Speaking of Spirit

Beginning tomorrow Christians around the world will observe 40 days of reflections, sacrifice and prayer. This is the holy season of Lent - the time prior to the Feast of Easter.  Traditionally, followers would give something up for Lent - candy, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Over the years, what I have found is that "giving something up" isn't always what one would hope it would be. In addition, when people fail at their attempt to give up, they feel bad about themselves, which truly defeats the purpose of nurturing our spirits. Long ago, I began a tradition of "giving" during Lent.  Rather than looking at the cup half empty and giving up candy or something, I decided to be positive, to give to others - random acts of kindness. For example,  instead of buying that candy bar, one could put the money into a friend's pocket when he/she wasn't looking.  When my girls were young, we took the money spent on pizza and gave flowers anonymously to people in...

Photo Credit: https://goo.gl/images/VsQcm5 Pope Francis once again caught the ears of the world's journalists this week when he spoke about the problem of panhandlers in Italy . In an interview he gave in Milan , he said, "There are many excuses" for not giving.  " But giving something to someone in need 'is always right,' and it should be done with respect and compassion, because 'tossing money and not looking in (their) eyes is not a Christian' way of behaving." Around the globe, Christians have begun the observance of Lent, which is a time of sacrifice and penance prior to the Easter Sunday celebration. Many people give up bad habits, or try to; others do Corporal and Spiritual Acts of Mercy . What Pope Francis is calling followers to do is to ask themselves under what conditions are they doing these acts. In the Gospel of Matthew , Jesus speaks to his followers, answering their questions on many subjects. He tells them that if they p...

Photo Credit: (c) 2014 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas " I will break their hearts of stone,  Give them hearts for love alone." - Dan Schutte The words above are from one of my favorite hymns, Here I am Lord , which we sang at my ordination several years ago.  This hymn is about answering the call of Spirit to serve others.  In the chorus, we sing, "Here I am, Lord...I have heard you calling in the night." This is based on the Bible stories in which Isaiah and Samuel, at different times, answer the call to serve their brothers and sisters. We are all called to serve. Each of us has special gifts that are meant to be shared with the world. Our gifts are many and varied - compassion, music, healing, art, writing, speaking, raising children, raising crops - the list is endless. What is important is that we understand that we are called to serve others with these gifts. To turn our backs on this call is to turn our backs on all that we hold sacred. Some of us turn ...