Anita Lustrea

I’m Anita Lustrea and I’m privileged to be a spiritual director. Each time I begin a session, I use a quote or poem or prayer.  As I share one of these with you, see what might catch your attention. Maybe there’s something here for you today. Today’s prayer is by Kaitlin Curtice and it comes from her book Glory Happening.

The post Poem/Prayer 24 – Kaitlin Curtice appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings 11.17.23.

1.“I want you to be grateful that you’re going through this sad moment with all these other folks. Because I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad, and that’s being alone and being sad. Ain’t nobody in this room alone.” ~ Ted Lasso 

Thumbs way up for the power of community. May we all find it and thank God for it. And if we can’t find it, perhaps we can help create it. It’s really needed at holiday time. 

2. “We have just learned that Santa’s been reading our posts all year. And most of us are getting history and civics books. Some of us are getting books on spelling, theology and civility.” ~ Clergy Coaching Network

I hope some people get remotes for their TV with no on button. And some of the punditainers need muzzles. For sure Santa will be delivering many, many moral compasses.  

3. When our religious beliefs cause people harm, it’s well beyond the time to reconsider what we believe and why. 

4. Grace cannot be understood by any ledger of merits and demerits. It cannot be held to patterns of buying, losing, earning, achieving, or manipulating. Grace is, quite literally, “for the taking.” It is God eternally giving away God—for nothing—except the giving itself.” ~ Richard Rohr

Why is God so generous? He knows not how to be anything else.

5. “In order for me to write poetry that isn’t political, I must listen to the birds, and in order to hear the birds the war planes must be silent.” ~ Marwan Makhoul

6. Stories are floating around about what the culture wars and Christian Nationalism have done to churches. Congregants, it seems, are pushing back on pastors using Jesus’s ‘Sermon on the Mount’ as preaching material. They’re calling it woke, soft, and very much aligned with liberal talking points. Seriously? Yes, seriously.  Don’t know the Sermon on the Mount? Here’s a sneak peek.

-God blesses those who are poor and those who mourn.

-God blesses those who are humble and those who hunger and thirst for justice.

-God also blesses the merciful and those whose hearts are pure, those who work for peace and those who are persecuted for doing what’s right.

I’m sure some pastors, knowing the prevailing political bent of their congregants, will choose to avoid using  Jesus’s words as source material. As a result, they  won’t sleep well but they also won’t have to hire security.   

The sobbing you hear is from Heaven itself. 

7.  “Great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation. It  wasn’t logic that caused Moses to raise his staff on the bank of the Red Sea. It wasn’t common sense that caused Paul to abandon the law and embrace grace. And it wasn’t a confident committee that prayed in a small room in Jerusalem for Peter’s release from prison. It was a fearful, desperate, band of believers that were backed into a corner.” ~ Shawn Fain, President of  the United Auto Workers as reported by John Blake, CNN

Fain was speaking to the United Auto Workers prior to their strike. I find that to be fascinating. Obviously, he’s a man of deep faith. These words – “a fearful, desperate band of believers were backed into a corner” – got to me. In the world we live in I often feel both desperate and afraid and backed into a corner.  Bet you do too. In those times I long for other fearful, desperate believers who, when their backs are against the wall, seek God . And not in a perfunctory manner. No, they seek God with everything they’ve got because they know there’s no room for weak and polite prayers in the kind of world we’re living in.

8. “There is immense silent agony in the world, and the task of man and a woman is to be a voice for the plundered poor, to prevent the desecration of the soul and the violation of our dream of honesty. The more deeply immersed I became in the thinking of the prophets, the more powerfully it became clear to me what the lives of the Prophets sought to convey: that morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” ~ Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

“…some are guilty but all are responsible .”  I assume he’s referring to me and you.

9. If the presumed MAGA nominee for President  (the one with 91 indictments and four trials) actually wins the election, undocumented immigrants (including the Dreamers) will be deported  by the hundreds of thousands, no matter how or when or why they got here. He’s vowing to round them up, put them in big camps, and then ship them out without any due process, all the while building that big wall to keep them out forever. Whew. And he will do that at the same time he’s getting even with his political foes, going hard after those he calls ‘vermins’ (one of the favorite words of Nazis), and cozying up to other authoritarian, anti-democracy world leaders.

My hunch is that he’ll also figure out how to monetize all that hate and anger for his personal benefit.

Wowser. What a vision for America, huh?

Does our immigration policy need fixing? Yes, it does. And soon. Draconian measures, however, that tear apart families, sending people back to dangerous, perhaps deadly situations is not the solution. Even entertaining the thought of deportation camps, with no due process available, and with no consideration of our undocumented neighbors who have lived in the USA in meritorious ways for a long time is flat out sinful. 

Seriously, there’s something quite troubling about those who just can’t wait for the day when ‘those people’ will be punished and finally gone. 

The sign, a while back, outside the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in NYC  made a really good point: “Rather than a wall, America needs to build a giant mirror to reflect on what we’ve become.” 

Yes, that rings true. But who will actually step up to do that reflection?    

10. $76,000,000 is the buy out of Jimbo Fisher’s football coaching contract at Texas A&M.  It will be paid by the athletic department and a foundation supported by wealthy boosters. 

You know that mirror I mentioned in Rumble #9. It’s also needed in big time college sports. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 11-17-23 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 78 – Matthew 15:10-20 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Melinda Schmidt is back on the podcast with me as we talk about ancestors. We are releasing this podcast in November which contains All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day. It’s a whole month devoted to honoring all those who have died over the course of the previous year.

In the west we’ve not done a good job of honoring our ancestors and recognizing their wisdom. On the podcast we look at the part ancestors play in biblical history, what our ancestors have left behind for us, and we look at the fact that we are becoming ancestors too.

Here are the resources mentioned on the podcast:

The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors Walk with Us Toward Holiness by Christine Valters Paintner

Translating Your Past: Finding Meaning in Family Ancestry, Genetic Clues, and Generational Trauma by Michelle Van Loon

Note: When clicking through on links to products on Amazon, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Melinda Schmidt – episode 376 – Ancestors appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

I’m Anita Lustrea and I’m privileged to be a spiritual director. Each time I begin a session, I use a quote or poem or prayer.  As I share one of these with you, see what might catch your attention. Maybe there’s something here for you today.

Today’s poem is titled A Diamond Is Born by All Renée Bozarth.

The post Poem/Prayer 23 – Alla Renée Bozarth appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 11.10.23

1.  Former President Obama said this about the Israel/Hamas War: 

“ … this is centuries-old stuff that’s coming to the fore …take in the whole truth ..

what Hamas did was horrific, and there’s no justification for it …And what is also true is that the occupation and what’s happening to Palestinians is unbearable… And what is also true is that there is a history of the Jewish people that may be dismissed unless your grandparents or your great-grandparents, or your uncle or your aunt tell you stories about the madness of antisemitism. And what is true is that there are people right now who are dying, who have nothing to do with what Hamas did…” ~ Lisa Lere NY Times

War is quite a nasty, nasty thing. Obama reminds us that war  is also quite complicated. 

I want Israel to remain a flourishing, democratic country. I am anti-Hamas and any other terror group. I want Palestinians to have a homeland where they can also flourish.

 I want to stand with the powerless and against the extremists especially those who use religion as their rationale to do harm. I am always for win-win decisions and for wise men and women to continue to rise up who know how to broker peace.

What are you for?

2. “If we truly believe that God surrounds us, we believe that prayer is an everyday experience of being alive…. When you step outside and engage with the world in quiet listening, prayer will happen, and it will take on its own way of being for you.” ~ Kaitlin Curtice, CAC

Step outside. Engage. Quiet listening. These are  building blocks of  a healthy prayer life.

3.“I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” Dorothy Day

“I pray my Christianity will not keep me from being Christlike.” ~ on love and mercy : a social justice devotional

4. “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” ~ John F. Kennedy

I’m chuckling. “Let us accept our own responsibility …” could that really happen? 

I’m still chuckling. 

Personal responsibility doesn’t fit well in a point your finger, blame game culture. It’s time we get back to it though.

It seems voters in separate states this week, defying what the pollster predicted, did indeed take the opportunity to accept responsibility for the future. Good for them.

5. “Do not love half lovers.

Do not entertain half friends.

Do not live half a life

and do not die a half death.

If you choose silence, then be silent.

When you speak, do so until you are finished.

Do not silence yourself to say something

And do not speak to be silent.

If you accept, then express it bluntly.

Do not mask it.

If you refuse then be clear about it

for an ambiguous refusal is but a weak acceptance.

Do not accept half a solution.

Do not believe half truths.

Do not dream half a dream.

Do not fantasize about half hopes.

Half the way will get you nowhere.

Half an idea will bear you no results.

Half a life is a life you didn’t live,

a word you have not said,

a smile you postponed,

a love you have not had,

a friendship you did not know.

The half is a mere moment of inability,

but you are able for you are not half a being.

You are a whole that exists to live a life

not half a life.” ~ Khalil Gibran

6. “Most of us think of God’s commands in terms of restraint, a restriction of our freedom to do as we please. God’s command is closer to us than we are to ourselves, in our words and in the deep desires of our hearts. It calls us to freedom and growth, not to diminishment.”  Pray as you Go 

7. Kristin DuMez of “Jesus and John Wayne” fame interviewed  David Gushee,  Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University. Here’s  a snippet.

KDM: You make the  case that a close alignment between Christianity and the state is bad for both. The threat to democracy is clear,  but how is this bad for the church?

DG: The marriage of church and state confuses Christians about their identity and loyalty, reduces Christianity to a certain version of worldly politics and thus makes politics a new creedal element, often corrupts Christian moral behavior because of the ends-justify-the means dynamics in politics, drives dissenting Christians out of the church, distorts Christian public witness, and positions Christians as oppressors of minority groups in society. Other than that, it’s perfectly lovely.

8. Lord, make me a channel of disturbance.

Where there is apathy, let me provoke;

Where there is compliance, let me bring questioning;

Where there is silence, may I be a voice. 

Where there is too much comfort and too little action, grant disruption;

Where there are doors closed and hearts locked,

When laws dictate and pain is overlooked…

Grant that I may seek rather to DO justice than to talk about it;

Disturb us, O Creator,

To be with, as well as for, the alienated;To love the unlovable as well as the lovely;

Author Unknown.

9. Eugene Peterson awakened many of us to the wonders of scripture when he gave us “The Message.” 

His son Leif, at his funeral, told the congregation that he liked to joke with his dad  and tell him that despite decades of creativity in sharing the Bible with people in new ways, he really only had one message, one sermon, and one theme. And it was this:

 “God loves you. He’s on your side. He’s coming after you. He’s relentless.”

10. “Republican evangelicals are putting America under immense strain. Christian commitment to the Big Lie almost broke America. Evangelicals’ loyalty to Trump — in spite of several other options — is placing one of the most malignant figures in American politics within striking distance of the presidency, again. And now Republican evangelicals applaud as Mike Johnson, another man who fully committed himself to overturning the election, has become second in line for the presidency.

This should not be. The Bible that sits on Johnson’s shelf, the one that tells him what to think about “any issue under the sun,” may not tell us how to formulate immigration policy or how much money to send to Ukraine. But it does condemn dishonesty, it does condemn cruelty, and if there is a clear theme that echoes throughout its pages, it’s one that “MAGA Mike Johnson” and his legion of evangelical supporters should take to heart: The ends do not justify the means.” ~ David French,  an old school Republican and Evangelical, Opinion columnist  for the NY Times. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 11-10-23 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 77 -Matthew 13:36-43 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

I’m Anita Lustrea and I’m privileged to be a spiritual director. Each time I begin a session, I use a quote or poem or prayer.  As I share one of these with you, see what might catch your attention. Maybe there’s something here for you today.

Today’s prayer is written by Beth Merrill Neel and read from her blog titled Hold Fast to What is Good.

The post Poem/Prayer 22 – Beth Merrill Neel appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below.

Rumblings. 11.3.23 

1. “On the edge of war, one foot already in,

I no longer pray for peace:

I pray for miracles.

I pray that stone hearts will turn

to tenderheartedness,

and evil intentions will turn

to mercifulness,

and all the soldiers already deployed

will be snatched out of harm’s way,

and the whole world will be

astounded onto its knees.

I pray that all the “God talk”

will take bones,

and stand up and shed

its cloak of faithlessness,

and walk again in its powerful truth.

I pray that the whole world might

sit down together and share

its bread and its wine.

Some say there is no hope,

but then I’ve always applauded the holy fools

who never seem to give up on

the scandalousness of our faith:

that we are loved by God……

that we can truly love one another.

I no longer pray for peace:

I pray for miracles.” ~ Ann Weems

2.  “We worshiped Jesus instead of following him on his same path. We made Jesus into a mere religion instead of a journey towards union with God  and everything else. This shift made us into a religion of belonging and believing instead of a religion of transformation … 

Jesus’ primary metaphor for the mystery of transformation is the sign of Jonah … Jesus knew well the graphic story of Jonah the prophet who ran from God and was used by God almost in spite of himself. Jonah was swallowed by a whale and taken where he would rather not go. This was Jesus’ metaphor for death and rebirth…Rather than look for impressive apparitions or miracles, Jesus said we must go inside the whale’s belly for a while. Then and only then will we be spit out on a new shore and understand our call, our place, and our purpose…” ~ Richard Rohr

Metaphorically speaking, have you ever been inside the whale’s belly and spit out on a new shore? Some of you have. If so, my guess is that there was  a renewed clarity of your place in the order of things, and perhaps a better understanding of your sense of purpose. Transformation is an ongoing process. It’s like being born again, again and again and again. Wowser. It’s a game changer isn’t it? 

3. Daily Prayer of C.S. Lewis.

“May it be the real I who speaks.

May it be the real Thou that I speak to.” Amen.

4. “Yes, it can be done (Si, se puede)”was the rallying cry used by Cesar Chavez as he organized migrant farm workers.

Barack Obama riffed off it and made  “Yes, we can”  his campaign slogan.

Call me crazy but I still believe that ‘we can’. 

5. “At the end of the day, the problem is the human heart. It’s not guns. It’s not the weapons. At the end of the day, we have to protect the right of the citizens to protect themselves, and that’s the Second Amendment.”

— House Speaker Mike Johnson

After researching the new Speaker this doesn’t come as a surprise. When push comes to shove he’s a MAGA guy, just a slicker, more pious version of one.

My take is that as long as the Speaker and the rest of the MAGA legislators insist on bowing down to the gun lobby and remain adamant in their resolve to not allow common sense gun legislation (which would need to contain money for mental health initiatives) to come to a vote, our country will continue to experience heartache many times over. 

As long as increasing the bottom line of gun manufacturers stays the priority and as long as those in Congress get their campaign contributions, nothing will change. And the next time a mass murderer kills our citizens, MAGA members of the House, will on cue, offer thoughts and prayers for the broken-hearted families of the victims. 

Miroslav Volf  once said: “There is something deeply hypocritical about praying for a problem you are unwilling to resolve.” 

I’m tired of the hypocrisy. 

6. “Let ignorance reproduce itself until it is weary of its own offspring.”~ Kahlil Gibron

7. It’s the fundamentalists. The purists. The ones filled with stubborn certitude. They are the problem. Whether it’s fundamentalist Baptists, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Mennonites, Presbyterians, Democrats, Republicans, Mormans, or Rotarians, the results are the same. They see a divide and make it wider and deeper all the while saying “it’s our way or the highway.” 

I find fundamentalists of any stripe to be trying and close minded.  

Fundamentalism creates a climate that nurtures  anti-semitism. And our Jewish friends are rightlfully fearful for crimes against Jews are multiplying. 

Fundamentalism also breathes life into Islamophobia, encouraging the haters to keep doing their thing, no matter what the cost. Our Muslim neighbors are rightfully afraid.

It’s all very scary these days. Our task is to both stand with the oppressed and examine our own lives to see whether or not there’s an inner fundie in us that needs to be expelled. 

8. Popeye said: “That’s all I can stands – I can’t stands no more!” 

I’m not at that point but there are moments when I feel like I’m close. Perhaps that’s why this piece touched my heart. 

“God of the weary

9. Do you remember that time in scripture when Jesus walked along the seashore and he pointed at three separate groups of people -lepers, widows, and refugees- and then told his disciples that in the Kingdom of God “such people are of no importance whatsoever?” 

And then do you remember when he was on that big honkin’ yacht cruising on the Sea of Galilee and he uttered those famous words: “This  is what life is really all about. Forget all that first shall be last and last will be first nonsense.” 

Remember? Neither do I. But I know a fair amount of people who are acting in ways that indicate they actually believe Jesus said things like this. 

Willful moments of stupidity help people justify all kinds of things that give them permission to trample on all that is good, just, and holy. It’s a strategy that does great damage to both the perpetrator and the victim.

10. A friend had been going through some difficult familial moments. She said: “I found a working peace” with it all and that has enabled me to move forward. 

Sometimes that’s the best we can get – a working peace. 

…

One of our pastors prayed this last Sunday in response to the killings in Maine.  I found it to be meaningful. She said: “Soften the memories of those who were witnesses.”

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 11-03-23 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Kathleen MacInnis Kichline joins me on the podcast today as we dive into her book, Why These Women?, which focuses on the lives of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. These are the women listed in the genealogy included in the book of Matthew. Our conversation touches on the oppression of these women as shown through their stories and an important question, “What does it take for someone to break out of an oppressive situation?” I’ll let you listen to the podcast to hear the response to that question. It’s an important response that connects with us today.

Find Kathleen in these places:

• Website

Note: When clicking through on links to products on Amazon, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Kathleen MacInnis Kichline – episode 375 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.