Resilient Faith

Ecclesiastes 3:4
A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. 

When we encounter setbacks, disappointments and failures in life; they are inevitable. This is the price we pay for our willingness to take risks, and to follow our dreams. We must never lose faith. 

God stands ready to protect us. We must call on HIM in prayer and meditation. Tell Him what is in your heart and ask for help and protection. He will answer - in his own time. 

While we wait for God's plan to unfold, and for his healing to restore us, let us be comforted in the knowledge that HE can overcome any obstacle! 

Our meditation today is in 3 parts:
1) List the dark places, the disappointments, not to labor on them but to let them go. 
2) Go to God and ask for what is in your heart, Ask for protection. 
3) Then finally moments of gratitude. Think of the many ways your are blessed. Sit and listen to God. 

Dear Lord, even when I am afraid, find me the courage to try. Remind me that with you by my side, I have nothing to fear. Today, I will live courageously as I place my faith in you. 

Amen.

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Easter celebration and resurrection through the lens of imaginative prayer. We will visualize the story and immerse in the sights sounds and feelings of the story.  

Place yourself in the scene. 
Use your imagination.
Pray as you are able.
God will speak to you. 

Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

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We are in the last days of Lent; Palm Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week. For Jesus it must have been a week of very mixed and intense feelings; the entry into Jerusalem seemed to be a triumph.  Jesus observed Passover with his disciples and then, the Garden of Gethsemane; prayers for deliverance, his betrayal, arrest, incarceration, torture. Friday, the crucifixion. Jesus was surrounded by people who were in the process of grieving his death, and in denial of it. He was also surrounded by people who were plotting against him and those who were totally oblivious to what was about to happen. He experienced abandonment, desertion, and denial by his friends. 

 In Isaiah 53:3, the prophet writes, “He was despised and rejected . . ., a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.Like one from whom people hide their faces . . . Luke 19:41 reads, “As he came near and saw the city, [Jesus] wept over it.” In John 11:33, 35, “When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. Jesus wept.”

 As Christians we come to this week after five weeks of Lenten reflection and self-examination. We knew where all this would take us and here we are. 

 Jesus’ grief and suffering needs to affect us. His ability to suffer and grieve with others is a model for us. He also models grieving his own death.  At his crucifixion, Mary, his mother, demonstrates her love and care by remaining with him through the agony of his death. She had support from others as she kept vigil.

Grief is a difficult emotion, especially when we experience the death of people we love. However, we also grieve the people we have had difficulty with in our lives, especially if we yearned for a closer, more loving relationship and never had it. Most of us resist grieving and are uncomfortable observing it in others. It’s a temptation to avoid and deny and quickly move on from whatever makes us feel sad and vulnerable. We want to get back to “normal”. The truth is, once we experience a loss of any kind, life is altered even if ever so slightly. Things are never exactly the same.  We let go of unfulfilled dreams and plans throughout life. 

 There is much to grieve in life, just as there is much to celebrate. Coming out of the pandemic, we must realize all we have lost. We need to experience collective grief with our fellow human beings. 

Learning to grieve well is emotionally, spiritually and even physically beneficial. Unprocessed grief does not go away. It will make itself known in some way at some time.  We need to express our feelings freely without censoring them. Prayer and meditation are also beneficial. Opening to God’s love and care while being totally honest is healing.

This week, we explore our relationship with grief. 

 ·       Place yourself in God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s great love for you. 

·       Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. 

·       Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time. 

·       Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? 

·       Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. Be specific.

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In Luke 18:9-14, we read the parable of the two men who went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Verse 9 states that Jesus told this parable “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and who looked down on everybody else.” 

The parable is among the many passages in the Bible that address humility which is not a popular topic these days. This ancient virtue clashes with current cultural values of self-worth and self-realization and accompanying narcissism. 

A Christian view of humility over the centuries has not always offered what would be seen today as an emotionally healthy attitude toward the self or way of functioning in the world. Being weak and self-effacing, demonstrating a low opinion of oneself, having low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence are not appealing to our modern sensibilities. Foster sites a document titled “The Litany of Humility”, written in the early 20th century, much of which is disturbing to me and evokes ambivalence in Foster! 

By contrast, we are coming to realize that current narcissistic attitudes and behaviors of specialness, entitlement and individualism so prevalent in our culture are not healthy. Self-aggrandizement in any form does not fit with a humble way of being. We are realizing that much of our present societal, cultural and environmental problems stem from our lack of humility, from our unwillingness to share the spotlight, to live cooperatively in community and to honor and cherish the natural world and its wisdom.

So what is humility? It’s the ability to view yourself accurately as an individual with talents as well as flaws while being void of arrogance and low self-esteem. This is being really honest with oneself. We accept and are comfortable with who we are, as we are. We don’t see ourselves as better than or less than anyone or anything else. We are not to think less of ourselves, we are to think of ourselves less. Humility makes us less self-centered. We assess ourselves honestly and accurately, not denying the good and beautiful people we are, nor denying our mistakes, flaws and weaknesses. We are openly happy for and compliment others for their accomplishments. We are able to receive compliments graciously, without deflecting or downplaying. We are all beloved children of God, “fearfully and wonderfully” made. We are all unique, unrepeatable and loved as we are. We need not deny or downplay our gifts nor inflate or exaggerate them in order to be enough and acceptable. We know our place in the universe. We are a part of creation, just like all other creatures and living things. Humility is an ongoing practice of self-awareness and vigilance. 

·       Place yourself in God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s great love for you. 

·       Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. 

·       Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time. 

·       Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? 

·       Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. Be specific. 

Be strong enough to learn humility. Be courageous enough to learn humility and be compassionate enough to learn humility.

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In Mark 12:28-31, Jesus is approached by a teacher of the law who asks Jesus which of all the commandments is the most important. Jesus answers him with this.

 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

 In this devotional we will focus on verse 31, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. Much has been preached and written about loving one’s neighbor, but less on loving oneself.  It’s a very clear directive from scripture that we are to love ourselves and that love of neighbor is directly connected to love of self. In the Greek translation, the love of neighbor and the love of self are connected with a word which is like an equal sign. Love of neighbor equals love of self. 

We hear, “Take care” as people say good-bye to one another. Or a friend says to you when you are being hard on yourself, “Cut yourself some slack!” or “Give yourself a break!”, “Be easy on yourself” or “Don’t be so hard on yourself”. 

 But what is true love of self? Is it merely self-care as we have come to know it from modern advertising? Is it indulging ourselves in the newest, shiniest thing, the novel experience, the new situation or person that promises to make us happy? We often look for love in the externals which is ultimately unfulfilling and affects the quality of our love of self and, therefore, our love of others. 

 In the past, psychology has offered us such terms as self-esteem and self-confidence to describe love of self. 

We deserve compassion just because we are human. We can learn self-compassion. It’s a practice. So when we notice a mistake, a flaw or imperfection in ourselves, we offer ourselves kindness, not judgement. We are warm and understanding towards ourselves as we encounter our inevitable mistakes and failures. Next, we accept our human-ness and, therefore, the truth of our imperfection. We are just like other human beings. This reminder helps us feel less alone in our pain and suffering. And finally, being mindful of our negative thoughts and self-talk in a non-judgmental way is important so as not to be swept away by or over-identified with them. This practice of mindful self-compassion is beneficial by making us more resilient, less ruminative and better able to acknowledge our mistakes. It’s also an effective motivator, much more so than being harsh and judgmental of ourselves.

 As we practice the Daily Examen this week, we will focus on self-compassion.

Let’s begin: 

·       Place yourself in God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s great love for you. Take a moment to focus on the deep and limitless compassion that God has for you.

·       Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. Grace to recognize where you feel God’s compassion towards you. 

·       Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time. As you reflect, recall when you were being hard on yourself, critical and judgmental. 

·       Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances.  Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? 

·       Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. 

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This week, we tackle the challenge of holding on and letting go. 

 Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6b (MSG)

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth … A right time to hold on and another to let go.” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6b (MSG)

 Deuteronomy 30:15, 16a NIV

“See, I have placed before you today life and happiness, and death and adversity, in that I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live… Deuteronomy 30:15, 16a NIV

“Life is a balance of holding on and letting go”. Finding that balance is a lifelong challenge.  Another phrase you have probably heard and possibly repeated to yourself or others is, “Let go and let God.” Letting go is, however, easier said than done! It’s easier to hold on, whether it’s to an unfulfilled dream, a long held grudge, hurt feelings, rejection, trauma, old beliefs, old ways of living, outgrown behaviors, long held attitudes that no longer serve us, relationships we have outgrown or are toxic. 

What we hold onto and the associated feelings are obstacles to our mental, physical and spiritual well-being. They may have served us well in the past, when as children we were dependent on others for our survival and had to adapt. As young adults we work to create and develop our lives according to the norms of family and society. As Christians, we are called to discern what is offering us “life” and what is offering us “death” in these times and at this age and stage of our lives.

We often want to avoid it as too challenging, too scary, too hard, too disruptive. It will require too much of us, our time, effort, resources, etc.  Or, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we may like holding on. It somehow feels “good” to hold onto it, whatever it is. We kid ourselves into believing that holding on really isn’t that bad for us. Or, we’ll deal with it later. We must be easy on ourselves as we seek change. 

Letting go, then, can bring us face to face with the issue of forgiveness. Forgiveness requires a lot of us.  It’s a process that takes time, patience and love. Forgiveness is a deliberate and intentional choice. It’s an act of the will and takes commitment. It requires a change of attitude; a reframing of the situation, an acceptance of what is and knowing that forgiveness is not about forgetting. It takes great faith, believing that God will empower us to forgive. 

To raise our awareness of letting go and holding on, we turn to our Lenten spiritual practice of the Daily Examen. 

• Place yourself in God’s presence.
• Give thanks for God’s great love for you. 
• Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. 
• Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time.
• Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? T
• Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. Be specific.  
• Conclude with The Lord’s Prayer or a prayer of your own.

Podcast reference/referral on "Letting Go"
https://katebowler.com/podcasts/richard-rohr-learning-to-hold-on-learning-to-let-go/

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Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” You may also want to read Luke 12:22-34.

 What is enough?  Has that question ever occurred to you? Do you struggle with the question of your being enough? Smart enough, pretty/handsome enough, talented enough, caring enough, generous enough? A good enough friend, parent, spouse, coworker, citizen? Then there is the question, do I have enough? Enough of the things that help me feel that I am enough, that I can compete with others as I feel I need to, that I am acceptable and belong. Do I need the latest, the best, one more thing that will surely fulfill me? And finally, do I do enough? Am I contributing enough, am I involved enough, do I work hard enough? Each of these lists can be endless.

  If any of these questions have nagged at you in that deep place you would prefer not to acknowledge, you are not alone. I believe that most, if not all of us, struggle with this very basic sense of not being, doing or having enough. I have heard this in my work as a therapist and spiritual director. I have struggled with it in my own life. Deep down inside, we question if we measure up. Does who we are, what we have and what we do rise to the standards that have been created and set by a demanding and consumer oriented society? A society that continually seeks to show us where we fall short and need to be, do and have more to be accepted, loved, safe and secure. We have been sold the belief that we can achieve perfection and “have it all”. The result is exhaustion and frustration. Enough is forever an elusive goal. 

 This affects how we are present to God, others and ourselves, and how we respond to the call of the Gospel to live simply, love greatly and care for our world with justice, equity and sustainability. Minister, author and therapist, Wayne Muller opens the first chapter of his book “a life of being, having and doing enough”, with the statement “We have forgotten what enough feels like.” The remainder of the book develops this and explains how we can become more balanced as we practice what truly matters in life. 

 As you begin this week’s Examen, become aware of your body and take three deep breaths to relax, making each exhale longer than each inhale. 

·       Place yourself in God’s presence. How does it feel to come into God’s presence? Give thanks for God’s great love for you. Is this great love enough for you? If so, how? If not, why?

·       Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. 

·       Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time. When were you aware of “not enough” feelings; feelings of scarcity and lack? When did you feel the opposite? A sense of enough? How did that feel? Stay with that feeling, savor it.

·       Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. How did your sense of enoughness or lack thereof affect what you said, did and thought? Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? When did you feel close to God or far away from God?

·       Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. Be specific. How might you become more content with what is enough in your life? 

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart . . .” Proverbs 3:5a

 As we begin our Lenten journey, it seems appropriate to explore the topic of trust, trust in God, trust in ourselves and trust in others. Trust influences our experience of life and is fundamental to our sense of safety and security in the world. It is foundational to our psychological and spiritual development from birth through adulthood. 

The well-known psychologist, Erik Erikson, developed one of the most popular and influential theories of human psychosocial development. The first stage he describes is Trust vs. Mistrust which begins at birth and extends to about 18 months. During this period, the child forms a view of whether or not the world is a safe and loving place. According to Erikson this is the most important stage since it shapes the child’s world view and influences the personality she/he develops. 

James Fowler, a theologian and professor at Emory University, developed the Stages of Faith in which he describes a process of human faith development. His first stage, Stage 0 extends from birth to 2 years. He calls this stage Undifferentiated Faith. It is similar to Erikson’s first stage in that this is the period when a child learns about the safety and security of his/her environment. If the child experiences consistent nurture and care, then she/he develops a sense of trust and safety in the universe and the divine. If neglect, hurt and abuse are experienced, then mistrust in the divine and the universe develops.

If we are to engage in the process of reflection and self-examination that we are called to during Lent, then trust in that process is important. Trust that we will be safe embarking on such a journey; that God will be with us and we won’t be challenged with more than we can handle.

No one is completely trusting or totally mistrusting. We are all somewhere on a trust continuum. As we are willing to be open to where we are on that continuum and explore our life experiences that have landed us there, we have the opportunity to change and grow.

As you move through each of the five steps, consider this issue of trust and your relationship with it. Try to practice it as many times as possible this week.

·       Place yourself in God’s presence. How does it feel to place yourself in God’s presence?  Give thanks for God’s great love for you. Do you truly believe and trust God’s great love for you?

·       Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. Do you trust that God will give you grace to understand God’s action in your life?

·       Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time. What moments during the day brought feelings of trust or mistrust?

·       Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? How did trust or mistrust influence what you said, did and thought and your sense of being close to or further away from God?

·       Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. Be specific.How would you like to be different in the coming day? How might you practice greater trust? Conclude with The Lord’s Prayer or your own prayer around trust. Ask for clarity and guidance where you need it. Ask for wisdom and courage where you need it.

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Weekly Lenten Devotional 

Ash Wednesday 2023

 You may wish to light a candle as you begin this Ash Wednesday reflection. May its light illumine your Lenten days. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Ps. 139:23

“. . .we come from dust and return to dust” is a paraphrase of the familiar Ash Wednesday pronouncement from Ecclesiastes 3:20 as we receive the imposition of the ashes on our foreheads. Socrates is credited with saying “The unexamined life is not worth living”.  So what we do with the “in between” time of dust to dust is important. Lent calls us to reflection and self-examination; to give some thought and prayer to our “in between” life. We take up the Inward Journey in order to continue the Outward Journey with renewed energy and insight. Doing Lent in this way may not be easy or appealing, but it is healthy both spiritually and psychologically. Undertaking this work together is helpful and supportive. Therefore, the church, locally and globally, embarks on the Lenten journey at the same time. We are not alone in this deep work and Spirit is with us throughout. 

Each week we will reflect on a topic, explore it and be as honest as possible with ourselves and God. We will use a practice known as the Daily Examen originated by St. Ignatius Loyola as the lens through which we will explore our experience of the week’s topic. Below is a version of the Examen. This link https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/jesuit-a-z/terms-e/daily-examen offers a more detailed version. The Examen is practiced as a prayerful review of your day and is best done in the evening. 

Before each practice time, take a moment to settle into your body, relax and take three deep breaths allowing each exhale to be longer than each inhale. 

Below is the 5 step process.

·       Place yourself in God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s great love for you. 

·       Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. 

·       Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time.

·       Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? 

·       Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. Be specific. Conclude with The Lord’s Prayer or a prayer of your own.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.” In Richard Foster’s book, Prayers from the Heart, he offers this prayer in response to the scripture. 

 “God, I pray these words of the psalmist with great hesitation. They lay things so bare. They allow no room for negotiation or compromise. I fear the scrutiny. I dread the probe. I resist the intrusion. I know that you are all love and so I am entering nothing more than your scrutiny of love. And yet . . . No! I refuse to allow my fear to keep me from your love.”

May it be so.

Mary Garbesi

Director of Congregational Care

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The Giving Spirit provides both direct tangible aid and educates communities on how workable solutions informed by direct community engagement, powerful data, and our common humanity can alleviate and ultimately end homelessness leading the “first mile” of service to our unhoused. The first mile of care provides immediate, tangible aid to the unhoused by procuring, assembling, and directly serving them diverse and robust “survival kits” containing dozens of essential life-sustaining items.  

The first mile of learning informs, engages, and educates individuals, businesses and communities through curated platforms on the human face of homelessness, myths and realities surrounding the unhoused. With nearly 25 years of service, The Giving Spirit has touched over 90,000 unhoused lives and educated thousands in the broader Los Angeles community by putting faces and stories to unsheltered community members. 

About our guest, Tim:
Tim Ingram, Treasurer and Operations Director: [email protected]

Tim is an attorney in Los Angeles. After serving on TGS’ Board for 10 years, Tim currently serves as Treasurer and Operations Director. After serving more than a decade in a variety of roles as a volunteer, Tim became the Operations Director for The Giving Spirit in 2015, where he oversees the day-to-day management needs of the organization as well as providing reports and strategic advice to CEO Tom Bagamane, team members and the Board. Tim also serves on The Giving Spirit's Development Committee in a variety of capacities, including coordinating grant proposals. Tim also uses his background to guide The Giving Spirit’s compliance with local, state and federal regulatory requirements. Tim received a BA in Economics from Washington and Lee University and a J.D., from George Mason University School of Law.

How to contact TGS:
https://www.thegivingspirit.org/

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