Paradox Porch: December 2007

I remember when....

gift...

Operate

you might want to click on the cartoon above to get the full affect

Peace on Earth, iPods to all

The following was an email in response to this:

Some years ago i was going weekly to Merced California with a priest to start an orthodox parish there (i was supposed to start the choir). We always stayed at the house of a nice couple who were approaching retirement from their reasonably successful drapery business. They had a sprawling ranch-style house with a living-room,
dining room, den, 4 bedrooms, etc etc, and a tv in every room. Also a swimming pool and a 2 car garage, with two cars and another parked in front. Their children had all grown up and were off to college or beyond. They had 4 sofas, 8 tvs, two dining room tables (dining room and den), lawn furniture, 5 large beds, assorted desks, chairs, end tables, hassocks, etc etc.

So as i sat in their ample den with a martini in my hand chatting
with our hosts i began to see the real dimensions of their
involvement: the swimming pool had to be cleaned, the lawn mowed, the
trash picked up, the cars serviced, the carpets vacuumed, stuff
dusted, laundry washed, dried and folded (well, they did have a
housecleaner come in weekly, so that helped)... and on & on. And
then: bills paid, shopping done, accounting, more maintenance. Now,
they were very nice people and the wife was even sorta pious in her
simple but earnest way, but they did not have one minute to spend on
their spiritual lives-- and this, without children around any more!
And then i sorta zoomed back and looked at the whole suburb and saw
all these identical houses along the streets, and then i zoomed back
even farther and saw all of merced, and then all of california. I
began to be very terrified. Where was God? how could he find a place
in all these houses? And i realized that only poor people really had
any time for prayer. Not of course that most poor people in america
do pray a lot more-- oh, many do, but they too are caught up in the
effort to make ends meet or even just to survive. And of course,
there's tv. But still.

Had to watch my mouth, too. lotta military people in that area too,
very invested in protecting and defending our 'way of life'.

Nevertheless, i saw there was a reason why Jesus said, 'blessed are
you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God'.

Regards from abjectly poor kampala,

Hillary Sucks...

I've got a headache...

Um...I'm speechless....

Christmas is all about receiving !

(reprinted from Sunday Papers)

Christmas is all about giving!!
The lord loves a cheerful giver!!
Giving is better then receiving – or so they say
But what about being a good receiver…
It seems to me that receiving is much harder
And when we think about it isn’t receiving what Christmas is actually all about
Giving is relatively easy – it may challenge our selfishness or priorities
But giving doesn’t expose our needs

I don’t like surprises, why? Because I’m not in control..
What if I get something I didn’t like or want – what do I say?
Do I lie and say how much I like it, do I have to be grateful?
Knowing that I will either give it to someone else or give it to a charity shop.
Have you ever received a Christmas gift from someone you hadn’t expected one from?
What do you do? Do you feel guilty and rush out and buy them a token gift?
What happens if that gift is perfect, something you really appreciate and yet you had no idea that you would like it.

Mary was open to receiving an unexpected gift,
She welcomed and wondered at the gift given and created space within her to receive it.
This unexpected gift radically changed her life
She ultimately gave over her whole world to this gift.

Giving can make us feel powerful, competent, self-sufficient and capable sort of people, giving doesn’t expose our needs.
Learning the art of receiving calls us to intimacy, honesty, openness and evaluation.
To receive the love of another, calls me to intimacy, I have to expose something of my inner world, of who I am. To receive another’s love I have to allow my innermost self to be touched.
To receive I have to open my hands, ( I love the Eucharist in this sense, this childlike openness to receive the body and blood.
Inner growth comes from opening ourselves up to receive from others
Christmas is about receiving the love that Jesus offers to us.
To be loved means that I must bring myself with all my insecurities, pain and needs to be embraced by another.

To be on the receiving end of love requires that we see our lives not as our possessions, but as gifts. Emptiness is a gift, to have enough room, to not be too full. To be needy, poor, weak, can be a gift.
Ultimately the gospel is about receiving a precious unbelievable gift, the gift of God being born in us.
When Mary offered space, love and belief in her life, her life changed forever.
Learning the art of receiving is a powerful call to change.
In receiving I need to welcome the other
In receiving I need to make room and space to accept that which I frequently fail to realise I need.
In receiving – I change.