Poem and Preliminary Notes for
Reflection of 7 July, 2019
Thomas E. Wilson + Retired
Theme: “God's peace is on this place”
Lessons for the 4th
Sunday After Pentecost July 7, 2019
Part of the Elisha Saga of stories. The
prophet Elisha in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Samaria, agrees to
help bring about a restoration of wholeness and healing for Naaman,
the General of the Armies of an enemy of Israel. Elisha say he will
do this so that Naaman “may know that there is a Prophet in
Israel”. The story of the Northern Kingdom is full of stories of
Corrupt and Incompetent Kings who keep turning their backs on God,
but God is still there and calls faithful people to bring in peace to
those who come to that place. The prideful alien Naaman immerses
himself in a new found grace given by strangers.
The Psalmist sings a Thanksgiving of
being restored to wholeness.
Paul writes that all the religious
stuff that we practice is irrelevant since God's Peace, wholeness is
already here for all those who will claim it.
Jesus sends out 72 (or 70) men (and
women?) to proclaim God's love and healing. He tells them: “Whatever
house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!' And if anyone is
there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person . . .
cure the sick who are there, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has
come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not
welcome you, go out into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your
town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet
know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'”
Thoughts:
SHALOM, God's peace, is what good Jews
would say “Hello” or “God Bless” to a neighbor; it doesn't
just mean an absence of conflict but a declaration of healing,
wholeness, prosperity and justice. It is a declaration that the space
between us is Holy Ground and God is present and will use us to help
to bring it about. Kingdom of God is not a geographic place but a
metaphor for any place where live as if God's love and wholeness are
present in people's lives be they citizens or aliens
This is the week of the 4th
of July which is an anniversary of the day the 2nd
Continental Congress set forth a document that defined the
underlying hopes of a nation “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In the news this week are stories of
Immigrants who have crossed our river border searching for a new
healing of life. Painful pictures of a father and child drowning to
death in the Rio Grande in a pursuit of happiness.
Like Israel's Kings, we have at times
chosen leaders who are corrupt and/or incompetent and we have often
overlooked the Creator given rights of our neighbors: Life, Liberty
and the Pursuit of Happiness.
We have often thought of our own
desires and advantages as more important than our neighbors We as
Christians are called to proclaim by word and deed that the Kingdom
of God has come near by working for God's Peace.
Personal Remembrance of receiving
“Peace”
I had an older brother, Paul, who was
the much loved only child, until a year and four days later I came on
the scene as the alien interloper. He may have resented me but he
also knew he had a responsibility for me. One summer day, I do not
know if I was 3 or 4, we were at my grandfather's place for the
annual visit back to the country,and we were at the pond on his
property. My father was still at work in Salvador and my mother was
looking after my infant younger sister, Anne. I was instructed of
course to not go into the deep end, but I never really paid attention
to direction well even then. I remember going out deeper and I still
have a memory of seeing water above my eyes and how beautiful it was.
Before I had a chance to breathe in much of the water, Paul grabbed
me and pulled me back to safety.
It has been over a quarter of a century
since my older brother died, but each year I realize that Paul saved
my life to have liberty and the pursuit of happiness from the choice
I made that day; he did a small thing but proclaimed Peace to me.
It was a small thing he did, but it
made all the difference in my life. What do I do, small or large, in
proclaiming Peace?
POEM
Peace Is On This Place:
My proud Naaman
steps deep in alien Jordan river
guessing that the
waters in Damascus were better
to wash clean; pure
without being such a debtor
to that grace not
demanding payment to the giver.
I open my eyes to
see water above my sighs,
sun dappling light
highlighting pretty bubbles
rising to the
surface, taking away the troubles
caused by chasing
my life after the shiny prize.
There is a peace in
which I knew I could die
in order to live in
another way so I would care
for my brothers I
knew not of and life to share
for liberty and
pursuit of happiness under the sky.
Breathing a peace
that came beyond understanding,
I resolve anew to
reach beyond mere tribal branding.
Thank you for this!
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