge that God loves us, honest, just the way we are.  God bless.   

FRIDAY THOUGHT 4/1/11

I CAN’T HEAR YOU

There was a time, approaching 20 years ago now, when my family exploded, scattering all of us physically, but also emotionally, for several years.  The unspoken promise to my young children – we’ll always be there, always – was shattered, and we all lost belief in what we had once taken on faith.  The rules were turned upside down.  The most painful part was that all communication broke down amid a tsunami of fear, pain and doubt.  We could not, would not hear each other. Even the words, “I love you,” were met with suspicion or, worse, rejection.    

It can be the same with faith and trust in God.  Either through indifference or a sense that God let us down in some way, we can harden our hearts and refuse to see what is right before our eyes.

My point:  Gee, I’m not sure how to express it.  Maybe it’s that we need to be open to the truth of our Lord.  Take it on faith?  Maybe.  At the very least, listen to the message and give God a chance.  We can always reject it later.  Give it a shot and see how it goes.  It can’t hurt. – jri 

P.S.  I am now blessed with close, warm and loving relationships with my three children and five grandchildren.  Because of all that was once lost, we actually have a special appreciation for each other.  Faith and patience. God really does know what He is doing.  Have a joy-filled, wondrous day.  God bless you.