BACK TO THE FUTURE

Dear All of Us,

We all get stuck.

What a bother!

We often have to back up 

to find a way forward.

              It's 

  BACK TO THE FUTURE

and that's a lot more than 

a science fiction flick.

It's a fact of life.

The church is stuck.

Many leave. 

Few come.

Church is disparaged,

seen as inauthentic -

says one thing

and isn't what it says.

Time to go back

to go future,

back to Jesus:

"A new command 

 I give you:

 Love one another. 

 As I have loved you, 

 so you must love 

 one another. 

 By this will 

 all people know 

 you are my disciples, 

 if you love one another." 

   John 13:34-35

Let's be real here.

The question 

has finally 

been called 

on the church

as we have it.

It does good.

There are 

authentic churches

here and there.

Overall, though,

the established church

sadly shorts 

real deal 

Gospel 

   community

   and living.

It is more organization 

and real estate than

"The Followers of the Way"

(what church was first called).

We really need 

to test ourselves

by the standard 

and measure 

of Jesus

shared above.

In big churches 

people don't even 

know each other, 

much less 

love each other.

In small churches

people may know

 each other,

but how profoundly 

do they love each other?

Most churches are not 

communal hot beds of 

people loving each other 

      Jesus Style.

In a time 

of turmoil and trouble,

of bunker-like separatism,

of disappointment 

of skepticism,

of psychic isolation,

of Untruth Social,

people don't want 

more of less.

What has been 

needs to be 

what can be.

Jesus did not put together 

a big organization.

He invited life together 

in the Kin-Domain of God,  

      Community.

Community cannot happen 

in a crowd.

As we back up 

to the early church

to find a future church,

we see small communities

of faith sharing,

of fellowship,

of taking care of each other,

of service beyond themselves,

of sharing meal, means and more,

of prayer, scripture, sacrament, worship

of communion widening on outward.

Those first communities

were not perfect, 

but they were real

and they were 

Gospel Ernest,

Community Committed.

Church leaders today

don't get it.

They are trying 

to pump up  

a frayed flat tire.

It's futile and finished.

Marketing, 

analytics,

snappy worship,

"reorganizing for impact," 

are feverishly 

rearranging deck chairs 

on their sinking Titanic.

They don't come close 

to need.

Coming close together 

in for real, close, 

small communities

committed to giving 

The Beatitudes and 

The Sermon on the Mount

- all Jesus shared -

an honest, sweaty go,

is the way to go.

We need to let go

over-organization,

and size-mania.

The urgent call 

in our right now

is for:

committing to 

simple, vigorous,

close knit, loving,

sharing, serving

   community.

Many sincere seekers 

find that the 

established church

is not where to find 

     Jesus Lived 

Pray God we will let God 

change that by changing us.

Between here and there, 

small groups,

intentional and committed,  

are a start.

John Wesley points 

the way to a 

faith forward future -

"Ecclesiolae in Ecclsia" -

Lots of little churches in

the Larger Church.

We don't go to church.

we are the church.

Church isn't a place.

Church is Spirit Life Shared

and that intensely, personally,

and practically so.

John Wesley clarified

Our What: 

"Give them Christ."

Thich Nhat Hanh's advice 

helps us understand 

Our How: 

"At Plum Village 

we don't teach peace.

We share peace."

The church's "stuck"

is a blessed stop.

A chance to go

BACK TO THE FUTURE

    "By this will all people know 

    you are my disciples,

    if you love one another."

             Jesus

            ******

Next Posting

        Wednesday

        May 15, 2924

Next Email

        Friday

        MAY 17, 2024

           ******

Heart Full Thanks

to all who have

mother nurtured us.

You are life giving.

We are so grateful!

      ******

 This week large groups 

      of new folks from

          Columbia 

           and the 

             USA 

     joined in with us.

   Great to be together!

         WELCOME 

  to you and all here at

        frankly speaking

    spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

THE LAST FIVE POSTINGS

       ARE AVAILABLE

               by

  scrolling down beneath 

         this posting

The ancient

Jewish historian, 

Josephus,

reported the saying 

of his contemporaries 

about the early 

church communities;

    "See how 

     they love 

     one another."

May such be said of us.

May we be famous for our

    Christ Love Lived

         Together

             in 

       Community

       Love to all,

       John Frank

        ******

 

      

TRUST

Dear All of Us,

Here in The States right now

a canvas of our country 

pictures puzzlement and concern:

    Whom Can You Trust? 

As I type away here just now,

student demonstrations 

roll to roil across the land 

reflecting that

puzzlement and concern.

For me it's more than 

a bit of de-ja vu.

Back in the mid-sixties

I was doing graduate study

in theology here in Washington

at Catholic University.

The Rector summarily fired 

a theology professor

solely on the basis 

of a news report.

No due process at all.

The faculty struck,

shut down the university. 

They asked the student body

for support and to protest.

We did.

All day for some days 

we peacefully marched 

on campus, placards held high,

chanting for justice 

and academic freedom.

There were TV news crews a plenty.

Then it was back to 

the seminary residence

for dinner and 

to watch ourselves

on all the major network 

evening news programs.

It was heady and dangerous.

We could have been expelled 

and denied ordination.

Eventually the theologian 

was reinstated and 

the Rector was dismissed

and we were ordained.

I learned a lot.

Being part of what 

was covered 

by the news media,

and how they reported it,

were not even fraternal twins.

Camera angles,

select scene backgrounds

and interview sites,

cropped crowd scrapes,

types of persons selected

for interview,

sound bites, 

toned and colored 

the reporting.

Facts and fictions 

were fitted into 

a variety of news frames

by the various networks.

In our here and now,

Whom Can You Trust?

    How do we find 

The God's Honest Truth 

    - to vote

    - navigating social media

    - in selecting a news outlet -

             Fox, PBS? 

             NYT, WSJ?

    - listening to a preacher

    - choosing spiritual podcasts, 

      publications and blogs

      (including this one)

    - deciding on a spiritual director

    - choosing a school for our child

      (if we are fortunate enough

      to have a choice)

    - what Not-For-Profit to support

    - which causes to follow

    - what sorts of entertainment

    - with whom to socialize?

Concerns aplenty trying 

to honestly, truthfully

live out our

"spirituality for the street."

Whom Can You Trust?

Where is the God's Honest Truth?

Jesus points us right real

out here on the streets of now.

He tells us be wise 

as a serpent and 

guileless as a dove.

    Matthew 10:16

-paradox point -

He outlines direction

for so much:

"Thus, by their fruits 

 you will recognize them." 

      Matthew 7:20

Paul paints in the picture,

      darks and lights, 

      fruits deadly,

      fruits inspiriting

 Fruits Deadly:

"It's 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;

trinket gods;

magic-show religion;

paranoid loneliness;

cut-throat 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;

the vicious habit of 

depersonalizing everyone 

into a rival;

uncontrolled and 

uncontrollable addictions;

ugly parodies of community."

     Galatians 5:19-21

       The Message 

          translation

Fruits Inspiriting

"But the fruit of the Spirit is

 love, joy, 

 peace, patience,

 kindness, goodness, 

 faithfulness,

 gentleness and

 self-control."

 Galatians 5: 22-23

          

In a land and time of 

puzzlement and concern

         we find 

The God's Honest Truth

          we can     

          TRUST

in people, platforms, policies,

procedures, politicians, pastors,

churches, media, causes, 

curricula, entertainments, 

writings, friends,

      anybody. anything

      ripe and rich with 

   The Fruits of the Spirit.

   That's The Good News.

   That's the way to go.

We eschew 

(haven't used that word 

in a month of Mondays!)

anybody, anything 

that fails, fakes, or fouls

The Fruits of the Spirit,

who serves up

 Fruits Deadly.

Our criteria for 

what to do,

where to go,

how to choose, 

whom to follow,

selecting friends,

is to be and go 

where there is 

   love, joy

   peace, patience

   kindness, goodness

   faithfulness, gentleness

    self-control.

It's our spiritual GPS.

It leads in 

a manner and way 

we can

          TRUST

          ******

NEXT POSING

         Wednesday

         May 8, 2024

NEXT EMAIL

         Friday

         May 10, 2024

Lots of new friends are joining in 

           with us each week.

       This week groups from 

                 Brazil 

                  and

               Germany

          were among them.

So, So Good to be So, So Blessed!

              WELCOME

                  ALL

                   to 

         frankly speaking

    spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

LAST FIVE POSTINGS AVAILABLE

                   by

scrolling down beneath this posting

     Looking forward to us all 

     being together here next week,

     and that's sure the truth!

                Love to all

                John Frank

                  ******

          

     

     

PRESENT TENSE AND PLACE

Dear All of Us,

Before we get started, 

a few words about 

the words that follow.

This week's posting

is about love making,

     God and us

  Divine Intimacy

It employs forthright,

real life love language.

It does that in the 

unabashed manner,

freedom, spirit and joy of

    The Judeo-Christian Scriptures

    Medieval Christian Mystics

    Sufi Mystics

    Among so wonderfully more.

Explicit metaphors 

to make explicit

the majesty of

Divine Coupling.

Explicit metaphors

to move us

to move in

with God.

 ******

 

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

VIEWER OPENNESS IS ECOURAGED

No matter how sincere, urgent, 

passionate, well intentioned,

we just cannot make love 

to someone 

who is not there.

Fact of life.

Yet, that fact is missed 

in a huge swath 

of spiritual teaching and

leads millions upon millions 

to spiritual frustration and

discouraged disengagement.

Sad such the spirituality 

that fixes God in heaven, 

us are on earth.

      Distinction and distance

            absolute 

         fixed in place.

Sure, it says that

God has good hearing and 

God way up there in heaven

hears our prayers.

But God is still way up there 

in heaven and we are 

still stranded way down here,

earth bound.

We and God exchange 

vibes varied 

- revelation, prayer, 

  ritual, sacrament -

but still that

fixed, far apart,

distance and distinction.

No love making.

We just have to wait it out 

til we are outed to heaven

to be bedded by God,

to be totally present 

to each other.

In practice it's not actually

      The Practice of 

   The Presence of God

so much as it is 

   The Practice of Patience 

   Until We Are Present

          With God

         In Heaven

Yet, that same,

far out spirituality

urges us to go ahead anyway

and give it a go at trying

to live out

      The Practice of 

    The Presence of God

Frustration fraught!

Quite frankly, that's like 

trying to have sex

on a Zoom Call.

No go!

Digital connection doesn't do it.

Neither does

   God there

        us here spirituality,

us spirituality slugging away trying 

to picture, see, sense, achieve 

a direct line connection to 

       God Intimacy

We just can't do it.

Wrong number.

"This call cannot be completed,"

nor can our embrace unto 

        ONENESS

until the celestial by and by.

It

   "...misleads millions upon millions 

    to spiritual frustration and

    discouraged disengagement."

     

              RESET

      absolutely necessary

          we get into a 

      totally different mode,

get on a completely different 

            wavelength

The reset is that God is 

         Totality.

        Unlimited.

          God 

            is

     BEING ITSELF

 

  Anyone, Anything 

    that has being

       does so

           in 

      The Being 

        that is 

         God

       Totality 

      Unlimited

Paradox for sure.

Potential even more for sure.

"In him we live and have our 

            BEING"

         Acts 17:28

So does all Cration.

Speaking of Christ:

  

    "...all things were created 

     by him and for him...and

                "IN 

                 him

                 ALL 

            things hold

            TOGETHER."

       Colossians 1:16-17

    

     "Everything 

      comes from him.

      Everything 

      happens through him.

      Everything 

      ends up

             IN HIM"

       Romans 11: 36

        The Message

   

      All that "be's" is 

     "varied together"

              in 

 The Ground of Our Being

             GOD

 Thank you, Martin Buber.

        

So, yes God is in heaven

and just as "yes" 

God is everywhere 

and everyhow else.

So, bring it on!

    "God is love"

    1 John 4:16

     and we do 

     more than 

     interface!

        We 

     "INTER"

       as in 

 INTERCOURSE

         - L. "inter" - between

         - L. "currere" - flow, move

 INTERCOURSE 

as in course through, 

as in flow through

each other

   passionate

   pulsating

 It's free, full

   Embrace

      and

 Enfoldment

Our reset is to 

stop stressing

to reach God 

and let God 

choose how 

   to be 

 PRESENT

   to us.

As we relax to

   INTER 

 FLOWING

     we 

STREAM ONE

    God is 

     "IN"

 everything 

     and 

 occurrence.

  We are 

   awash 

   in God

We don't have 

to seek it,

It's ours 

to wake to it,

to see and sense it,

to open wide to God

as God chooses

to be present to us.

As they say 

in Sheboygan, 

"Ya gotta be there!"

         "BE"

        THERE

because God 

is already there 

     and just 

plain passionately

wanting, waiting.

God is our environment.

God is our divine milieux 

       Thank you 

  Teilhard de Chardin

         God is, 

 "being" present to us,

     inviting us to

      INTERENESS

             to

       COURSING

   through each other 

in the Love that is God

    in who we are

    in what we are

    in how we are

    in where we are

    in what we are about

PRESENT TENSE AND PLACE

No need to wait it out  

until the celestial

by and by.

We don't have to wait.

We don't have to relocate.

We just need to slow it down

to fall into God's Presence.

We just need to 

let go, 

open up,

to be enfolded 

into God Present as

    we fold the wash,

    drive the car,

    go to school

    do our work,

    drink our wine,

    share sacraments

    take a deep breath,

    tell a joke,

    sing a hymn

    are patient with a pest,

    worship

    take a shower,

    hold a baby,

    grow a garden,

    be a church,

    steep in scripture,

    seek The Common Good,

    as we endeavor

        "To act justly,

          and to love mercy

          and to walk humbly 

          with your God."

             Micha 6:8

       in prayerful contemplation

       as we reverence and repair

             the elements,

       as we discover God present 

            through all we 

              see, hear,

             taste, touch,

                 smell,

             understand,

             intuit, feel,

                  do.

            It's like the sun 

            shining on us

            into us

            in all sorts of rays.

So what about all the dark,

dirty, rotten, painful stuff?

It is God Good fouled

by human sin and weakness.

It is God Energy twisted 

hideous and destructive.

We are present with God

suffering through it all 

to redemptive rightness 

and freshness.

As Augustine said,

God is closer to us 

than we are to ourselves.

That's pretty intimate.

We chill to the warmth of God 

as our core and more.

So, we let God be God.

So, we let God do 

   the heavy lifting.

So, we let God "presence" 

   where and how God does -

   the times, tones, 

   textures, touches.

So, we soften to let all

be the unique

God Presence it is.

So, we let God take the lead 

    in love making and thrill to it.

So, we allow surprise -

     God draws us into Love

       in the sensual to the spiritual -

     a delicious Friday night pizza 

                   to 

          contemplative joy

           holding a baby.

So, God shows up in the 

     here and the now -

     after all, that's the only 

     place and time we really have,

     and the only place and time 

     where/when love making can be.

                  AH YES,

                    God 

                is present 

                     in

                    ALL

               right here, 

               right now

  (even writing/reading this blog)

        and we are invited

           to the endless 

             Caresses

         and completing 

           Enfoldment

                of

             divine 

         Love Making,

              the 

          Real Deal

     The Practice of the

       Presence of God

PRESENT TENSE AND PLACE

             ******

Next Posting:

        Wednesday

        May1, 2024

 Next Email

         Friday

         May3, 2024

           A Heart Felt 

            Welcome

              to all

             here at

       frankly speaking

    spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

Again, greetings to the growing groups

                   from 

              HONG KONG

                   and

                 CHINA

joining in our sharing here each week.

We are blessed and delighted!

    THE LAST FIVE POSTINGS 

           AVAILABLE

      Simply scroll down 

      below this posting

           Thanks for giving 

    this somewhat unique posting

       your heart's attention.

         See you next week.

             GodLove to all

              John Frank

               ******

             

          

    

    

    

 

   

 

 

MAKERS

Dear All of Us,

Right off the top

I want to thank each and all 

for letting me be with you

each week, sharing 

what and as I can.

You are generous and 

I am grateful.

So is my wife.

Writing this blog each week 

keeps me off the street 

and out of trouble.

My wife doesn't get phone calls

from the police anymore to

"Come get the little old man 

with the walker

down at the park

trying to get teenagers 

to let him play

tackle football with them!"

And to think the medical people say 

the last thing to go is our hearing.

Hope not. 

I'm holding out for 

a robust sense of humor 

right up to take off!!

In the mean, 

make that "merry" time,

let's blog on.

So, remember way back when:

"Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, 

Baker's Man"?

Such fun action as kids 

and we've all been busy 

ever since making 

a lot more than patty cakes. 

We're genetically 

     MAKERS

It's in our soul's DNA.

It shines out early on 

as making 

paper dolls and paper planes,

moves on to 

making the bed,

making friends, 

making numbers and nouns 

    work out in school, 

making it work at work,

making love, 

making a family,

making things right 

making poems, gardens, 

    music and art,

    software and supper,

making church a community,

making the environment safer,

making peace.

More and continuously

        MAKERS

The Genesis story tells 

from whence all this originates.

Genesis pictures God as 

           MAKER

and having one heaven of 

a good time at it, too!

God saw all that God had made

was really, really good, 

was mighty pleased with it, 

and then God took a day off.

Come Monday, 

right back at it and 

on a roll ever since.

Creation isn't a was.

Creation is an is.

Creation is a 

   right now always.

Creation is a flow,

an outpouring of 

God Goodness.

The God Dynamic 

is shared in elements,

animals, vegetables, minerals,

         all that is, 

earth dirt to star dust.

There is this progressive, 

expansive surge to it.

So far we still don't know 

the tiniest of its pulsations

nor the extent of its vastness.

Genesis reports God 

creating us people 

in the very image

and likeness of God 

- a shared DNA -

and asking us to help guide

God Goodness evolving 

creatively and endlessly. 

So, what does that 

look like where we live,

in our right now?

Well, it's vast, wonderful

and wide open.

Literally everything we do

is meant to be creative,

us in sync with 

           The Creator,

together as

            MAKERS

              

A little add on to 

the examples above  -

God and us together,

creative busy:

- making soup 

- making room for interruptions

- making space for differences

- making music, in the shower 

  or at church

- making well an item 

  or service at work

- making a garden

- making a conversation good

- making a visit to a lonely person

- making plans for a family vacation

- making up after a fight

- making the roads safe 

  by how we drive

- making the house commodious,

  the yard a bright/right place

- making newcomers welcome

- making pesty paperwork 

  a zone for patience

  (I betray a bias here!)

- making things as 

  just and kind as we can

- making The Common Good 

  our goal and benchmark

- making a party

- making childhood 

  safe, expansive, wondrous

- making an art of all we do,

  doing it with God 

I hope this little reflection 

enthuses our hearts 

and frees our spirits 

to jump in with God,  

    Team Creators

       Together

     Happy Holy

       MAKERS

      ******

Next Posting

        Wednesday

        April 24, 2024

Next Email Delivery

        Friday

        April 26, 2024 

"The creation of the world 

 did not occur 

at the beginning of time, 

it occurs every day."  

Marcel Proust

       A Warm Welcome

        to all joining us 

  for the first time this week.

      A special greeting 

      to the group from

            CHINA

We appreciate your company,

        one and many

and hope you'll feel right at home

here at   

            frankly speaking

       spirituality for the street

    johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

  LAST FIVE POSTINGS AVAILABLE

            by scrolling down 

          beneath this posting

          IT IS SO HELPFUL

                to have  

          frankly speaking 

          shared with others

          widening its reach. 

         Thanks many much

         for sharing it with others.

    God is making God Good

                 and 

   we are invited to be active

         in the joy of it.

    We actually get in on 

  God making good on his 

             Word

     Have a great week 

       at this holy work.

          Love to all,

         John Frank

           ******

JUST LOVE IT

Dear All of Us,

"Don't you just love it when..."

really isn't a question.

It's a vent.

We're ticked and 

we're gonna 

let the world know it. 

It has a twin.

They're not at all identical.

"Don't you just love it when..."

isn't a question.

It's a delight.

We're not ticked.

We're tickled pink and 

we're gonna 

let the world know it.

"Don't you just love it when 

when the neighborhood pest

mows his lawn at midnight 

every Friday?

"Don't you just love it when

Grandma has us over for 

the world's best ever apple pie 

right out of her oven

every once in a while?"

Long the lists and 

critically important.

That's because

     WE ARE WHAT WE LOVE

Love makes one.

Love isn't just a preference.

Love is more than an attachment.

Love is union.

Love is a merger making one.

As we are what we eat

and it determines 

our bodily health and vitality,

so who/what we love

determines our fundamental

spiritual health and vitality.

If we truly love someone,

we are "an item,"

we are a one 

and it shows.

It puts a skip 

in our soul stepping.

If we really love porn,

we are what it is -

love phony and failed.

It trips up our soul stride.

WE ARE WHAT WE LOVE

Our spiritual quest 

is for what is good.

Anything good is 

an emanation,

a pulsation, 

a presence,

a particularization

          of 

         God

"God alone is good."

    Mark 10:17

"Every good and 

  perfect gift 

  is from above,

  coming down from 

  the Father of the

  heavenly lights..."

      James 1:17

Mix it up with good 

   and we are 

   "ONEING" 

    in God.

We're "in" Love

  "God is Love."

    1 John 4:8

WE ARE WHAT WE LOVE

We love God in 

God's presence 

and good gifts.

So, we just love:

     shrimp scampi

     a Morris West novel

     riding in a convertible

     having friends over 

     Hymn Sings

     growing a garden

     Contemplative Prayer

     playing tennis

     working at Habitat for Humanity

     a spiritual retreat

     dancing

     songs by The Brillance

     getting dressed up 

     cooking

     hiking

     reading to a child

     a freshly made bed

God is as close as 

anyone and everything 

         Good

Genuine spiritual life 

sure is spritely spirited.

We're full time, 

flat out,

into good, 

One in God Good

and do we ever 

JUST LOVE IT

     ******

Next Posting

      Wednesday 

      April 17, 2024

       

Next Email

      Friday 

      April 19, 2024

        frankly spwaking

    spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

 LAST FIVE POSTINGS AVAILABLE

          Just scroll down

      beneath this posting

Thanks for your good company!

          "I just love it!"

            John Frank

             ******