BeLOnGings

I knew we were in the right place at the right time when the scripture verse on the front of the Order of Service was the same as the title of my previous blog,”…….came the sound of a gentle whisper“

It was an historic occasion. Our friend Fern was being installed as moderator of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies and she had invited us to participate in the service. She would be the first Native American moderator here in the 222 year history of the Presbyterian Church of the USA. That morning we were lead to Revelation 22.2 speaking of the leaves of the tree that are for the healing of the nations. A document of apology had been prepared. Would the denomination take the opportunity this year to take a step in the healing of the nations by repenting of the sins perpetrated against the indigenous peoples on the basis of the erroneous doctrine of Manifest Destiny?

The hymn books were passed out. Mine ‘just happened’ to fall open at number 222, a hymn entitled “Despised and Rejected” based on Isaiah 53. Interestingly we had just been talking over dinner with Fern and her daughter about how from childhood as “Indians” they had always felt “invisible” to those of the dominant culture.

As I was invited to come forward and share with my fellows of  European Presbyterian descent I told the story of these three 222 “God-incidences” and suggested we might consider another rendering of Isaiah 53 :-

“They were despised and rejected by men. A people of sorrows and acquainted with grief as those from whom men hide their faces……but they were wounded for our transgressions they were bruised for our iniquities.”

I then recounted how the prayer of the Pilgrim Father’s had been inspirational in our family’s moving to America. It was said of them “Some came for land some came for gold, but they came to pray,’Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on this part of earth and then from this part of the earth to the uttermost parts of the earth, as it is in heaven.'”

“How close do you think we are in America to becoming an expression of the kingdom of heaven on earth?” I asked, conscious of the current political, environmental, economic and social craziness! Then I asked a second question. “What if when we had arrived we had honored those to whom God had given the authority to steward this part of creation, and instead of taking their gold and land had requested their wisdom?”

Psalm 105  was the chosen reading. It recounts the Old Covenant story of conquering the original ‘promised land’ by the physical sword, a narrative that had been used by some of our American forefathers to justify genocide. In the New Covenant that sword of force was meant to be exchanged for “the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God” – a word of incarnational love putting to death our ‘flesh’ and bringing new life in Christ.

At one point, the unthinkable happened, a cell phone rang!

Every head turned toward the ‘villian’.

It was Fern!

The reader continued unperturbed from Psalm 105.

“Do my anointed ones no harm”

When we are attuned to hearing Father’s commentary we hear his “gentle whisper” everywhere!

I received this email from a dear friend in Edinburgh, Scotland after the last post.

Dear Paul

I just wanted to tell you that I was so blessed by your latest post, and by watching you and Hilary and Ben sing at Loren Matzke’s Memorial Service (I had Ps 147 in my reading this morning!). I was reminded that as the Service of Thanksgiving for Iain’s life began at 12 noon on 6 Feb 2015 in St Cuthbert’s Church, which is below the Castle, there was a 21-gun salute from the Castle for the Queen! Not even Iain could have organised that, but the Father did!

Love to you and Hilary (it was lovely to watch her and hear her beautiful voice)

Theresa

Theresa’s husband Iain was another Prince, a Scottish one, who faithfully, joyfully and lovingly served God with his many gifts – one of which was organization!

Like Loren and elder Blue, Iain’s life was marked by a genuine humility that shrank from drawing attention to himself…….leaving it for others to point out how heaven had blown it’s trumpet to welcome home another true ‘son of God’

There is an earthly perspective and there is a heavenly perspective.

Last month the tragic and untimely death of the popular Minneapolis artist formerly known as Prince, was reported worldwide in the earthly headlines.

A few weeks ago we were lead to make a trip west to the home of an old Dakota elder called Blue who knew it was time “to make his final journey”.

His condition at that time was well described in my song,

My eyes are dim
My ears are deaf
My body weaker by the day
And some would say there’s not much left
But I know the best is on it’s way
And through this door I will step
Through this door I will come
Cause through this door, we first met
And through this door I’ll go home.

Father had given me a new song to sing to bless him on his way.

A week later I was attending a ‘leaders’ meeting in Minneapolis. I had slipped in at the back wanting to ‘show my face’ and then leave, but a brother noticed me and in front of everyone insisted I take the one empty chair – right at the front! I sensed Father was setting me up for something more public than I had wanted and sure enough after the teaching I realized the new song I had been given as a farewell for elder Blue was also appropriate for this time and place, so I rose to sing it for a second time.

A prophetic brother who knew nothing of elder Blue spoke, “The Lord told me that this morning that he was giving out color badges of honor. The color was INDIGO which is made up of Blue for revelation and Purple for authority.”

I discovered later that it was at this very moment that elder Blue had passed ‘through this door’.

It seemed that the heavenly headlines were announcing to those attuned to “the gentle whisper” that this had been the most timely death of one to whom an “indigo badge of honor” had been awarded denoting – a true Purple “reign” to come for a true Prince called Blue.

At the visitation, in contrast to the thousands who poured out onto the streets of downtown Minneapolis when the local artist died, a little group of family and friends had gathered in the tiny country church where elder Blue had been the ‘pillar’ of the community for decades. His dignified body lay in a casket at the front. There, at his side, was a pair of moccasins lovingly made for him by his Indian mother long before it came time for her son to make this final journey through the door.

Beautiful, intricately worked beads – in INDIGO!

We had some time to pass in the local town before the service began and found ourselves browsing in a local store. “I’ve got it!” Hilary exclaimed. “I couldn’t find an appropriate graduation card for Issac – but this is perfect!”

I read it and said, “This isn’t just for our young friend Isaac back in Minneapolis, this is also for our old friend Blue here! – another “child of grace” who has graduated – from this life……..and is ‘Just getting started!'”

 

 

On a final note, a few months ago I had the privilege of being involved in a memorial service of another Prince – from heaven’s perspective. You can watch it here. It is lengthy but you can skip to the Indian tribute telling Loren’s story at 39 minutes or to the tribute by Hilary, Ben and myself in story and song beginning at 1.09 minutes.

 

This blogging’s a bit of a learning curve…..especially for someone as techie illiterate as myself

You may have noticed the three errors… in our last notification. I’d forgotten to adjust the title and date….and realized I’d also spelt Be-LOnGings wrong.

“Oh dear!” I thought.

Then turning I heard that “gentle whisper” at our kitchen sink, through the apostle Paul’s words quoted on our Oswald Chambers calendar reading for the day…“I delight in my weaknesses” These words from his second letter to the Corinthians come at the heart of a rather embarrassed defense of his ‘apostolic’ ministry.

Over the years we have been in and around several ministries that laid claim to that title. My deepest conviction from all these experiences is that the most essential element of the ‘apostolic’ is just this, the ability to delight in our weakness, in other words –  to be able to laugh at ourselves!

I remember once in the middle of a week of prayer and fasting one brother stood up. We were all ears for the next ‘Word from God’  “Thus saith the Lord.” he began. “Lighten up. Go home and have a pizza!” We knew it was Father! In this “gentle whisper” He was jokingly saying that we had started taking ourselves (not Him) too seriously!

Another way in which delighting in our weaknesses manifests is in a genuine listening (for the “gentle whisper”) in everyone and everything around us conscious that no matter how called and anointed we may feel ourselves to be, we are only a ‘part’ of the whole…no better and no worse that any other part. It is God who determines who is a “vessel of honor” and who is a “vessel of dishonor”, so what room does that leave for arrogance even if we believe we are in the former category?

Paul goes on to talk about how our weakness makes room for God’s grace, for it is ALL grace from start to finish. That’s bible too! I believe the first phrase in Genesis has the same gematria (The study of the numerical values designated to Hebrew and Greek letters) as the word for “grace” (911) and the very last verse of Revelation reads, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

So I reckon it’s OK to fumble about a bit at anything until we find our feet …….or maybe even better, to never find our feet and keep fumbling…. so that we can remain forever, fumblingly humble – and connected to His grace. (1 Peter 5:5)

P.S.  The answer to last week’s question is 12, I think : – )

We are blessed to have our son Ben, his wife Kim, their 4, soon to be 5, children and 3 chickens living within happy earshot – right next door.

The other day they were flying home from a vacation with Kim’s folks. On my way to pick them up the airport I noticed a road sign advertising this place:

 

 

“That really captures today’s cultural norm” I thought.

Then Father whispered “Small Still Family” and I realized He was giving me a contrasting phrase to “Big Thrill Factory” in order to to describe the culture of His kingdom.

It’s a kingdom that’s not about a product, it’s about a people – a people who are distinguished by their quest for the “still small voice” – the ‘gentle whisper’ that is their Father (1 Kings.19:12)

At our next little family/community evening here in our home, Ben described the part of Florida they had escaped to from the Minnesota chill – “Not exactly rich in culture – really just one long strip mall!” He said “But that really didn’t matter. The joy of the trip was in each other and in just being family together.”

I thought of “that culture song”, “Harder to Hear” from his new CD. You can listen to it at the end of this great 13 minute Youtube video. How many Kyles sneak into the footage? Answer next blog.

Alternatively you can just skip directly to the song at 9.15. (You might have to crank up the volume to catch all the words : – )

 

 

 

Our youngest son Gilbert, our administrative co-pilot in the cockpit, asked me, “Who on your email list should I notify about the blog?”

I shot back, “Oh just send it to everyone” conscious that the list included a wide variety of people from the electric company to some people I knew no longer wanted to hear from me!

We smiled at the number of friends who responded with a YES…It was like our birthday as those names of people who have been part of our lives kept popping up!

One lady in Europe, who I have actually never met personally, wrote in broken English that she had just been thinking about us that morning. She described her painful journey of rejection by her husband and by the ‘religious’ establishment over the last few years and how it had been brightened by His Be-ing present with her through our songs!

I wrote back to her.”It’s good to know that when we follow Jesus ‘outside the camp’ (Heb. 13:13 ) we are not alone there….but He is with us, and like Elijah in the story in 1 Kings 18 and 19 “there are 7,000 others” with whom we Be-LOnG, who “have not bowed the knee to Baal” I believe in our day, Baal takes the form of any idol in our hearts that we sincerely want God to uncover and remove so that we might hear His voice of TRUTH. I develop this in the next blog.

When in Ireland recently we had a wonderful time with a few friends who came together around the topic (Out of the box) God is, to share with tears and laughter their own stories of discovering God in ‘unexpected’ places….beyond the ‘controlled’ box of  ‘carnal’ thinking and ‘cultural’ norms.

God does not promise a reward for those whose doctrine gets an A+ for orthodoxy, but for those who ‘earnestly seek him’ (Heb.11:6 )  We are not meant to settle for “safe truths” but only for the one who is The Truth……for our reward is with HIM (Rev.22:12)……..as the subtitle of this blog says, “…..and Be-ing with you nothing else I desire.” (Ps.73:25)

Consistent with the “Family Blog” vision I share about in the introductory piece “Why Be-LOnGings ?” (click on the menu) we would be glad to get your feedback and will try to respond. I’ll aim to write about a blog a week. I hope if you come with an open heart it will be a worthwhile weekly investment of 3- 13 minutes…depending on how long you choose to linger.

So welcome to the Be-LOnGings family, and to complete the standard flight farewell:-

“We know you have a choice of blogs and we do appreciate your friendship : – )”

P.S. Thanks to Peggy, for sending me this link of Dylan Thomas reading his own poem, after my first blog, “Just getting Started”. There you’ll remember I responded to Thomas’ passionate appeal with the hope of resurrection !!!

This morning I woke thinking about this new blog……..Be LOnGINGS

As the words “I’M JUST GETTING STARTED” came to mind I knew Father was speaking to me beyond the blog……. about the purpose of my existence.

I’m in my sixty third year and statistically that means I’ve likely lived at least three quarters of my life on earth, but in my spirit I knew that growing in knowing God in these years has been preparation for what is ahead.

Yesterday I ‘stumbled’ across a Dylan Thomas poem that as a favorite of mine as a young man.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The year Dylan Thomas died I was born.

Over these last 62 years I have discovered that the purpose of this life is not to rage as it comes to an end but to engage throughout in such a way that we go joyfully into that bright light that is the next step.

“What time is it?” Hilary asked as I scribbled these thoughts down on the scrap of paper beside our bed.

“8.22” I said

Romans 8:22 says, “We know that The Whole Of Creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

The number 8 represents “new beginnings” and 22 represents “light”

BE-ing present to hear these whispers from the one our hearts are LONGING for in each moment of time, is our preparation for that moment in time when we are finally revealed as the ‘sons of light’  as we pass from this age to the next. (1 Cor.15:52, Rom. 8:19)

P.S. Watch out for our new CD to be released shortly called, “The Whole Of Creation”