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. 

The post Lectio Divina 100 John 10:11-18 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. 

The post Lectio Divina 99 John 20:24-29 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. 4.5.2

1. “All four gospels witness to Mary Magdalene as the premiere witness to the resurrection – alone or in a group, but in all cases named by name. . . All four gospels insist that when the other disciples are fleeing, Mary Magdalene stands firm. She does not run, she does not betray or lie about her commitment, she witnesses. But why, one wonders, do the Holy Week liturgies tell and retell Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus, while the steady, unwavering witness of Magdalene is not even noticed? …” ~ Cynthia Bourgeault,  The Meaning of Mary Magdalene

When the guys continue to interpret and tell the story of faith some of the very best ideas and people get pushed to the side. It’s sad. It still happens. It needs to stop. 

2. “I’m so tired of him. I’m tired of people pretending he’s not a fool. I’m tired of his lies. I’m tired of his sickening amorality. I’m tired of his face, his voice, his smirk. I’m tired of his inability to say even one thing remotely kind or humble or appropriate, ever.” ~ Source unknown. 

I am so tired of him too. The man really needs to get some help. Intellectually, he’s shallow. Physically, he’s a mess. Spiritually, he’s dead. Ethically, he’s a joke. Emotionally, he’s a toddler. When you consider his patriotism, nothing rings true. 

And my prayer is that he’ll hit rock bottom, get the help he desperately needs, seek God and then just fade away, vowing to no longer do harm.  

That’s the best prayer I can offer at the present time.

3. “My desire to be well informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.” Don’t know who said this but he/she is spot on. 

I’m choosing to be informed. I think that’s the responsible thing for me to do. But in smaller doses. 

4. Our church in Sarasota, as well as most others throughout the world, held a simple Good Friday Service. After each somber movement in our  liturgy the lights were dimmed until at the very end, there was no light at all. Just darkness. And we were dismissed into that darkness and invited to sit in it until the glow and delight of Easter revealed itself. 

Another church in town met in a park on Good Friday  and went high octane with a big crowd, a circus high wire act, a celebrity testimony, Good Friday food stations (huh?), a helicopter dropping candy and there was face painting and bouncy houses for the kids Whew. All this on the day Jesus died. 

A bit much? I think so. I’m not saying people weren’t blessed but from my vantage point,  jumping  from death to resurrection so quickly misses the point. There’s a formational piece that needs attention. There’s much to learn in the darkness. And it takes time to learn it.

Ever taste really good brisket? The grill masters know it’s all about low and slow cooking. Good Friday and Holy Saturday beg us to go low and slow, to give the story a chance to reveal its full flavor.  

5. In an exclusive excerpt from his forthcoming biography, McKay Coppins reveals what drove Senator Mitt Romney of Utah to retire. The hypocrisy and cynicism of his party, and the loneliness he felt within it, had worn him down. Romney said, “A very large portion of my party really doesn’t believe in the Constitution.” 

Romney is right. The party he once represented has fallen apart and punched their ticket to the dark side of a constitutional abyss. 

A democracy depends on good will, win/win decision making, sincere effort,  a commitment to rule of law and a fidelity to a constitution. Ouch. Our democracy is in trouble. Sincere efforts and good will have gone into hiding. Win/win decision making is seemingly out of vogue, and constitutional loyalty is on life support. 

It’s not too late to right the ship but whoa, I sincerely doubt that the party Romney walked away from, is up to the task. 

6. The cartoon by Dave Waymond was of a mother and two daughters walking. They were dressed in Handmaid’s Tale garb. The oldest of the two daughters asks her mother: “But why didn’t you vote against them? Why didn’t you try to stop them from taking it all away?”

Mom responded: “Well, back then gas prices were quite high honey …?”

In other words, she chose the quick fix and ignored the big picture. May we all resist the temptation to take shortcuts. 

7. Two pathways.

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”  ~ The Great Gatsby (1925)

Be beautiful, not careless.

9. March Madness. I have especially enjoyed watching the women play. There’s something  about the way they approach the game that is really captivating.   It’s not a dunkfest. They’re playing below the rim. It’s four quarters, not two halves. There’s a practiced precision at work. The players are enjoying themselves. Bravo. Plus, they are drawing huge, huge numbers. 

10. “Christianity can be confusing, but the way of Jesus was pretty clear:

Move toward the poor

Empower women

Throw parties

Poke holes in oppressive systems

Forgive your enemy

Don’t store up wealth

Be present w/ people

Push back darkness

Heal

Announce

Love well

The kingdom is near” ~ Dan Sadlier

The post Mike’s Rumblings 04-05-24 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. 

The post Lectio Divina 98 John 20:19-23 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. 3.29.24

1. Find a Good Friday service that will allow you to linger with all the stories of Holy Week, to feel the sting of betrayal, the deep emotion of the Cross, and the fear of the disciples. Find a service that will allow you to wrestle  with the uncertainty of the moment, that invites you to experience  the silence of Saturday. Find a service that allows you to put yourself into the narrative and urges you to stay expectant. 

Do that and Easter Sunday will be all the sweeter.

2. Frodo: “I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.”

Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

There are days when I’m convinced we are standing before the very gates of Mordor, outnumbered and afraid. If you experience it similarly, join me in spending some time today sitting quietly in the Presence of God, who is never outnumbered and never fearful. 

3.  “You have given all to me

To you, Lord, I return it

Everything is Yours

Do with it what you will

Give me only your love and your grace

That is enough for me.

Amen.” ~ Pray as You Go

What a challenging, aspirational prayer. “Give me only your love and grace. That is enough for me.” 

Praying these words as part of my spiritual practice has reminded me that my desire for a God who is ‘enough’ is still strong. Without that desire, I’m sizzled. 

4. Let nothing disturb you. / Let nothing upset you. / Everything changes. / God alone is unchanging. / With patience all things are possible. / Whoever has God lacks nothing. / God alone is enough.” ~ Teresa of Ávila

I believe this but am often befuddled by the aura of mystery contained within it, delighted with the simple truth it proclaims, and frustrated by my inability at times to live in a less perturbed manner.

5. In the 20th century (generally speaking) “Protestant Christians set out to make America Christian and ended up making Christianity American.” ~ Stanley Hauerwas

“If our Christianity causes us to look at how a poor person spends their welfare check with inherent suspicion all while we look at how the exorbitantly rich accumulate mass amounts of wealth with inherent admiration, we need a grand reversal. 

Beware of any Christian movement that demands the government be an instrument of God’s wrath but  never a source of God’s, mercy, generosity, or compassion.” ~ Rev Benjamin Cremer

6. On his deathbed Francis of Assisi said:  “I have done what was mine to do, may Christ now teach you what you are to do.”

Francis also said: “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

True. However, I’d like to see more than one candle. Just sayin’.

7. Adam Kinzinger, former GOP Congressman who served on the Jan. 6 Committee writes:.“I watched a Trump rally (so you don’t have to) and was repeatedly struck by one thing: The number of seniors, who should be enjoying the sunset years of their lives, consumed with rage and anger.” 

The platform of the Republican Party is the MAGA agenda and the MAGA agenda consists of two words – Donald Trump – and those two words can be translated as Chaos. That kind of chaos produces rage and anger. And some of you reading this are OK with the chaos, welcome it, and say it is ‘of the Lord’. 

That’s where you lose me. There is no moral substance to your argument. There is nothing suggesting the fruits of the Spirit are in play. 

8.  It seems we Christians have been worshiping Jesus’ journey instead of doing his journey. The worshiping feels very religious; the latter just feels human and ordinary. We are not human beings on a journey toward Spirit; we are already spiritual beings on a journey toward becoming fully human, which for some reason seems harder—precisely because it is so ordinary.” ~ Richard Rohr

9. Maggie Kuhn, forced to retire from the Presbyterian Church at the age 65, decided she had a whole lot of living left to do and so she founded the Gray Panthers, an advocacy group for older Americans. Ms. Kuhn famously said. ”Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.” 

“A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.” ~ John A.Shedd

Thoreau once wrote: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” To which someone added: “and die with their song still inside them.”

Ships are meant to sail. Lives are meant to be lived. Songs need to be sung. Speaking your mind, shaky as it might be, on behalf of others, is a noble endeavor. 

Why live in quiet desperation when there’s still so much before us that can breathe life into our troubled souls? For those who are truly hopelessly desperate, let’s be there for them.

10. “Earth’s crammed with heaven

And every bush afire with God.

But only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit around and pluck blackberries.” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The post Mike’s Rumblings 03-29-24 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. 

The post Lectio Divina 97 John 19:12-16 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. 3.22.24

1. “As my spiritual director and I transitioned into a new kind of relationship I was still thinking that the answers would come primarily through verbal exchange. I was hoping for advice and a quick fix—in 3 easy steps if possible! Now, I thought, rather than doing psychological talking we would do spiritual talking. And we did do some talking but eventually this wise woman said to me, “Ruth you are like a jar of river water all shaken up. What you need is to sit still long enough so the sediment can settle, and the water can become clear.” ~ Ruth Haley Barton, The Transforming Center

May ‘sitting still often enough’ become a foundational habit of our lives. I’ve been doing just that this week. Too much sediment floating around in my life. I need things to settle a bit.

2. “There is an old tale where the rabbi was asked by one of his students “Why did God create atheists?”

After a long pause, the rabbi finally responded with a soft but sincere voice. “God created atheists” he said, “to teach us the most important lesson of them all – the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his actions are based on his sense of morality. Look at the kindness he bestows on others simply because he feels it to be right.

When someone reaches out to you for help. You should never say ‘I’ll pray that God will help you.’ Instead, for that moment, you should become an atheist – imagine there is no God who could help, and say ‘I will help you’.” ~ Martin Buber, Tales of Hasidim  

Brilliant. I can picture Jesus smiling. 

3. “To show compassion for an individual without showing concern for the structures of society that make him an object of compassion is to be sentimental rather than loving.” ~ William Sloan Coffin, Jr.

In other words, embrace both the person and his/her circumstances. Help fix what needs fixing. Think wholistically. 

4. It’s well past the time for Netanyahu to call for new elections in Israel. 

5. As the MAGA rhetoric becomes more and more extreme and combative, those who are deliberately unaware become pawns in a very nefarious effort to destabilize our country and to damage democracy across the globe. 

Most people, I’ve discovered, don’t really want the truth. They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth. So, they spend their time in an echo chamber of ideas that won’t tax their intellect nor challenge their assumptions.  It’s a very, very, sad and sinful way to live. 

Rev. Benjamin Cremer reminds us that “a Christian approach to politicians should sound like, “how will their policies impact my neighbor who I am called to love?” not “do they dislike the same people I do?”

6. “It is a serious thing

Just to be alive 

on this fresh morning

In this broken world.” ~ Mary Oliver

Yes, it is. Every day is an Esther (for such a time as this) moment, waking us to the possibilities before us in the ‘here and right now.’ May we embrace that which is offered to us. 

7. “And it is here that I realize how lucky I am.

I could so easily have learned to be afraid of diversity.

I could have believed the lie that my whiteness is better.

I could have been polluted by toxic religion enough to hate queer people.

I could have imagined that America was the totality of the world.

I could have learned to parrot back myths about Muslims and migrants and transgender teenagers.

I could have fallen for the dangerous conspiracies and been taken in by the big lies.

I could have weaponized God and country.

And I know the fact that I somehow haven’t isn’t necessarily a matter of greater character or higher intelligence than those who grew up in similar privilege—but a combination of better information, dumb luck, and the presence of some really beautiful people who helped me transcend the smallness and the sameness of my surroundings when others were not able to.” ~ Jon Pavlovitz

8. The man on Facebook said to me: “Trump is the best thing that’s ever happened to America.”

My response: “I will pray that God gives you a much more compelling vision of best.”

9. “Putin has criminalized the expression of any alternative opinions. This is not an election; it’s a selection.” Alena Popova, Russian Human Rights Activist  

I will remember these words of warning as I prepare to vote.  I hope you will too for there are those already in our midst who want selections, not elections.

10. Erik Spoelstra, the Miami Heat Head Coach, has always asked his players to live into a simple philosophy: “Significant success is a result of a commitment to the collective. It’s about selflessness and sacrifice and always about what-about-we, never what-about-me.”

I find this to be quite refreshing.

The post Mike’s Rumblings 03-22-24 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. 

The post Lectio Divina 96 Mark 14:1-6 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Sarah Bessey joins me on the podcast to talk about her latest book, Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith. Sarah is one of the founders of Evolving Faith, a conference and an online community for people who are reimagining their faith with hope. One of the reasons I wanted to talk with Sarah Bessey is that she has spent time in the wilderness. She is a faithful and trusted guide for those pursuing a reconstruction of spirituality centered on compassion, truth, and inclusion. Check out our conversation. Field Notes for the Wilderness might just be the companion you are looking for on your journey.

Find Sarah 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 Sarah Bessey – episode 381 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. 3.15.24 

1. “It was kind of a tense night, because it feels like this might be the last time we get a State of the Union. Depending on what happens in November, next year might just be a Kid Rock concert and an immigrant catapult.” ~ Stephen Colbert

What needed to be called out at the State of the Union was called out. And so the battle lines keep being drawn. 

Authoritarianism vs Democracy. 

Toddler vs Grownup.

Retribution vs Justice

Truth vs Lies

Order vs Chaos

2. What is premeditated ignorance?

“It is the quality or condition of deliberate unawareness. It is when people do not know because they do not want to know. For, if they did know they would have to take responsibility for that  knowledge and they would thereby be required to renegotiate their identity and to relinquish the status, privilege and authority that are derived from the false order of knowledge. At the very worst, they would be compelled to leave their comfort zone.” ~ Source unknown

Of course, MAGA, and its various subsidiaries are the gold standard for cultivating premeditated ignorance and as Katie Britt reminded us – they’re also really quite adept at premeditated lying. 

Perhaps a 12 step program for the deliberately unaware is needed. But who would attend? Who is going to break rank and admit they need help?

3. Love these pithy tidbits from Shane Claiborne. 

“Those who follow Jesus should attract the same people Jesus attracted and frustrate the same people Jesus frustrated.”

“I can’t imagine Jesus waving an American flag any more than I can see him wearing a “God Bless Rome” shirt.”

“Patriotism is too small.”

Our Bible doesn’t say “For God so loved America. It says “For God so loved the world. America First is a theological heresy.” 

4. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great German pastor, theologian and martyr was asked, in 1943, how it was possible for the Church to sit back and let Hitler seize absolute power. His firm answer was that cheap grace was being offered and costly discipleship was being dismissed. 

“Cheap grace,” Bonhoeffer suggested, “is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, and absolution without personal confession” 

My friend Charles Emery reminds us that “we live in a time and culture that not only teaches cheap grace…but praises it.” 

5. Norm Chomsky: “Education is not memorizing that Hitler killed six million Jews. Education is understanding how millions of ordinary Germans were convinced that it was required. Education is learning how to spot the signs of history repeating itself.”

Where are you seeing history on the verge of repeating itself? If it’s a repeat of something hurtful, what should you be doing to help stop it?

6. “You take the lies off him, and he’ll shrink to the size of your hat. Take the malice out of him, and he’ll disappear.” ~ Mark Twain

We should be so lucky. 

7. During my years in full-time ministry,  I found myself writing and preaching sermons I knew would rattle more than a few cages, even my own. Oftentimes, even when I wanted to play it safe, the biblical text of the day just wouldn’t allow it, for it had a fierceness and a challenge that could not be ignored. 

I preached one of those kind of sermons in Reno back in the day. At the end of the service  a very prominent man, who I knew was at church to take another look at the Christian faith he had long abandoned, approached me. He shook my hand, smiled and simply said: “Well done. You really are a provocative S.O.B.” 

And then he walked away. 

He wasn’t being crass. Not at all. He was paying a compliment. 

I appreciated the fact he didn’t mind getting his cage rattled. Others, over the years, did mind but that’s a storyfest for another time.  

8. “An entire branch of the Christian family has lost its way. We were more discipled by the American Dream than Jesus’ peace-making, enemy-loving, neighbor-serving Way, and the natural outcome was to rally around a truly anti-Jesus-way strongman who promised us power. We exchanged the beatitudes for the bluster of Barabbas …” ~ Aaron Niequist

“Jesus was not killed by atheism and anarchy. He was brought down by law and order allied with religion – which is always a deadly mix. Beware those who claim to know the mind of God and are prepared to use force, if necessary, to make others conform. Beware those who cannot tell God’s will – from their own.” ~ Barbara Brown Taylor

9. “We need the wisdom of a “full prophet,” one who can love and yet criticize, one who can speak their words of correction out of an experience of gratitude, not anger. We have to pray to God to teach us that.” ~ Richard Rohr

Let’s join him in that prayer. 

10. Thanks for your prayers for my knee surgery last week. I’m on the mend. During my two day hospital stay I met and had conversations with medical staff who had immigrated from Mexico. Argentina, the Philippines, Columbia, Korea, and Viet Nam. 

Word on the street advises me  that I’m lucky to have gotten out alive, that I survived the wrath of the immigrants. But guess what? No one threatened me. There was not one gang member, thief, criminal, drug trafficker or rapist in the bunch. Not one of them looked like the ‘poison in the blood of our country.’ That can’t be right. I’ve been told over and over again to be afraid, very afraid. 

So, where do all the waves of misinformation come from? Who’s  behind it? Basically, it all comes from one man who just makes stuff up as he goes along. He is both the origin and transmitter of crap. It’s garbage in/garbage out. And his peeps eat it up and can’t get enough.   

From my vantage point, these immigrants I met all seemed like regular folks who came to our country looking for an answer to a problem they were facing. They weren’t interested in becoming a problem.  They came looking for freedom, not to be punched in the face by those wanting to deny them that freedom. 

We can fix border issues. It won’t be easy but it’s doable.   But can we fix the hateful rhetoric that fuels our response to those issues? Going forward, we can certainly deal with the hate if we choose to vote for people who aren’t haters. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings 03-15-24 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.