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BeLOnGings

.....and being with you nothing else I desire.

“It Don’t Come Easy” and 3168.

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As always, I appreciated your feedback after last week’s blog. I try and respond to everyone who writes. As I said in “Why Belongings?” 3 1/2 years ago, the purpose of the blog is not ‘going viral’, but ‘being vital’. Life is relationship. This has proven a beautiful way to stay connected in LIFE with some friends all over the world whom God has given us over the years.

A few days after the last post Ben sent me the above link to Rolling Stone’s report on the “Peace and Love” birthday event. (I was blocked from putting the link on the blog, but if you go to Rollingstone.com and search for Ringo’s birthday you can watch and listen to this 4 minute report.)

My phone pinged with Ben’s text, just as I was reading another passage from the book I referenced last week.

Bonnie Gaunt’s last book, “The Dawn of Earth’s Great Millennium” records her first discovery about how the gospel is written throughout the whole of creation, in numbers.

She was describing how the New Testament value of the name LORD JESUS CHRIST is 3168. This is confirmed in creation, for when God made the earth to be home for the man he would create, he made it’s dimensions to fit into a square having a perimeter 31,680 miles!

Then when he came to earth as a man, and gave himself as a ransom, he was born in Bethlehem at latitude 31.68 degrees north! 

having just read this I turned to listen to the Rolling Stone report which opened and closed with Ben singing the same song………as the credits rolled the refrain repeated again and again,

“………..You know it don’t come easy”

I then turned the page in the physical book I was reading and the true credit was staring me in the face………

The sentence at the top of the next page confirmed the gematria of the underlined portion is again…………. 3168!

To me this amazing timing was our Father’s commentary, loud and clear, that his intention for his creation is indeed “Peace and Love.”

………. purchased at great cost to Himself and His Son.

……….’Cause you know it don’t come easy!”

Of course PEACE and LOVE must be properly defined.

Romans 5: 1 says, “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE with God through our LORD JESUS CHRIST.” (3168)

Then once again with impeccable timing Dad provided the double witness to the source of true LOVE through our Oswald calendar thought for TODAY based on the same passage…..Romans.5:5!

The Great Reversal

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This week end there was a ripple of excitement throughout the Kyle family because Ben was singing a couple of songs at Ringo’s 79th birthday party. Prophetically named, there is only one Ringo, and he remains – a Starr. You can add your view of the performance to the 79.9 thousand others on Ringo’s Facebook page!

Under the instagram photo above of Ben and Ringo is a fun comment by Josie, a friend of ours. Having lived with us for a year we have personally experienced this lady’s true ‘prophetic’ gift. She could also now be considered ‘famous’ ….not because she ‘stars’ on “The Elijah List” but because God speaks through her works of art which she generously shares with 466,000 followers on Instagram!

On Sunday at our fellowship circle we again consider together what it means for Jesus to live in obscurity for 30 years. Bonnie Gaunt’s book “The Dawn of Earth’s Great Millennium” has sparked a conversation. People in the circle of ‘truth seekers’ share, not opinions, but ‘signs and wonders’ as Simeons and Annas who can see and hear how truths from the book have, and continue to play out in their lives.

“So how should we live then as the body of Christ in this season of obscurity?” becomes the focus of the conversation.

Last week I described ‘wisdom’ as becoming one with the Father. The other growth in Jesus, our head, that is mentioned in Luke 2 is to do with the ‘grace’ in Him and toward him. The Greek word “charis” means “to lean toward… to bless”.

With 6 month old Luke visiting us at the moment (with his mum and dad of course) this leaning toward…to bless one another, that our Dad wants with each of us his children, is our daily experience with our latest grandson.


We continue to read how this growth in Jesus happens as he simply goes back home and places himself under his earthly mother and father, not resisting but surrendering daily to his heavenly Father in the acceptance of the ordinariness and order of life as a human being.

We finish our circle by encouraging one another as we sing,

“He who has called you

Is faithful and He will do

All He has promised to

In you……..”

…..then we all troop downstairs, and around the dinner table share another hilarious meal. The conversation often goes to food with banter between those currently eating carnivore, ketogenic, OMAD or ‘regular American.’

Part of our 1 Thess.5:23,24 calling is to help people toward ‘soundness in body’, so processed foods and sugar is a rarity. Yesterday however some gigantic M ‘n’ M cookies did show up. (M ‘n’ Ms are like Smarties for my UK readers) As ‘regular American’ Brian munched on one of them I said,

“Brian, you’ve got to sing your M and M song.”

….and so the whole Rupe family gave us a rendering of the song that has made Dad famous…. at least in the YMCA Family Camp circles where he was Camp Director. Daughter Amy described how at one camp the hysterical teenagers would rush the stage after Brian gave his usual C+ rendering of

M ‘n’ Ms that spells Mmmm
Mmm is the sound that you make when you eat ’em
When I die…
Bury me in M ‘n’ Ms

I recalled how earlier in life Brian had thought to best serve God would involve his going overseas as a missionary, or at least serving at home as a pastor. Receiving a wise word from his earthly father had him change course, a change that has impacted many young lives, not just through his rendering of the M ‘n’ M song : – ) but through his ‘apostolic’ gift facilitating a ‘Family Camp Culture’ that enabled the young campers to sample ‘the kingdom of God’ for a couple of weeks in the summer at a critically formative time in their lives.

I believe there will come The Great Reversal at The Great White Throne when many current Somebodies will become Nobodies and Nobodies become Somebodies, as we are awakened to see beyond the falseness of a success measured in “Bigness” of Numbers, Names and Noises. Then judging justly the (mostly) hidden faithful servants like Ben, Josie and Brian (and their even more hidden spouses) will receive their reward from the most successful man who ever lived. He never wrote book, recorded a song, sent an email, made a phone call, rode in a car, or wrote a blog. At the end of his life he had only a few ‘followers’ clustered at the foot of a cross where in unity with his Father he in ”wisdom and grace’ with total success, redeemed the whole of creation.

I look up to read on our well worn ‘Oswald’ calendar his thought for us today:

44 Ain’t Peanuts

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This morning I left my car in to get new tires and took the wait time as an opportunity to go for a run along the nearby Shingle Creek Trail.

At the trail junction above an elderly cyclist motioned to me for help. He was obviously on a formidable long distance bike ride, a many paged copy of detailed directions in hand. He wanted my advice at this unanticipated TRAIL CLOSED sign.

“I’m pretty sure you’re meant to go up there where I’m going.” I happily offered. But he didn’t seem satisfied, and was obviously more serious about getting this ‘right’ than I was signaling.

I ran on, waiting for him to catch up and pass me. But he never did. It did prove to be the right trail, and I thought, “Too bad he didn’t – just relax and trust me.”

My enjoyment of the run was momentarily interrupted as I briefly reflected on this man working so hard to make the most of ‘retirement’ presumably after a life successfully dedicated to “making a living.”

Momentarily I doubted my joy. Should I have been spending this hour working on the computer to find a recording deal… so the songs I’ve been given could reach the masses….rather than on a ‘self indulgent’ run?

I remembered how when I was lead to leave medicine Dad confirmed our life’s focus would not be to “make a living” but rather to “live a making”. In other words rather than following a conventional career path he was inviting us to go a ‘road less travelled’ whereby he would write our ‘job description’ for each new day.

Questioning what I am doing has often happened over the last 44 years, but as I consulted ‘wisdom’ yet again, I quickly came to peace….. and ran on.

I believe we now are in the time of The Redemption Story, where the ‘body of Christ’ is in the ‘quiet years’ before being joined with Jesus our head at his coming. We are told ( Luke 2) that in those years he grew in this ‘wisdom’ which I believe is coming into unity with our Dad’s voice which is more present, simple and practical than we often imagine. 

On this our 44th wedding anniversary I turn again to Ps.4:4 where we are instructed to ‘dialogue with Dad in your hearts in the language of truth and grace rather than debating with the devil in your heads in the language of shame and fear’ (My paraphrase) 

He wants us to move beyond a traffic light relationship (“Yes”. “No” and “Maybe”) to a living conversation “…..and this is life; that they may know you….” (Jn.17:1) for the heart of this “knowing” relationship is communication in the heart.

I noticed a stagnant patch of water.

I kept running along the trail to it’s end. As I turned I paused to notice the flowing stream that had replaced the stagnant pool:

“You know a thing is ALIVE when it is MOVING!” Dad said

This confirmed what I had been learning from a Hebrew language scholar where every word can be traced back to a three character action verb.

For example when in Genesis 1 we are told God made man “in his image” it would be more accurately translated, God made man “equipping him to image”. Connecting with the living Spirit of Christ within us to live the life of God in this world is life’s purpose. It is not to arrive at a future noun called heaven but to find LIFE here and now as a present verb.

Then this morning my bible ‘fell open’ at Jn1:1 where the TPT rendered this beautifully “In the beginning was the Living Expression”  

Now walking the last stretch to Discount Tires, I noticed where 5 years ago I would have gone to wait with coffee and bagel.

I chuckled, “After 44 years of living with ‘wisdom’ I am getting to know her voice better…. simple, present and practical…….

….Bulletproof coffee : – )”  

Another ‘gem’ this Hebrew scholar shared was how he noticed in the language, masculine relates to potential, feminine to that potential being actualized!

I glance up from the computer to the congratulatory card the fellow students in the year of ’78 gave me when in ’75 I was the first in that year’s Med’ school to marry! Little did I know that 44 years later I would be living in Charles Schultz Twin Cities playing the role of Charlie Brown….thankfully with a better helpmeet than Lucy would have been to enable me to actualize potential : – )

Back sitting in my re-tired car, I opened my emails and found this message following on from last week’s blog:

“O. M. G.

You will never guess what I’ve been dealing with this week.

MRSA and thoughts of WCS!!!

My jaw dropped when I read the first part of your blog and you referenced this very thing.

I had maneuvered through my thoughts and feelings on the situation, settling on “whatever glorifies God the most, let that be done” and here you are saying that that is a purified heart. Wow.

Barb.“

W.O.W. indeed Barb! (Wonder Of Worship)

I reckon I did hear “wisdom” again today….. that record deal for the masses just wasn’t meant to be…..but that blog last week for a few friends was.

….. and now hopefully this one too : – )

P.S. Barb just gave me the update that she is on the mend physically, grateful like us for the brief encounter with the specter of MRSA

……confirmed in that inspired thought I had from Dad, “….just relax and trust me” : – )

W.C.S. or B.P.O.?

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The Healing Team.
Panaway, Deep Relief, hydrogen water, Izzy at the end of the bed, Dad at the end of a bell.

Hilary had a major dental surgery last week. instead of it resolving she seemed to get worse and worse, and looking into her mouth on Day 6 we saw a large abscess had formed at the wound site. We scheduled an emergency appointment for the next morning, and waking early I began thinking about the Worst Case Scenario. I think training in medicine makes you all the more aware of what can go wrong….like MRSA infections eating her up and landing me in widowerhood.

Quieting my soul and tuning in to the Spirit in my spirit I began getting a truer perspective. Going straight to the big picture I thought about how at the end of Paul’s sermon in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 on the essential gospel and the centrality of Christ’s resurrection is the phrase,“….so that God may be all in all.” (1. Cor. 15:28) Pondering this truth I realized – that doesn’t leave a lot of room for bad or evil or fear or disappointment or sadness, and as I embraced this truth, I again entered gladly into His Shalom, trusting the Best Possible Outcome was assured in the end no matter how things went in this present ‘crisis.’

Hilary on waking seemed much improved. (It was after all her first good night’s sleep in a week!) and then as we drove to the appointment she said,

“I had a vivid dream just before waking that I clearly remember…….That’s unusual for me!”  

“I was swimming in a calm sea, and before me was a very large floater. There were also enormous black rocks coming up from the sea. Then strangely I fell asleep while in the water, and when I awoke I realized I was on the far side of the rocks and needed to find my way back to land. I turned and saw in the distance the sun going down on the land. I began swimming toward it, using my legs and holding the large floater in front of me so it required less effort on my part. I experienced no anxiety throughout.”

I realized Hilary and I had received the same message from our Dad at the same time. For me it was through the medium of my thought processes, for Hilary it was through a dream.

In the dream she had seen the end of the story in the distance (the land). She was confident she would get there, and so did not need to be afraid. Falling asleep, will be the experience of most. Only those of the generation who are alive at Christ’s coming will not experience this. I then realized the large floater was FAITH…..something that we lay hold off and that grows bigger and bigger the longer we walk (or swim) with God and prove his faithfulness!

I recalled a verse that had stood out to me this morning, “In the same way that gold and silver are refined by fire, the Lord purifies your heart by the tests and trials of life.” (Prov.17:3)

The purified heart is the heart that can finally fully trust our heavenly Dad ….no matter what, because as ‘the sovereign Lord’ He has assured us that in the end it will be the Best Possible Outcome.

So at the close of a fiery week that ended on this year’s Father’s Day, I am hopefully more trusting of our heavenly Dad.

……and now also able to operate the clothes dryer….after 43 years of marriage : – )

God Places the Solitary.

by on in The House (Rivendell)

Now that summer has arrived in Minnesota, this morning we took our weekly bike ride to the local coffee shop to take our weekly glance at the local paper. 

As you can see it’s a story that is being repeated endlessly not only in the USA but worldwide, that has been dubbed ‘The affordable housing crisis.’

The neighboring City of Minneapolis has been making some significant efforts to address the problem, in contrast to our experience with the City of Robbinsdale which seems stuck between an ostrich and a dinosaur.

As I said last week we are planning to move on from here carrying the calling of our hospitable God to some other “grace space”

We have experienced in bucketfulls the truth of Psalm 68:6, that, “God places the solitary in families, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. ” 

Mother Theresa was often asked what she believed was the greatest source of suffering. Her answer: loneliness. Studies are bearing out the fact that loneliness is the #1 factor in illness… and this is a growing problem! One in 5 people in England currently say they do not have a single friend!

We never went ‘looking’ for ‘solitary’ people to fill The Big Green House, but God  clearly brought to us those he had selected, one by one…. over 80 of them over the 17 years we’ve lived here. Usually he had already begun dealing with the “rebellious”  nature that is in us all, but is often accentuated in those whose childhood wounding has been a central role in their becoming isolated. They came with varying levels of brokenness and desperation. We saw our role as co-operating with the Holy Spirit to help people to continue to journey our of that wounded place and find healing in the Father’s love so that they could become happy healthy individuals able to integrate again as blessed family members.

Here is part of one of the testimonies we received,

…….I was essentially alone in the Midwest without anyone, without any family to lean on, wrought with grief, despair, and fear. I suffered from such severe panic attacks and unrelenting insomnia, I lost job after job due to exhaustion and emotional fragility. I became extremely ill and weak; I thought I was dying. I withdrew from all social activities and isolated myself completely, ashamed of my circumstances and utterly depressed. I saw doctor after doctor; nobody was able to help me.

I met the Kyles through a friend who was living there at the time. Their home was a place I felt loved and safe. When I finally asked to move in–and they agreed–it was, for me, the ultimate surrender. It felt like I was collapsing, finally….as I’d needed to for so many months, but couldn’t (there hadn’t been anywhere for me to ‘land’).

I experienced tremendous healing and spiritual growth: partly due to their ministering, partly due to having a safe space to finally open my heart and receive Divine love and guidance on a personal level. I changed more in that year than I ever have in my entire life, and entirely for the better. I unraveled decades of accumulated fears and limiting beliefs and patterns. I learned, for the first time, and in a way I will NEVER forget, what grace is. I would often wake up in that house and weep in gratitude and relief, finally seeing some light coming through the cracks in my shattered heart. 

My time there redefined honesty, authenticity, accountability, forgiveness, humility, and redemption. I left utterly transformed: healthy, happy, and full of love and hope. I learned as well the power of community, that we need not walk through this life alone…and this has radically changed how I live and relate to others. I am a better person and better citizen of this world as a result. 

We are convinced the answer to the problem headlined above is not a bigger and better institutionalized program but a smaller and sweeter family presence in our world. It is to this we will remain committed wherever we might be lead to go.  

The Brilliance of God!

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My friend Tom recently went on the trip of a lifetime for their 25th wedding anniversary to visit children in Scotland and Italy. He kept us updated throughout with photos, and the one above of “Scot’s view” came back to mind last night.

I then recalled a blog I had considered writing while on the other side of the Irish sea where the Ulster countryside mirrors this same landscape. I also took a few photos.

I had been running along the Comber Greenway when I spotted another diminutive jogger up ahead. I decided I would use him as ‘a pacer’ to pull me along. At one point he disappeared off the trail. I just kept going, but decided to switch to some high intensity intervals, sprinting hard for 30 seconds and then walking until I had recovered. I decided for each sprint I would select an arbitrary whin bush as a starting point and another whin bush that I pushed myself toward as a finishing line.

Having completed 8 such sprints I was punctured and was bowed over to recover my breath when I heard the patter of tiny feet approaching from behind. My ‘pacer’ brushed lightly past smiling and with great glee exclaiming “My 5th time this week from Belfast to Comber. Have you ever tried the trail up the hill?…Oh! it’s wonderful” …..and disappeared off into the distance as I was still gathering breath.

As I turned and at a more gentle pace headed back home, Dad connected the whins, that is, the dots for me, by saying, “That one’s joy (still not sure whether he was human or an angel – or a leprechaun! ) is my joy – meant for you, because the way my plan is set up, no matter how you run, in the end it will all be seen to be my brilliant ‘whin-whin’……YOU CAN’T LOSE!”

St. Paul who “finished the race” (2 Tim 4:7) set before him (Heb.12:1), spoke from this ‘can’t lose’ place of sublime joy both for himself personally…….. “For me to live is Christ – to die is gain!”

And for the whole of creation……….“And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself – back to it’s original intent, restored to innocence again!” (Col.1:20 (TPT)

The Awakening

by on in The House (Rivendell)

A number of you picked up on my comment about our moving on from Robbinsdale. Already Hilary and I have begun sorting through the Big Green Stuff in order to downsize for our next place of ‘lodging’

This morning working through papers in my office I came across a poem I barely remember writing a few years ago. I read it and thought, ‘Very timely!’  for this season of the year, this season of the Lord’s purposes, and  this season of our lives.

Here it is:

The Awakening

Winter awakens

To naked trees blooming,

Stripped and uncovered

Their bare bones emerging

From the season of purging

Grace covering truth.

 

Adam awakens

To naked Eve shining,

Standing unaided

Her other half eyeing,

Soon they will be lied to

And lying as one

 

Abram awakens

To naked flame burning,

Weaving unaided

‘Tween split beasts – a – grieving

He lies, merely breathing

Yet covenant sealed.

 

Jesus awakens

To naked face smiling.

Face of the Father

A mirror reflecting

Through ages unending

The kiss of the One.

 

Mankind awakens

To naked God dining.

Three cheers full of glory

Round table are toasting

Creation now feasting

And man in God home

 

Thank you! In participating by reading the poem YOU have now completed it, and I can assign the sheet of paper to the trash (bin) and move on to the next manilla folder, for in being shared with you – it has had a life : – )

P.S. Ah Yes! – The photo

These are the two blooming trees (cherubim) before the open door of the Big Green House. This may be the last time we see them ‘awakening” in bloom before we move. As one of you said, “The end of a chapter”

You may notice Glbert’s white car to the side. The hidden license plate reads:

254 REX

This was my mother’s starting scripture/prayer for each day, Psalm 25:4

“Show me your way O Lord, teach me your paths

Guide me in your truth and teach me.

For you are God my Savior, and in you do I trust/hope/wait all this day long.”

REX means King and so this is our prayer as we seek first the kingdom, and follow the King who rides on the ‘white horse’  (Rev.19:11-24) to another grace space in this next chapter.

Mercy it Falls Like the Sweet Sweet Rain

by on in The House (Rivendell)

On April 3rd I posted “Minnesota (not so) Nice” with a photo of the “Vision of Peace” statue at the Ramsey County Criminal Court where we attended the trial of our friend Bill.

When David and I prayed that day at the foot of the statue we both received the word “MERCY”

The subsequent verdict of “Guilty” on March 20th did not seem to reflect what we had just heard. However timing is everything, and the date of Bill’s sentencing was last week, on MAY 8th

On that day, MAY 8th, the City of Saint Paul experienced an almost record breaking 1.45 inches of relentless rain.

A few years ago our son Ben was inspired to write a song with the lines,

Oh Saint Paul, city of peace and righteousness

City where the Lord and the angels talk

…..Rain down, purple rain I wanna hear the sound

I wanna feel the royal rain on me

I wanna feel the holy water running like a holy stream

I wanna be baptized in the city in the Mississippi

That day, MAY 8th, the same judge who had issued the “Guilty” verdict shocked us all by imposing the mildest sentence possible. Instead of 10 years in prison, Bill got no jail, was put on probation for three years and given ample time to complete the tax forms the government are demanding after which the felony charge will be downgraded to a misdemeanor. In Bill’s own words, “It couldn’t have gone any better”

The scripture came to mind, “The heart of the king/judge is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it LIKE A WATERCOURSE wherever he wills.”(Prov.21:1)

MISSISSIPPI is an Ojibwe word meaning Great River. The first European to see it was the Spaniard, Hernando de Soto, who renamed it in 1541, “Rio del Esparto Santo” which means “RIVER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”.

I discovered today he named it on……… MAY 8th!……478 years go!

GOD’S JUDGEMENTS ARE HIS MERCY.……..and since ALL authority is from God (Rm.13:1) this includes ALL judgements and judges whether they are the ones we would have chosen or not.” The Lord has made everything for it’s purpose, even the wicked (judgements and judges) for the day of trouble.” (Prov.16:4) 

In this sense the “Guilty” verdict on March 20th was just as much the mercy of God as the the sentencing on May 8th.

God uses these judgements “to change us in things” (such as the Robbinsdale City Council’s ruling against us, which was God’s way of telling us it is now time to move on from this City) and/or “to change things in us” i.e. removing the ‘idols’ from our hearts.

Another way to view this is that we are being moved from living from our souls, i.e. What I think. What I feel. What I want….. to living from our spirits which are one with His Spirit, i.e. What God thinks. What God feels. What God wants. There is just no room in the ‘kingdom of heaven’ for “soulish” sentiment, opinion or preference.

This journey is a journey of faith into a place of total trust, because we don’t yet see the bigger picture, nor the end of the story….. so we learn to wait…. in hope.

One day we will look back and thank him for it ALL.

Ben’s cry, “I wanna be baptized… in the Mississippi” is the deepest cry of every human heart, that we be totally saturated in The Great One from whom we have all come and to whom we will all go – the One who has scripted this whole story, before He created the world!

As we emigrated across the Atlantic 25 years ago I remember reading on that flight of how at that same time “The artist formerly known as Prince” best remembered for his song “Purple Rain” was returning to establish his base in the Twin Cities.  I realized we were to be engaged in a battle between two heavenly Princes, as I too brought a song I had been given to sing, “Lord Jesus we enthrone you, we proclaim you are king…….Come Lord Jesus and take your place.” (This is not a judgement on the man, Prince Rogers Nelson. We are all just playing the parts we have been assigned.)

In Revelation 12:7 we read about how Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. In verse 10 we read the outcome,

“10. Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down  which accused them before our God day and night.”

Verse 11 then describes those who have been graciously lifted from the “soulish” life to an overcoming life in the Spirit,

“11. And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony…… and they loved not their lives (souls) unto the death.”

I think we are increasingly having our eyes opened to perceive and experience the extent of THE MERCY OF GOD….. “beyond all we could ask or think” for the battle is done, and the total victory won, so…..

Let there be mercy for my brother and sister, my mother my family

Let there be mercy for my friends and lovers , my foes and enemies

Let there be mercy for my words and wars, deeds and deeds I didn’t do

Let there be mercy for every soul in this city; May the Lord have pity over you.

Reflections on “Being American”

by on in The House (Rivendell)

After the last blog, one reader said she was a wee bit concerned (No prizes for guessing which nationality : – ) that it had reflected negatively on Americans.

Thankful for this comment, I pondered further and reassured her that at a personal level we have many wonderful American friends who have deeply influenced the direction of our lives, not least our amazing ‘in-laws’!

I was commenting not on people but on some negative aspects of modern American culture. On researching further the Litigious vs. Relational piece, the statistics confirmed that there are indeed three times as many lawyers per capita in the USA as in the UK! (I couldn’t find figures for Ireland)

I suggested to my friend I might do a blog about “the best of American”, and lo and behold, Raine one of our First American relatives arrived in last weekend to join a group of 24(+3) who gathered to “Dream storm” about a possible “Village” (of ‘barns’, as above) and about the Values we would want such a Village to have.

As we chatted with Raine beforehand, three hallmarks of her Native culture stood out to me that I want to highlight!

She spoke about how her Dakota language studies involved her visiting with Dakota “Elders”. She was given clear themes, and concrete targets for these assignments but as she sat down with one woman who had just lost her sister, she found herself simply “listening” to this Elder, for this was an expression of honor that she had been taught growing up.

At the end of their time together she said to the older woman, “Thank you for talking to me.”  to which the bereaved Elder replied, “Thank YOU for listening to me.”

Raine left with her school assignment unfinished, but with her spiritual assignment fulfilled.

She spoke of another Elder whom she had visited 5 times, again falling far behind on what the study supervisor required. However on the fifth visit the Elder spontaneously began to talk about the most intimate aspect of his life….how he prayed….how he didn’t ask for anything, but just gave thanks, talking naturally about everything with Wakan Tanka. This was “the language of the heart” divulged to another, whose heart he had grown to trust.

She had the day before we met been given responsibility to teach a language class to Dakota children at a special event at historic Fort Snelling. Overwhelmed by a big number of rambunctious kids she again abandoned her lesson plan, distributed her paper and crayons and then just began circulating talking to the children one by one. With each one she looked for a way to connect with them as ‘my relative’…. 

“Ha! your grandmother was my mentor… and now I am teaching you!”

Again the ‘agenda’ had to be surrendered – giving primacy to the relationship resulting in a truer and deeper learning and growing together.

I realized if that these three principles were followed by politicians in America (or anywhere else for that matter!) the political landscape would look very different!

Then I recalled an “Insiders” story I had been told about the Paisley/ McGuinness brokered peace in Northern Ireland I referenced a few weeks ago. I remembered that it was indeed these principles, of quietly honoring, meriting trust, and spiritually surrendering…. principles not just of the Dakota culture, but of the ‘Kingdom of heaven’ culture, that had in fact been behind that ‘miracle’ breakthrough.   

Reflections on “Being Irish.”

by on in The House (Rivendell)

St. Brendan’s Launch was a great event we hosted every Sunday afternoon for 5 years in the Titanic Lounge of Kieran’s Irish pub in downtown Minneapolis.

People loved the ‘titanic Belfast family’ presence, and our performance with the God given talents of music, dance and story telling.

Mike ‘the Bike’ McCabe, featured in the last blogs, brought his ancestral Irish wit to bear each week, and together we wrote a play called, “Would the REAL St. Patrick Please Stand Up” 

It was a fine attempt to strip back the “Green beer and bagels on 17th March.” Americanized version of what it means to be Irish to get to the true heart of this people group…… and featured the transformation of “Paddy” from the drunken brawler to the true saint.

In our recent foray with our local City officials, the main City actors have been proud of their “Irish origins” This has lead me to ponder the question, “So what does it mean to be truly Irish?”

Our son Robin’s genetic analysis confirmed that our forefathers came from a small circumscribed territory on the Scottish and Ulster sides of the Irish Sea, but having committed deeply and lived intimately with the more southern Irish tribe of McAree’s and Murphy’s and Boyles and so forth for many years in Community of the King and beyond, I have realized that we ‘Celts’ share many good traits that were highlighted in our race by the Creator!

I would suggest three of these are, honoring the Creator, neighborliness and hospitality. 

To be truly Irish means to honor the Creator.

This carries with it the most fundamental instinct that the bible describes as the Law of Creator’s Rights, asserting how we are not our own property, but we belong to our Creator, and are responsible to Him.

We have been hoodwinked, as my song (copied again below) says, by “The famed and the fortuned” dictating the song….and “our fallen desires” playing us along.

Secular humanism which sees man as “the measure of all things”, arrogantly writes God out of the story with what C.S. Lewis described as “chronological snobbery”.

No one likes to hear they can’t do just what they (think) they want! So “our fallen desires” have us buy into this lawless, God denying narrative not realizing we have just shot ourselves in the foot.

Today’s ‘modern’ secular Irish society is a very recent ‘aberration’ of what is truly Irish. My scholarly Irish speaking friends would affirm that a belief in God is woven through the most fundamental cement of any culture which is the original (Gaelic) language.

Thankfully if you go to the largest annual Irish gathering (no it’s not a pop concert in Dublin, it is the agricultural show in rural Ireland) you will find amongst the people of ‘the land’ that grounded faith is as vital as ever!

Sadly at the local City level here we’ve seen little evidence of this honoring of the Creator or what the bible calls ‘the fear of the Lord’ in the treatment of the vulnerable whose care is repeatedly mandated by our Creator and theirs.

To be truly Irish means to be neighborly.

Growing up in a Belfast suburb as three brothers, it was a ‘no brainer’ that every spare minute was spent playing soccer in the garden. One to cross, one to shoot and one to save….or not, in which case the ball would often end up in the neighbor’s garden. It was a community ‘given’ that it was OK to sneak in and respectfully retrieve the ball with minimal fuss.

When the official from Robbinsdale City pulled up outside our house a year ago to issue us with a warning that we would be prosecuted if we did not radically alter our family make up, we were shocked that a soccer ball in the neighboring yard could have such weighty repercussions!

This again highlights how traditional Irish society is RELATIONAL whereas we have found American society to be LITIGIOUS where the first instinct is not to speak to the person in order to “win” him, as Jesus counseled, but to use the force of the adversarial legal system to “beat” him.

Again rather sadly in our local experience the ‘powers that be(at)’ rather than taking a ‘parental’ posture of seeking to understand and help their kids sort things out, have sought to capitalize on this fear based win/loose mentality, and grab more to ‘line the city coffers’. 

To be truly Irish means to be hospitable.

Hospitality means ‘a lover of strangers’. “Come On On On In” has been the Big Green House’s hospitality song birthed out of our native culture, and reflecting the welcoming nature of God toward all.

My American friend Sam Pascoe is often credited with the quote, “Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece an became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.”

It is sad that ‘Hospitality’ in America in most peoples minds is now equated with a money making industry. I remember when Hilary was asked by the TV reporter as she worked her way round the tables at St. Brendan’s Launch,”So why are you doing this – what’s your angle?’ they were incredulous at her answer, “We just love people and enjoy getting to know them.”     

So we remain ‘strangers’ in Robbinsdale City, for they have rejected rather than received the ‘hospitable’ message that we have been sent to represent and the question I asked way back in the March 24th 2018 blog, seems to have found an answer.

“Yes.” We are now looking for ‘another city’ – both earthly and heavenly.  

As I said, it has been two Irish Americans we have dealt with as ‘the face’ of Robbinsdale City. The code enforcement officer who called again yesterday to check if we were now in compliance (with Robbinsdale’s code that is, which is out of compliance with God’s Law) is a ‘Patrick’, and the Mayor I met with is a ‘Murphy’.

I smiled at this, for it reminded me of a friend who is one of the most ‘genuine’ living Irish saints I know, who ticks all three of the boxes above, and embodies all that is best in “Irish”.

Raised in working class Dublin, and now living a very restricted physical but vibrant spiritual life in the depths of the Fermanagh countryside with his saintly wife Bridget (Breda), he emailed me to comment on my recent posts about how we had handled the latest twist in this saga with Robbinsdale City. He had a simple but affirming message for me.

“Godly wisdom indeed!”

Paddy Murphy.

This “Paddy Murphy” is the sort of “Irish”…. “I wish I was.”

All Will Be WellDownload