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. 1.6.23 

1. As I think about the upcoming House of Representatives investigations featuring the always angry and character challenged members of the Freedom Caucus, and their election-denying, MAGA  allies, I am reminded of the words of  TV President Josiah Bartlet (West Wing): “Your indignation would be a lot more interesting to me if it wasn’t quite so covered in crap.”

We’re going to witness a whole lot of the theater of the absurd over the next two years. What we’ve witnessed this week is but a scary, sneak preview. I pray what’s coming won’t completely rot our souls nor further damage our Republic. Cuz right now I can smell the rot and eyeball the existing damage. And it smells putrid and it looks really awful. 

2. “Your enemy is not the refugee. Your enemy is the one who made him a refugee.”~ Tariq Ramadan

If you’re all hot and bothered and wanting to storm the border and drive all ‘those people’ back where they came from, think again. You’re waging a war against the wrong people. 

It’s been said that when we see people drowning in a river, rescuing them is an immediate priority. Then we need to go upriver to see who’s throwing them in. That’s where the problem resides. That’s where the remedy has to be applied. 

3. “We remember the sacred by our reverence. . . . This is the esteem we extend to the reality revealed to us. Jesus didn’t abandon his reality, he lived it. He ran away from nothing and sought some wise path through everything. He engaged in it all with acceptance. He had an eye out always for cherishing his reality. A homie, Leo, wrote me: “I’m going to trust God’s constancy of love to hover over my crazy ass. I’m fervent in my efforts to cultivate holy desires.” …” ~ Greg Boyle SJ 

Let’s all be fervent in our efforts to cultivate holy desires. 

4. From satirist Dave Barry’s 2022 Year in Review.

 “Millions of Americans on social media realized — it took them a while, but they finally got there — that nobody wants to know how they did on Wordle.” 

“America faced three major crises: spiking covid-19 cases, soaring inflation and an alarming surge in the number of people who think it’s okay to hold loud FaceTime conversations in public.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court, in what legal experts view as evidence of a shift to the right, rules that all previous court decisions were wrong.” 

4. I feel more secure and grounded whenever I read words like this penned by Ilia Didio. “Jesus knew of the deeper truth hidden beneath the surface of human judgment, namely that this broken, anxious world is oozing with God. He asked us to have faith, to believe that the reign of God is among us and within us.” 

And the reign of God doesn’t need the false security of any of the crazy things we are being asked to endorse and endure these days.  Our job is to seek first the authentic  “Kingdom of God.” That’s where the action is. 

And then we fight like mad, courageously, faithfully, and non-violently,  to stem the tidal wave of ‘stupid’ threatening us. I like what Angela Davis says: “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” 

5. “At my age, I want to be helpful and do more, but I just don’t have the physical energy to do all I used to do and still want to do. I need to trust that while there may be less of me, there will be more of Christ… I am coming to believe that Jesus invites us to be “born again” in every season of life, perhaps especially in our senior years.” ~ Alice Fryling,” Aging Faithfully: The Holy Invitation of Growing Older”

This reminds me that even as I age that God isn’t done with me yet. I may not have the same strength and vigor I once had but I have enough. And I have a hunch that what happens next just might end up being the most impactful time of my life. “Less of me, more of Christ” is a fitting mantra for me going forward. Being born again, and again – makes all the sense in the world for any of us who are intentional about our pilgrimage through life. 

6. “Several years ago, I invited a Buddhist monk to speak to my Senior elective class, and quite interestingly, as he entered the room, he didn’t say a word. 

He just walked to the board and wrote this: “EVERYONE WANTS TO SAVE THE WORLD, BUT NO ONE WANTS TO HELP MOM DO THE DISHES.” We all laughed.

But then he went on to say this to my students: “Statistically, it’s highly unlikely that any of you will ever have the opportunity to run into a burning orphanage and rescue an infant. But, in the smallest gesture of kindness — a warm smile, holding the door for the person behind you, shoveling the driveway of the elderly person next door — you have committed an act of immeasurable profundity, because to each of us, our life is our universe.” ~ John Perricone

In whatever way possible let’s strive to be difference makers. 

7. I’ve spent the past few years educating myself about matters of race and culture. What did I find? Quite a bit actually. One very obvious thing stands out. Around every corner, down every dark hallway, during every time period, I discovered the prevalence of the lie that states ‘A white America is a better America.’ 

Of course, when you embrace a lie like this an entire system of marginalizing, demonizing, obstructing, enslaving and even killing non-white people had to be developed. And a narrative had to be created to justify those actions. 

That system and narrative, over time, became normative, turned into policy and codified into law.”

We are still dealing with the lie and the systems (including the church) that enable it and will be for some time to come. It’s deeply embedded in the DNA of our country. Progress has been made of course but “there are miles to go before we sleep.”

“We reap what we sow.”

8. “There is absolutely no salvation without love: this is the wheel in the middle of the wheel. Salvation does not divide. Salvation connects…. It is not the exclusive property of any dogma, creed, or church. It keeps the channel open between oneself and however one wishes to name That which is greater than oneself. It has nothing to do with one’s fortunes or one’s circumstances in one’s passage through this world. It is a mighty fortress, even in the teeth of ruin or at the gates of death.~ James Baldwin

9. My spiritual director told me that “Most people live out their spiritual life in black and white. Then there’s those who choose living color.” 

Which one are you? 

10.”The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.”  ~ Rabindranath Tagore

When we live for the ‘sake of others’, not trying to curry favor or reward, something absolutely wondrous happens to us. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 01-06-23 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 33 – Luke 2:36-40 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Happy New Year and welcome to the first podcast of 2023! Barb Hill has written a wonderful 52-week devotional that you might want to accompany you through this new year. Barb is a licensed therapist and founder of Holding Space Counseling with a specialty in trauma. She recognizes the importance that faith and mental health play in our lives. I think you’ll appreciate this insightful conversation about Waiting and what it looks like in the various seasons of our lives. Her devotional is titled, Seasons of Waiting.

Find Barb Hill in the following places:

• Website

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

The post Barb Hill – episode 347 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. 12.30.22 

1. “John the Baptist is one of my favorite people  in scripture. He knew who he wasn’t (I am not the Messiah) & he knew who he was (I am a voice in the wilderness).

Every day I need to get clear in my soul about who I am & who I am not. Otherwise I find myself living a life God never called me to.” ~ Rich Villodas, Pastor New Life Fellowship, Elmhurst, Queens

Who are you? Who are you not meant to be? I’ve floundered the most when I tried to be what I wasn’t. 

2. “One of the great surprises is that humans come to full consciousness precisely by shadowboxing, facing their own contradictions, and making friends with their own mistakes and failings. People who have no inner struggles are invariably both superficial and uninteresting. We tend to endure them more than communicate with them, because they have so little to communicate.” ~ Richard Rohr, Falling Upward

“Why do you enjoy being with those people Mike?” I’ve been asked that question. My answer is basically the same each time. “Because they are curious enough to be interesting. They’ve either dealt with or are in the midst of dealing with their stuff.”

3. George Santos, who pretty much fabricated an entire bio, will be seated as a Republican member of Congress in January. No one in GOP leadership is doing anything of substance to stop him. None in his party are saying he’s unfit for office. Surprised? I’m not. Character, although it’s given lip service, doesn’t seem to count very much with that bunch. 

It’s always a sad and bad day for America when yet another self-serving liar is seated at the table and starts making decisions about our lives. 

Scripture reminds us, however, that “those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Scripture is vague however about the timetable. 

4. “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The persecution complex of Americans is over the top isn’t it? We are so easily offended and adept at magnifying anything that looks like a slight. Back in the day it was called “making a mountain out of a molehill.” It’s all quite sad and sinful and immature and unnecessary.

5. I always liked that Saint Kateri Tekakwitha’s name “Tekakwitha” means “she who bumps into things.” What if holiness is a contact sport and we are meant to bump into things? This is what it means to embrace a contemplative, mystical way of seeing wholeness. It gives a window into complexity and keeps us from judging and scapegoating and demonizing. If we allow ourselves to “bump into things,” then we quit measuring. We cease to Bubble-Wrap ourselves against reality. We stop trying to “homeschool” our way through the world so that the world won’t touch us. It’s hard to embrace the world . . . if we are so protective and defensively shielded from it. A homie told me once, “It’s taken me all these years to see the real world. 

And once ya see it—there’s only God there.” ~ Father Greg Boyle S.J. is the Founder of Homeboy Industries, which offers jobs, services, and hope to ex-gang members. He’s always pithy. 

Drum roll please. “We cease to Bubble-Wrap ourselves against reality. We stop trying to “homeschool” our way through the world so that the world won’t touch us. …What if holiness is a contact sport and we are meant to bump into things?…” 

6. I subscribe to Heather Cox Richardson’s daily newsletter entitled “Letter from an American.” It’s free and it’s very good. Writing about the attempted coup on January 6, she offered this gem that aptly portrays and defines the former president:

“He expressed no concern for those under siege that day, and he did nothing to stop the rioters.”

7. After the January 6 Committee’s report was released, Ron Filipkowski, a former federal prosecutor and Republican, tweeted: “All I can say is that those of us who have lost friends, fought with relatives, resigned positions, been called traitor, left our party, all because we saw very clearly what a con-man, huckster and fraud this man is, have never felt more vindicated.” 

Vindication perhaps, but still there’s a hollowness to these kind of victories. 

Those who gave their life to all things Trump, for the most part, are still lost in the weeds. 

All those evangelical ministers who begged for favor at the White House still have to deal with their willful, grievous sin of idolatry. 

All those who yelled at their friends and family members, calling them names and assaulting their patriotism, all because they stood against Trump owe their victims a heartfelt “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

FOX News owes the world a major Mea Maxima Culpa. 

All those testifying at the January 6 hearings who took the fifth and declared under oath that “they don’t remember” need to apologize for their willingness to evade and lie in order to aid and abet treasonous activities.

And I can’t help but agree with Liz Cheney who called out her colleagues in Congress for their duplicity in the most searing terms: “There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” 

They all need to have a personal ‘come to Jesus’ moment. All of them. Every single one of them. 

As do I. 

For I have done my own share of ranting and finger pointing. My own words have wounded people. I’ve dishonored myself and God. 

I resonate with the conflicted Paul when he writes: “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway…” 

That is sobering. It makes me want to curl up in an embarrassing ball of yuckiness. But scripture also reminds me that “With God all things are possible.” The Divine knows how to fill the darkness with light. 

If only we ask.

I’ll cling to that Divine possibility and pray that all of us who need a “come to Jesus meetup” will actually do so. Perhaps then, after the shame is dealt with and the fleeting high of feeling vindicated diminishes, we’ll move towards unfurling  the banner of reconciliation and then the very hard work of living under it can begin.

8. “God needed women for survival. Before Jesus fed us with the bread and the wine, the body and the blood, Jesus himself needed to be fed, by a woman. He needed a woman to say: “This is my body, given for you.” ~ Rachel Held Evans

Don’t try to explain the Incarnation to me! It is further from being explainable than the furthest star in the furthest galaxy. It is love, God’s limitless love enfleshing that love into the form of a human being, Jesus, the Christ, fully human and fully divine. ~ Madeleine L’Engle

9. On Wednesday, my Pray as You Go app, reminded me that it was the Feast of the Innocents. King Herod, threatened by the birth of Jesus, took it upon himself to kill all children Jesus’s age in and around Bethlehem. His murderous disregard for life is still numbing.

It reminds me of all the ways we disregard and diminish life in our world. What immediately came to mind was the callous political maneuvering of the Texas governor who decided to send three bus loads of migrants to Washington D.C., specifically to the neighborhood near the Vice President’s residence and dump them there. It was a stunt pure and simple. There was little or no  regard for the safety and welfare  of those being transported, including the children.

There is no doubt we have a crisis along our Southern border. It needs fixing. Congress needs to find a remedy. Playing games with innocents is not the remedy. Calling the people at the border ‘names’ is not a remedy. It is cruel. Using people for political gain, who are only trying to find a better life for themselves, is not good governance. It is very Herod-like. 

And for those who snicker and giggle and applaud these stealth relocation strategies —- please, grow up. You wouldn’t want to be used like this, would you?

10. “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” ~ James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

Find a hate filled person and in short order you will discover a pain that has never been faced. Help them fix the pain. Then start talking to them about their hate. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 12-30-22 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 32 – Luke 2:25-32 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 31 – Luke 1:51-55 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

My good friends Melinda Schmidt and Michelle Van Loon make another appearance on the podcast this week. We are conversation partners in life and our conversations spill out, from time to time, on the podcast. Not that long ago we had a text thread that centered on all the big and sad things going on in the world. On the podcast we talk about how to engage with current events without being buried by the emotion of it. We talk about having curiosity and we end with a fun question from Melinda about our “favorite things.” The movie The Sound of Music is something I watch annually and it’s that time of year. Join in our conversation and invite a friend along!

Here is where to find Michelle’s most recent book, Translating Your Past. And here is where you can find the record we mentioned, Stormy Weekend.

Find Michelle Van Loon in the following places:

• Website

Find Melinda Schmidt in the following places:

• Facebook

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

The post Melinda Schmidt & Michelle Van Loon – episode 346 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. 12.16.22 

1. “Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.” ~ Thoughts Wonder

Your worst moments don’t have to define you. That’s a lesson I’ve struggled to embrace. Now they only haunt me a bit. They no longer imprison me. That’s a good thing. It’s only taken me 70+ years to learn this. Our best moments, too, can trap us. I’ve watched too many people rest on their laurels instead of building upon them. 

2. Stephen Colbert, after the Georgia runoff election, quipped that he had a couple of different thoughts about the outcome: “Gratified, because Raphael Warnock defeated Herschel Walker, 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent, and terrified, because 48.6 percent of Georgians looked at Herschel Walker and went, ‘Yeah, that guy should be a U.S. senator.’”

Even some (not enough) Republicans in high places are starting to admit  that the quality of their candidates leaves much to be desired. My take is that as long as they cower in fear every time Trump’s shadow passes over them nothing will change. They’ll just keep churning out one bad candidate after another. Our democracy suffers when that happens.

It’s very sad to see a political party that continually trumpets their love of virtue continually lacking the will power to actually be virtuous. 

3. Comedian Trevor Noah has bid adieu to “The Daily Show” after seven years as host. In his final appearance, Noah thanked his fans and gave a “special’ shoutout saying, “If you truly want to learn about America, talk to Black women.”

Currently, I’m in a book club with several Black women. Their insights about America come from places I’ve never inhabited and never will. I’m the richer for knowing and listening to them. 

4. “It’s a universal law – intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill- educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education, breeds humility.”  Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Hard to argue with him. He’s spot on. 

Intolerance has been found in faith circles ever since there was a thing called faith. In some circumstances an inadequate discipleship system produced a whole lot of church folks who were ready and waiting to settle for a caricature of Jesus, who somehow became a belligerent, fractious, culture warrior. That Jesus is A-OK with arrogance and is not all that fond of humility.

It’s not the real Jesus. 

I’m thankful for those who know the difference between real and fake. 

5. Me: “Jesus, what’s the plan for carrying on your work?”

Jesus: “You are, and all the others who say they love me.”

Me (chuckling): “What if that plan doesn’t work?”

Jesus: “It’s got to. It’s the only plan I’ve got.”

6. “Kids were going through our programs and still ending up on the street. . . . They were still just one step from being hurt or even killed by a drug dealer or pimp. That is when I was forced to change. I started feeling helpless, and my confidence was shattered. All that I was left with was faith . . . [and] trust that I was where God was calling me to be.

As a result of the crisis I underwent, my work evolved from a highly praised, solution-oriented, and evidence-based practice into something much more intuitive. It really moved into prayer. And when I say prayer, I don’t necessarily mean that I was saying prayers with people. Instead, I started showing up for every person who needed my help in the same way that I was showing up for prayer. Gathering all my knowledge and tools and entrusting them to God. Saying to God, “I think you’re calling me to do something here. This is what I come with. I offer it to you. Take it. Change it. Make it useful. Because I feel so small and useless here.” ~ Adam Bucko, Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation

Humility is a strength. Admitting something isn’t working is a sign of a good leader. Trusting God is always a very, very good thing. 

7. “I often say that a vote is a kind of prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and for our children.” ~ Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock

I find this to be incredibly sobering. It’s a powerful way to look at what casting your vote actually means.  

8. “It is not that the Annunciation leads Mary out of doubt and into faith; it is that her encounter with the angel leads her out of certainty and into holy bewilderment. Out of familiar spiritual territory and into a lifetime of pondering, wondering, questioning, and wrestling.” ~ Debie Thomas

I confess to once upon a time being addicted to certainty. The faith I could once upon a time categorize so effortlessly demanded better of me. 

As my faith has matured I have rather enjoyed being faced, at times, with a version of holy bewilderment. And I’m OK with that. I like asking questions of my faith and have appreciated the way my faith interrogates all facets of my life. It grows me up. And I have no doubt Mary (who was very brave) had many moments of questioning and wondering. After all, she was human. And her story was strange and hard to believe. I’m sure she had her ‘moments’.

9.  “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” 

“We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and  denial of my humanity and right to exist.”

James Baldwin was a force and his work still challenges us. His authenticity might scare you a bit but once you settle into it you realize that he is the kind of writer that offers you the invitation to think, feel, reassess and then act.

Read books my friends. Good ones. Like the ones activists are forcing school boards to ban. When you do you’ll be far less inclined to deny anyone the right to exist. 

10. I Feel Sorry for Jesus 

by Naomi Shihab Nye

“People won’t leave Him alone.

I know He said, wherever two or more

are gathered in my name…

but I’ll bet some days He regrets it.

Cozily they tell you what He wants

and doesn’t want

as if they just got an e-mail.

Remember ‘Telephone’, that pass-it-on game

where the message changed dramatically

by the time it rounded the circle?

Well.

People blame terrible pieties on Jesus.

They want to be his special pet.

Jesus deserves better.

I think He’s been exhausted

for a very long time.

He went into the desert, friends.

He didn’t go into the pomp.

He didn’t go into

the golden chandeliers

and say, the truth tastes better here.

See? I’m talking like I know.

It’s dangerous talking for Jesus.

You get carried away almost immediately.

I stood in the spot where He was born.

I closed my eyes where He died and didn’t die.

Every twist of the Via Dolorosa

was written on my skin.

And that makes me feel like being silent

for Him, you know? A secret pouch

of listening. You won’t hear me

mention this again.” 

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 12-16-22 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 30 – Luke 1:46-50 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

I had the most delightful conversation with Bonnie Smith Whitehouse, author of Seasons of Wonder. It’s a 52-week devotional that pulls you in. Whether you have a family or you are an individual going through the devotional alone and engaging with the projects, prayers and reflections, you will grow and expand your understanding of God. There are weekly contemplative activities as well as interactive and transformative practices that connect us to surprise, awe and wonder. Who doesn’t need some of that in their life!

Find Bonnie Smith Whitehouse in the following places:

• Website

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

The post Bonnie Smith Whitehouse – episode 345 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.