GOOD TROUBLE

This is the eighth of our

    Summer Series

  FOLLOW THROUGH

       on living out

The Sermon On The Mount

       ******

Dear All of Us,

Say, you want some fun?

You up for a good time?

Here goes!

    "Happy are those 
     who are persecuted 
     for righteousness' sake, 
     for theirs is the
     kingdom of heaven."

             Jesus

         Matthew 5:10


    "Happy are you 
     when people revile you 
     and persecute you 
     and utter all kinds 
     of evil against you falsely 
     on my account. 
     Rejoice and be glad, 
     for your reward 
     is great in heaven, 
     for in the same way 
     they persecuted 
     the prophets 
     who went before you."

            Jesus

      Matthew 5: 11-12

"Happy"???

When was the last time 

this was read at a

church council meeting?


So, get kicked in the teeth 

for Jesus here and

get a stunning set 

of dentures in

the hereafter?


Be reviled,

be persecuted,

a barrage of evil, 

false utterances,

heaped on you?

"Happy," "rejoice" 

and be "glad"?


Is this some sort 

of spiritual

sadomasochism?

The Joy of Agony??

Happy Hurting 

hurling us heavenward?

Think I'll take another flight!



Ok, Ok so let's sort this out.


We're "happy",

we're "glad",

we "rejoice"

when things 

work out 

just right - 

career, garden, 

portfolio, vacation,

relationships,

a work out,

the dinner party.

It takes hard work,

stretching, sometimes

even hurting, to get things 

          just right.


Well, "just right" is what Jesus means 

in the widest and fullest sense by

      RIGHTEOUSNESS

ALL AND EVERY IS JUST RIGHT.

ALL AND EVERY IS ALL RIGHT.

ALL AND EVERY IS 

              

             REAL AND REALIZED.

Everyone and everything

is harmonized, is lined up

with God's Will and Creation.

             
When we are working with Jesus

to get everything right and real,

to establish the kingdom now

and the kingdom to come,

that is:

       God Good,

       Love Lived,
   
       Genuine,

       Divinely Dynamic,

       Creation Flourished,

       Wrong Righted,

       Justice Realized,

well, we're going 

to get it in the neck,

and lots elsewhere,

just as Jesus did.

One way and many, 

it means some form of

    persecution.

No need to get  a 

persecution complex,

but we will get 

wronged for right.

So did the prophets.

A prophet's stock and trade

is wrong righted.

So is ours.

That often means 

being wronged,

being "persecuted."

That runs from 

being drawn and quartered

to being nickeled and dimed,

from being drawn

into controversy 

to being thrown out,

being out of favor.


My mother had eight children.

She was belittled by

neighbors and relatives,

ridiculed as "quite a breeder"

for living what she understood

to be God's Will for her.

Mom was not invited to join the

Daughters of the American Revolution

back home in Montclair, NJ,

even though her ancestors

settled the area and served in the 

War for Independence -

"Not quite our type, don't you know." 

             Persecution.


Army Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman

spoke the truth about a wrong

in the White House.

It was his bonded duty,

the only right thing to do.

He was was bullied out 

of the service on the cusp of 

promotion to full colonel.

      Persecution.


Teachers hold to truth.

Politicians honor principle.

Accountants refuse 

to "cook the books".

Doctors open practices 

in poor neighborhoods.

Pastors live what they preach.

People protest for racial justice.

Families stick with 

a terribly difficult relative.

All pay a persecution price.

But do they ever make so much 

            just right.


An older woman  joined those
 
demonstrating peacefully

for racial rightness

here in Washington, DC.

on August 28th.

As an older person 

she risked heat exhaustion,

contracting COVID-19,

and the danger of 

possible violence.

She ran the risk of persecution   

  "for righteousness' sake".

Even the risk of persecution

is a form of

         persecution.

Most of us like a nice, tidy, 

safe, middle class or better 

kind of life.

If we live Jesus Christ,

if we Follow Through on

The Sermon on the Mount,

ain't-a- gonna happen.

Like the late great 

    John Lewis 

we're going to get into 

  "Good Trouble."

Jesus did, 

the prophets did, 

and we will.

Some way or many,

 

   persecution.


In a paradoxical way, though, 

there is joy in the pain of

seeking righteousness.

We are like a fatigued runner

experiencing the high

of getting that second wind,

stressing ever more

to break free and win the race.

Pain and euphoria at getting it

   

          just right.

         

We are like the parent 

scrimping and sacrificing 

to get the kids through college

and missing out on an easier life.

A deep, deep joy and gladness 

at getting things for the children 

            just right.

There are people, 

groups and systems

wronging individuals,

other groups and

our Mother Earth.

They, and what 

they do and undo,

will wrong us 

as we labor 

to right the damage 

and destruction inflicted, 

as we lovingly work for

Righteousness,

God's Kingdom 

come and coming. 

But you know what?

It's rather wonderful 

    to get into

 GOOD TROUBLE

There's great company 

 

in being

     "children of God" 

and we get a head start on 

"the kingdom of heaven."

That sure beats anybody else's 

       rewards program.

Pretty "Blessed are those"!!!

             Praying 

             us all a 

     strong second wind,

           John Frank

                  ******

Here's a great big

  THANK YOU

        to

 Nick Minnich.

 He regularly 

   jumps in

    as our 

technical director

to make things here

    just right!!!

     ******

                

PRAY AND PONDER

     The Message

     translation 

     of these 

     two last 

     Be Attitudes

 You're blessed when 

 your commitment to God 

 provokes persecution.

 The persecution drives you 

 even deeper into 

 God's kingdom.

 Not only that -

 count yourself blessed

 every time people 

 put you down 

 or throw you out 

 or speak lies about you 

 to discredit me.

 What it means 

 is that the truth  

 is too close for comfort 

 and they are uncomfortable.

 You can be glad 

 when that happens 

 - give a cheer, even! - 

 for though they don't like it, 

           I do! 

 And all heaven applauds.

 And you know that 

 you are in good company.

 My prophets and witnesses 

 have always gotten into 

 this kind of trouble.

            ******

       How much does 

       your church
          get into
       Good Trouble?

Many churches do 

much good.

They are often kept from 

doing much more good, 

from getting into 

  Good Trouble,

because the are 

so institutionalized,

so highly structured,

have social standing 

and privilege to safeguard, 

careers, property and payrolls 

to protect and pay.

 Then Jesus called 

 the twelve together 

 and gave them

 power and authority 

 over all demons 

 and to cure diseases, 

 and he sent them out 

 to proclaim 

 the kingdom of God 

 and to heal. 

 He said to them:

 'take nothing 

 for your journey, 

 no staff, nor bag, 

 nor bread, nor money 

 - not even an extra tunic...

                               Luke 9:1-3

          

          The Message 

          translation of 

          this same passage

Jesus now called the Twelve 

and gave them authority and power 

to deal with all the demons 

and cures diseases. 

He commissioned them 

to preach the news 

of God's kingdom 

and heal the sick. 

He said,' 

Don't load yourself up 

with equipment. 

Keep it simple; 

you are the equipment...

Revelation 3:14-16

"And to the angel of the church 

in Laodice write: 

The words of the Amen, 

the faithful and true witness, 

the origin of God's creation:

"I know your works; 

you are neither cold or hot. 

I wish you were either cold or hot.

So, because you are lukewarm, 

and neither cold nor hot, 

I am about to spit you 

out of my mouth.

           The Message

           translation 

           of this same passage

Write to Laodicea, 

to the Angel of the church. God's Yes, 

the Faithful and Accurate Witness, 

the First of God's creation, says:

"I know you inside and out, 

and find little to my liking. 

You're not cold, you're not hot 

- far better to be either cold or hot! 

You're stale. You're stagnant. 

You make me want to vomit.

What is to be heard here?

How much of it are we hearing?

How much of it are we embracing?

Many - most - churches 

are not being persecuted,

are simply being ignored 

and abandoned,

are not getting into  

          Good Trouble.

                Why?

              ******

           Pope Francis

                  in 

       Gaudete et Exsultate

     On the Call To Holiness 

         In Today's World

Jesus himself warns us that the path 
he proposes goes against the flow, 
even making us challenge society 
by the way we live and, as a result, 
becoming a nuisance. He reminds us 
how many people have been, 
and still are, persecuted 
simply because they struggle for justice, 
because they take seriously 
their commitment to God and to others. 
Unless we wish to sink into an obscure
mediocrity, let us not long for an easy life, 
for "whoever would save his life will lose it" 
(Mt 16:25).

              So, what to say?

             So, what will we do?

                   ******

    We've had some 
    great company here 
        this week -
    a wonderful group of 
    first time visitors

    from Ireland, Moldova

    and elsewhere.
        WELCOME
             to
   "frankly speaking"
spirituality for the street

- it is posted Thursdays
  by mid-day 
  east coast USA time

  
  johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

- it is available by automatic 
  email delivery on Fridays -
  sign up above right

- past postings are accessible at
          Blog Archive
  right column bottom


This week let's see how much 
we can get into
       GOOD TROUBLE!

               ******





      










































i

Barn

      This is the seventh of our 

          Summer Series

      We are exploring how to

        FOLLOW THROUGH

           by living out 

   The Sermon On The Mount 

              ******    



Dear All of Us,

It's a lot easier 

to burn a barn than

to build a barn.

I found that out

back in my 

Kentucky Days: 

     seminary, farm, 

        hermitage, 
    
            AND 

much younger and stronger.

I saw a barn burn.

Another time,

I helped build a barn.


One Sunday evening at the seminary,

just as the sun had set,

a neighbor's barn lite up the sky

as it burned to the ground.

All it took was an electrical short,

and in one short hour

it was a pile of smoldering ashes,

charred bits and pieces of wood.

Didn't take long or much.

Destruction.



Another time Jude,

some friends, and I

went to work to build 

a new barn on his farm.

We had to cut timber, 

haul it to the mill,

bring back boards and beams.

Then post holds were dug 

and cement poured,

beams hoisted 

to their patterned place,

loft floored, stalls and siding 

boarded up, tin roof in place,

doors hung.

Lots of work, long and hard.

Construction.


Jesus tells us of the 

work and wonder,

the blessing, 

of construction,

of often redeeming destruction,

of building up, 

of making:

  "Happy are the 

    peacemakers,  

    for they will be called

    children of God."
                     Matthew 5:9


Jesus assures 

we'll be happy,

we'll be "family",

as we go to work 

making peace,

and work it sure is.



It means 

the hard work 

of clearing away

the destruction 

wrought by wrong.

It means the hard work of 

righting those wrongs

that come from a 

scorched earth policy

across the terrain 

of society's landscape -

the devastation of 

its people and place -

belittlement, contempt, 

lies, misinformation, 

civil, financial, educational, 

health and housing inequities, 

rights denied, segregation into

haves and have nots,

ecological/environmental rape, 

personal brutality, theft, gossip, 

xenophobia, war, misogyny, 

cheating, persecution,

abuse, stealing -

demonically on and on -

denied peace to be restored.

Lots to do for 

"peacemakers".

It's relieving agony.

It's vanquishing dark, 

It's turning on the lights. 

It's glorious work.

It's our family business

as children of God. 



Peace is integrity, oneness, union.

It's the intimacy of shared being,

being in Being - 

         us and all existing in God.

Peace is people and peoples 

centered in The Center of all.

That closeness, 

that shared life and energy, 

that existential harmony,

that ecstatic and creative joy,

propels us into peacemaking.

Intimate with God Creative, 

one in the mutuality of that peace,

we are perforce

intimate with all Creation. 

We're busy making sure 

all get on the dance floor,

get swept up into our shared 

whirling dervish of divine delight.

No one, nothing sidelined.


Peacemaking is helping God

put the pieces together.

So we include the lonely 

in our family and social gatherings.

We make room and way for them.

No matter coloration of body,

tint of culture, religious toning, 

political persuasion,  

socio-economic status, 

gender orientation,

strengths and weaknesses, 

we welcome each and all 

to the company of

The Beloved Community.

We forgive the hurtful.

We do our best to redress

the wrongs we've wrought.

We include the difficult.

We partner to excise 

the cancer of racism and

nurture a lived unity in diversity.

We slow down to catch up with 

the stumbling.

We make sure 

those on the margins 

make it to the mainstream.

At peace, 

reconciled to God, 

to our True Selves,

to our neighbors,

we work to reconcile divisions, 

feuds, and contentions 

into refreshed unity.

We free up or bypass the 

self centered fixation, 

the stifled spirits,

the bureaucratic constriction 

of too many churches 

that are more

religious enterprises 

than real Church.

We welcome seekers 

into the experience

of shared support and service,

into a Holy Communion of Spirit.


Yes, peacemaking is hard work.

Wrapped in the peace

that is oneness with God,

we are powered for 

peacemaking.

That only happens if we spend 

a lot of time in quiet prayer.

That gives God the chance 

to enfold and love us to Love,

to simplify and purify us,

infusing that very 

     ONENESS

   that is peace.

Then we are ready 

to go to work,

to be makers of peace -

unifiers, reconcilers.

healers, forgivers.

    
   "Happy are the 

    peacemakers,

    for they will be called

    children of God"



          Peace be with you!

             John Frank

               ******




      It's a real treat to have 

         new folks joining in

           this past week.

    We celebrate the first time 

  that we have had participation 

            from Zambia.

             WELCOME!!


         "frankly speaking"

      spirituality for the street

    - is posted each Thursday

      by mid-day

      east coast USA time,

       johnfrankshares.blogspot.com


   - is delivered by email Fridays 

              sign up 

         top right above

   

   - past postings are located at

            Blog Archive

         right bottom here

                ******


        PRAY AND PONDER

                PEACE

A variety of prompts and supports

for meditation are offered here. 

They are best used 

over a period of time,

a little at a time.


In a quiet time and place 

we calm to our center.

There we let The Spirit 

flow through us.

We breath in slowly and deeply:

and Soul Say:

         "God loves me."

Slowly and fully we breath out

and Soul Say

           "I love you, Oh God."

After a time of this, 

we read one of the prompts 

that follow here, slowly sensing

the core of what is shared.

Then we consider 

what light that sharing

might shine on our living, 

how can it en-spirit our spirit?

We see it in itself and 

we picture it lived out 

in our right now, right here.

We see how it can be 

real and practical

in the sweet and sour 

of our spiritual life.

We say yes to that. 

We ask The Spirit 

to empower that dynamic.

We might then journal,

or we might simply rest 

in The Spirit.

We breath in slowly and deeply

and Soul Say:

             "We are one."

Slowly and deeply we breath out

and Soul Say:

           "We are one." 





    What light do the prompts 

         that follow shine 
            

          on my living?

  How can they en-spirit my spirit?




- "The day the power of love 
    overrules the love of power, 
    the world will know peace."  
     
              Gandhi


- " Let the peace of Christ 
     rule in your hearts, 
     since as members of one body 
     you were called to peace. 
     And be thankful."
                             
           Colossians3:15


- "We are not at peace with others 
    because we are not 
    at peace with ourselves. 
    and we are not at peace 
    with ourselves because 
    we are not at peace with God."
                     
            Thomas Merton
    

- "Peace is the tranquility of order"

              Augustine


- "Be the change you wish 
   to see in the world."
             
               Gandhi

- "When historians pick up 

    their pens to write the story 

    of the 21st. century, 
    let them say that 

    it was your generation 
    who laid down

    the heavy burdens 
    of hate at last and that peace 
    finally triumphed over violence, 
    aggression and war. So I say to you, 
    walk with the wind, 

    brothers and sisters, 
    and let the spirit of peace 
    and the power of everlasting love 
    be your guide.
   
        The last public words of 
               John Lewis, 
     written days before his death
  and published the day of his funeral.

         The New York Times
                  Op Ed
            July 30, 2020


- " Peace I leave with you; 
    my peace I give you. 
    I do not give peace to you 
    as the world gives.
    Do not let your hearts be troubled 
    and do not be afraid."

                 Jesus

           ( John 14:27 )


- "Fighting for peace
   is like screwing for virginity."

          George Carlin


- "Make every effort to live in peace 
   with everyone and to be holy;   
   without holiness no one will see God."

           Hebrews 12:14


- " But the fruit of the Spirit is 
     love, joy,  peace, forbearance,
     kindness, goodness, faithfulness."

             Galatians 5:22


- "Peace demands the most heroic labor, 
   and the most difficult sacrifice. 
   It demands greater heroism than war. 
   It demands greater fidelity to the truth 
   and a much more perfect 

   purity of conscience."

                Thomas Merton


- "It is my conviction that 
   there is no way to peace.
   - peace is the way."

        Thich Nhat  Hanh


- "Make sure that nobody pays back 
   wrong for wrong, 
   but always strive to do 
   what is good for each other 
   and for everyone else."

      I Thessalonians 5:15


- " Consider the blameless.
     observe the upright;
     a future awaits those 
     who seek peace."

              Psalm 37:37


- "Those who are free 
   of resentful thoughts 
   surely find peace."

          Buddha

*********************************************


          

       

INSIDE OUT

      This is the sixth in our

          Summer Series

We are exploring how to more fully

        FOLLOW THROUGH

              living out 

 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 

              ******





Dear All of Us,

I can't find it anywhere in the Gospels.

But, dimes to donuts,

Jesus wasn't jarred even a bit

those summer mornings when, 

late for breakfast and rushing,

he came downstairs, his blue

Fruit of the Loom T-Shirt 

             on

      INSIDE OUT.


Check it out.

Jesus was a total

   Inside Out

   kind of guy:

     -"So, the last shall be first,

       and the first shall be last." (1)

     -"The greatest among you

       is the one who 

       serves the rest." (2)

     -"Truly I tell you, 

 

       unless you change and

       become like children,

       you will never enter

       the kingdom of heaven." (3)

     -"...Father... you have 

       hidden these things

       from the wise 

       and the intelligent

       and have revealed them

       to children..." (4)



Jesus' life and teaching 

are the flip of the world's 

pecking order, prominence 

and power push - 

all proceeding from the

predominance of self -

        "ME"-ism

top of the pile,

front and center,

top drawer.

With Jesus it's paradox

all the way, all the time.

He grows by giving.

He wins by loosing his life.


Shinning the light of right

on getting life real,

on our attitudes 

on how to be, the

    Be Attitudes,

Jesus tells us we will be

ripe roaring happy 

when we live from the 

       INSIDE OUT

    
       Happy are 

       

       the pure in heart, 

      

       for they will see God." (5)

The way of the world is 

to skim the surface,

seek stimulation, satisfaction 

and supposed success.

Jesus flips it.

Jesus takes us to 

the heart of the matter,

our heart and God right there.

Get it right there at our core  

and it's right all the way out

       INSIDE OUT

     all the way out

     to seeing God.



The Message translation

puts it so clearly:

  
     "You're blessed when 

      you get your inside world 

      - your mind and heart - 

      put right.

      Then you can see God

      in the outside world." 



At our core is God.

Let no one, nothing 

blind us to that.

Let no one, nothing, 

take the place of 

total and pure 

centeredness in God 

- purity of heart -

God is our Lover 

and we don't have any 

mistresses or messrses,

be that preferment 

of person or possession.

Self centeredness, arrogance, 

greed, lust, besmirch, and 

dim being  

     "pure in heart."

Purity of heart:

have that clarity, 

see that, live that 

and we will see God 

and see as God sees.

Clean it up 

on the inside and

see clearly on the outside,

        then it's  

          God

    inside and out.

That's the attitude.

That's happiness.


Purely God centered,

we do see as God sees.

We see God in everyone 

and in everything.

It just gets 

fuller and better,

and will do so until 

we and our world are 

matured into the

Kingdom Coming.




We see God in 

the beautiful and whole,

in people and planet plus, 

the plus of God's goodness

and presence to infinity.

That could be a blade of grass.

It could be Walt Whitman's

      Leaves of Grass.

It could be the findings of

an astrophysicist.

It could be finding a life lover.

It could be staying at 

a beach house for a week.

It could be signing a hymn.


Paradoxically, we also see God

in the distorted and fractured.

We see through schizophrenia

to a loved child of God suffering.

We see God in Mother Earth,

victim of greed's abusive relationship.

By no means do I mean to push 

my political persuasions,

but I see God in the 

chaotic crew up front 

in the driver's seat 

here in Washington.

Yes, I see that they endanger us.

Yes, I see that they and we all

are brothers and sisters of the 

Same Sacred Source,

yet each and all 

with frightening flaws.



All the Be Attitudes have

the same truth variously applied:

     God is our center.

     Be there.

     Be loved there.

     Live that.

     From there on out it will be

            "Blessed" 

    From there on out we will be 

          Rip Roaring 

             "Happy"




A closing opening:

What comes out of

Bruce Springsteen

is wondrous.

When asked how 

he sings so, he said: 

   "You have to inhabit 

    your song." (6)


    
       INSIDE OUT



Don't be afraid to borrow 

a tee shirt from Jesus.

It'll be inside out, but hey, 

isn't everything important,

and so Godly So!!


      John Frank

        
       ******

(1) Matthew 20:16

(2) Matthew 23:11

(3) Matthew 18:3

(4) Matthew 11:25

(5) Matthew 5:8

(6) WETATV, Beyond the Canvas

     July 26, 2020, 7:30 PM

         ******

In the past few weeks 

we have been blessed

with a great many 

first time visitors from Romania, 

Great Britain, Russia and Germany. 

A word of heartfelt welcome 

to them and all joining in 

for the first time here at

      "frankly speaking"

    spirituality for the street


- it is posted each Thursday,

  usually by mid-day,

  east coast USA time

   johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

- arrives Fridays by automatic email -

  the sign up is top right above

- past postings are available at Blog Archive,

  right column bottom 

                          ******


WISHING ONE AND ALL EVERY GOODNESS

           SEE YOU NEXT WEEK

                  ******