Occupy Wall Street

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".

Ephesians 6:12

This Scripture came alive for me as I attended the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City on Saturday, September 17.  It was my first protest ever, but I can easily say I will never be the same.  I went with a group of 9 other Christians as the Protest Chaplains.  We were there to be a specifically Christian witness against corporate greed and excess and the exploitation of the poor.  It was absolutely wonderful to stand in solidarity with the protesters!  We sang, we prayed, we gave out about 500 granola bars and we had many conversations with many wonderful people.

One of the things I remember most is seeing the bronze statue of the bull for the first time.  It was barricaded and there were police standing around it to protect it from protesters.  I was disgusted!  Seeing police officers defend this idol, this symbol of the false god of money devouring human lives in order to make a profit, made me want to vomit.  It was then that I became aware that we were confronting evil.  This protest wasn't just a social battle it was a spiritual one.  We joined the people and we marched around the bull several times holding up a cross and I felt God marching with us.  My eyes are tearing up just thinking about it.  The atmosphere was intensely charged.  I felt this surge of energy and the conviction that darkness cannot overcome the light.  Evil will never conquer good.  Justice can be delayed but it cannot be stopped.  This bull and all who swear by it will fall.

This was the first time that I realized that being a follower of Jesus in this present time meant being an activist.  When huge banks and corporations seek to devour the soul of America, highjack our political and economic systems and reduce democracy to a historical artifact, Christians must not lock themselves in their churches.  We must follow Jesus out of our churches and into the streets to stand in solidarity with all who fight for justice, fairness and equality.  Our faith never tells us to run and hide from evil, but to confront it head on with the knowledge that evil shall not prevail.

It is not enough for the church to say "Blessed are the poor".  What are we doing to help them?  Do we dare speak the truth to power in love?  Are we willing to lay aside our comfort and complacency to be a voice for those who are trying to be silenced by systems of oppression and exploitation?   Let's not just say what Jesus said.  Let's do what Jesus did and is still doing today: setting the captives free.  Let us turn our prayers into action.  Let us follow Jesus, the Liberator; the Jesus who was never ok with anyone being mistreated and stepped on, especially the poor.  This protest gives me an opportunity to do just that and I am going to follow this Jesus with all that I have within me.  I hope you will join me.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Giving God Thanks!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For his mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

My sister was rear-ended by another car this week.  She was in a stopped position waiting to make a left turn when a car just plowed right into her.

When I look at this picture all I can say is THANK YOU JESUS!!!  My sister is still alive.  The accident could have been so much worse.  She could have been killed.  My nephew could have been in the back seat, but he wasn't.  My little nieces could have been in that back seat, but they were not.  I have to give God thanks for sparing my sister's life.  Even when all hell breaks loose God is still FAITHFUL!!!  God has proven this to me over and over again.

If you are in the habit of texting while driving I beg you, PLEASE STOP!!!  If not for the sake of your own life than for the sake of the lives of all the other drivers and passengers on the road.  But for the grace of God my family could be making funeral arrangements for my sister right now because of a negligent driver.  Don't let that negligent driver be you.  Please don't text and drive!  God's peace be with you all!

Following the Way,
Kevin

Meeting God in the Storm

On Sunday, August 28 Boston got a taste of Tropical Storm Irene.  I had begun to move from one apartment to another the day before.  Yes I know, bad timing!  I was at my mom's, sitting in her bed upstairs, listening to the wind howl and the rain beat heavily against the window.  It's the same house I grew up in as a child and even in adulthood there is something so comforting about being in my mom's room, wrapped up in her blankets!  From time to time I have trouble sleeping.  There are some nights like last night when I just lay awake for hours, but EVERY time I visit my mom and sneak off into her room I fall asleep, EVERY single time.  I just can't explain it.

Anyway, I was in bed watching TV, so glad to be completely sheltered from the storm when I began to feel the presence of God slip into the room.  It was unexpected, but it should not have been.  I allowed myself to be still for a moment and became aware of the Presence that had always been there.  It happens every time I allow myself to be still.  I thought to myself isn't it just like God to show up in the middle of a storm?  The wind is raging outside, knocking down tree branches and power lines.  The rain is beating against the window as if it really wants to come in and here comes God, quietly, but so surely stepping into the room and meeting me in the middle of the storm.  I began to pray and I began to feel that every single storm I've ever experienced in my life would be used by God to bring out something good, that all of the things I've thought of as burdens God would use them to become sources of blessing for me and for others.

This is the God that I know, the God who is not deterred by raging winds and relentless rain.  The God who is not deterred by your past.  The God who is not deterred by your rage.  The God who is not deterred by your unbelief.  This God will meet you in the storm, whatever storm you may be experiencing in your life right now.  God will meet you there and God will use the very things that came into your life to hurt you to bless you.  The God who turns burdens into blessings will meet you in the storm.

And so I say thank you, even for the winds and the rain, even for the challenges and the obstacles, even for the disappointments and the pain.  If I had never shed a tear than I would have never discovered the God who turns tears into dancing.  And so I say thank you, even for the storm, but most of all for the God who's not afraid to meet me there.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Eyes That See

Making Peace with Disappointment

Anyway

My best friend wrote this song years ago and it is still a source of encouragement to me to this very day.  For anyone experiencing pain, difficulty, loss or just the twists and turns of life, may this song encourage you as well.  

Following The Way,

Kevin

Anyway

By Lois Commodore

In the good times it’s so easy to smile.  It’s so easy to pray when there are sunny days.

But when the bad times come and my tears block the sun, I’ll still praise the Lord anyway.

The Lord gives and He takes away.  I will praise his name anyway.

The Lord gives and He takes away and I will praise his name anyway.

I don’t know if tomorrow will bring me joy or sorrow.  Sometimes uncertainty gets the best of me.  But in God my future is sure.  I know I am secure so I will praise the Lord anyway.

The Lord gives and He takes away.  I will praise his name anyway.

The Lord gives and He takes away and I will praise his name anyway.

Persecuted but not forgotten; cast down but never broken.  When loved ones leave and friends turn away, I can still find the peace to lift my voice and say.

He gives, He gives and He takes away.  I will praise his name anyway.

The Lord gives and He takes away and I will praise his name anyway.

When God Disappoints

I have to admit I do not handle disappointment well.  When people disappointment me there's an automatic response in me to withdraw.  I don't even realize I'm doing it most times and many times it's a subtle withdrawal: a facial expression, the absence of a smile, a polite coldness.  I'm often not aware that I am subtly withdrawing until someone points it out to me.  It's something I have struggled with for a very long time, but I need to learn to make peace with disappointment because it's a guarantee that people will disappoint you from time to time.  Disappointment from people is inevitable, but what do you do when you feel disappointed by God?  I don't know.  I'm working through this right now.

Anyone who walks with God long enough will experience disappointment with God.  It's a part of the authentic journey with God.  Walk with God long enough and God will disappoint you.  Not because God wants to hurt your feelings, not because God ceases to be faithful; God never ceases to be faithful, but because God often does the unexpected and often leaves the expected undone.  Our disappointment stems from our expectations of God and sometimes, as in any relationship, our expectations need to be adjusted.

I am disappointed with God right now regarding a major area of my life.  I have asked for God's help with something that I cannot make happen on my own and it hasn't happened yet.  I feel like it's been a long time.  I have watched many other people in my life have what I am still praying for and there are times when I can't help but ask,  "God where are you?  Do you see me?  Can't you see that I'm hurting?  Do you care?  When are you going to do something?  I can't make this happen on my own and I don't think I can wait much longer."  It's hard.  It's frustrating.  I feel it's unfair.  I don't know what to do.

I withdrew from God in prayer because I couldn't help but feel that God was responsible for my pain in some way.  Has anyone else ever felt that way?  I felt that God was just watching me go through life with a broken heart and not doing anything so I withdrew.  I stopped talking to God in prayer and in doing so I cut myself off from a major source of strength in my life.  Big mistake!

So what do I do now?  My back is against the wall.  I can't fall back on my default position: withdrawal; that's not working.  Giving God the silent treatment is accomplishing nothing!  I cannot deny that God is faithful.  Even in the midst of my disappointment I see God taking care of me in other ways.  I have no choice but to begin to make peace with my disappointment, to begin again with God, to try to have a different understanding of what it means to walk with God.  I don't quite know how to do that, but I am committed to staying on the journey.  I will share more about this in my next entry.  Thanks for walking alongside me on this journey so far.

Following the Way,
Kevin