Friday, August 3, 2018

ALL FOR NOTHING

Hi There!

So, how are you with numbers?

Can you do on the spot,

spot on computation

in the produce section of the supermarket -

    four avocados for $5.00, but you only want two?

    Answer, $2.50, but I had to ask for help!!

That's because, even before

 politically correct  language

 ( what kind of correct? ) ,

I have always been " numerically challenged, "

 ( is that correct enough?).

Checking accounts, taxes, interest rates,

surely Comcast  offers and contracts,

and all their numerical cousins

really do "challenge,"

really do confuse the liv'n heck out of me.



Not so value, though.

Happily, I can spot value on the spot.

That's a blessing because our spiritual life

 out here on the street of everyday living

depends so critically on

getting evaluations right,

and that right away.




A big help here is Jesus.

He names and nails value

quicker than the best on Wall Street.

Check out his evaluations

in Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.

It's parables on steroids for sure,

but all six of them underscore

the same bedrock value:

                           
        ALL FOR NOTHING.
                                          

Jesus applies this value to getting

to a good place in life,

to getting located for value living.

He calls it The Kingdom of Heaven.

It's for start up right here, right now,

not just when we die.

It's a transition, a transaction if you will,

to a new way of life.

It's being in a new place and space in life,

 a truly new realm.

You could compare it

to moving from the worst inner city

to The Hamptons, and that in spades.

Scattered all across the New Testament

are beautiful  references to

the grandeur of this Kingdom Living. .

When all moved in, it means:

        - pervasive peace

        - satisfaction unlimited

        - profound  joy

        - infinite love

        - cosmic harmony

        - everything the deepest parts

          of our down deep center self longs for -

                   Oneness

           and that endlessly.

It's value beyond computation.

All we have to do is remember

          ALL FOR NOTHING.



 It's as simple as this.

If my hands overflow with pennies,

I can't accept a check for ten thousand dollars.

Jesus shares that letting go

of what we are and have

makes room for everything.

God wants to give us All.

All we have to do is let go

of the little we have.

It's free and full,

      ALL FOR NOTHING.

Naked we will be gloriously clothed.

Penniless, we will be enriched beyond count.



In these  Gospel passages from Matthew,

typical of the Jewish tradition of midrash,

there are all sorts of levels,

angles, tones of meaning about the Kingdom:;

         -  it is a treasure

         -  it seems insignificant at first,

            but then grows to largeness

         -  it starts one way and differentiates

            as it matures to magnificence

         -  it has to be discovered

          - it means deliberate, significant selection.



Here we focus on the surrender of the little

so as to be to be gifted

with a lot more than a lot.

      ALL FOR NOTHING.



Jesus tells of

       - a mustard seed

:      - yeast

        - hidden treasure                    
                               
        - a pearl                              

        - a catch of fish

               - the mustard seed has to let go

                  of being a little seed to become

                  a great big tree

                 - the yeast has to let go of being

                   a collection of one celled organisms

                   mixed into flour to become

                   a big, delicious loaf of bread

                 - an investor has to let go of

                   low yield assets to realize

                   a high yield one, a treasure

                   hidden in the field of finance

                - a pearl merchant has to let go,

                  has to cash in, all he has to buy

                  that rare find of greatest value

              -  the fisherman has to let go of

                 the low grade part of the catch

                 to market the high  grade yield

                 part of the catch.


There is a necessary impoverishment

to be enriched.

Jesus straightforwardly tells us

we need to let go to get.

.Drawing from these parables

 and other spirit indicators

 throughout scripture,

it looks like this:

     - to let go of our self centeredness

       so as to be spiraled

       into a universal inclusivity

     - to let go grasping greediness,

       to let go of being possessed

       by our possessions,

      so as to be gifted with practical sufficiency

      in a field of psychic freedom

    - to let go of lust and be in love

    - to let go the prison of narrow mindedness

      for the freedom and spaciousness

      of endless exploration and discovery

    - for old people like me, to embrace

      diminishment into Fullness

     - to let go

            - frantic hurry

            - destructive distractions

            - being entertained to death

            - being drowned in surround sound noise

            - a mind full of jumping monkeys

       - to let go such for

             - soulful steadiness

            - tranquility

            - spirit enrichment

            - peace

            - Divine Union.


No matter how old we are,

we all must lay down our security blankets

to be freed up for hands on,

full bore kingdom living.



So, what's what with  this kingdom life, 

what is it not,

what is it in lived experience?

What's the little that has to go

to get the lot of it all,

of it ALL?

Galatians 5:16 -6:6 helps us parse out

the works of the flesh,

of self centered living,

that have to go

so we can get

the fruits of the spirit,

free, creative, inspirited gifts

that animate Kingdom living.

Using the Meditation Markers that follow,

let's give slow, soulful reflection

over the next week or so

to Galatians 5:19 through 6:6.

Using The Message translation,

let's quiet our mind,

open our center self,

take a deep breath of body,

and even more so of soul self,

and hear The Spirit speak,

Spirit to spirit.

To mix the metaphor,

see what The Spirit says to our spirits.

What has to go so All can come?

Let's be very honest, clear and specific.

What/Who/How are the works of the flesh

as they are current with me?

What/Who/How are the fruits of the Spirit

as they are current with me

                 AND

           need to be so?

It would be best to take one section

of Galatians 5:19 through 6:6

each day of the week and focus on that.



As always, it is so good to be together here each week.

Every blessing and goodness!

In God's Dear Love,

     John Frank


      *****




                                          MEDITATION MARKERS



                                   
            
Galatians 5:19-26; 

Galatians 6:1-6 MSG


19 It is obvious what kind of life develops 

out of trying to get your own way 

all the time: 

repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; 

a stinking accumulation of 

mental and emotional garbage; 

frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; 

20 trinket gods; magic-show religion; 

paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; 

all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; 

a brutal temper; an impotence to love 

or be loved; 

divided homes and divided lives; 

small-minded and lopsided pursuits;  

21 the vicious habit of 

depersonalizing everyone into a rival; 

uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; 

ugly parodies of community. 

I could go on. 

This isn't the first time 

I have warned you, you know. 

If you use your freedom this way, 

you will not inherit God's kingdom.  

22 But what happens when 

we live God's way?

 He brings gifts into our lives, 

much the same way 

that fruit appears in an orchard - 

things like 

affection for others, 

exuberance about life, 

serenity. 

We develop a willingness to stick with things,

a sense of compassion in the heart,

and a conviction that a basic holiness 

permeates things and people. 

We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments,  

23 not needing to force our way in life, 

able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. 

Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; 

it only gets in the way. 

24 Among those who belong to Christ, 

everything connected with getting our own way and 

mindlessly responding to what everyone else 

calls necessities is killed off for good - crucified.  

25 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, 

the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that 

we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads 

or a sentiment in our hearts, 

but work out its implications in every 

detail of our lives. 

26 That means we will not compare ourselves 

with each other as if one of us 

were better and another worse. 

We have far more interesting things 

to do with our lives. 

Each of us is an original.


1 Live creatively, friends. 

If someone falls into sin,

 forgivingly restore him, 

saving your critical comments for yourself. 

You might be needing forgiveness 

before the day's out. 

2 Stoop down and reach out 

to those who are oppressed. 

Share their burdens, 

and so complete Christ's law. 

3 If you think you are too good for that, 

you are badly deceived. 

4 Make a careful exploration of who you are 

and the work you have been given, 

and then sink yourself into that.

 Don't be impressed with yourself. 

Don't compare yourself with others.  

5 Each of you must take responsibility 

for doing the creative best you can 

with your own life. 

6 Be very sure now, y

you who have been trained 

to a self-sufficient maturity, 

that you enter into a generous common life 

with those who have trained you, 

sharing all the good things 

that you have and experience.



Yes, it's

    Let go of the little,

       be gifted with lots and lots of life,

                                           Kingdom Living.

                                        
             ALL FOR NOTHING


                       *****


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family, friends, associates know about our

weekly sharing together here at

          "frankly speaking."


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