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ELCA Blogs

March 24-April 6, 2010–Easter Morning

There is no Faith Lens this week, however, you might ponder this artistic reflection on the holiest of mysteries intersecting the mundane.

"Easter Morning," James B Janknegt

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“Be still and know that I am God”

Today, my daughter will be welcomed into the kingdom of God at her baptism.  She will set out on her own faith journey and one day discern her vocation.  What will she be?  What will she do?  At almost five months, there are many years ahead before these become conscious decisions bound by a series of choices.  Today is only the beginning.

Those of us who strive for justice in an often unjust world are at a different point in our vocations with countless life decisions already under the belt and hopefully many more to come.  Do we ever stop and take stock of our own journey, that which we Christians embark upon often in infancy?  How are we doing?

Let this be a reminder that as the stories of suffering in a seemingly peaceless world fill our collective inboxes and occupy our troubled concern, as we profess our own hunger while working to help those who are truly hungry, may we remember the time when we first set along our own faithful journies.  May we remember that in the face of daunting tasks like ending world hunger or fighting for those with no voice, God calls us to renewal constantly, effortlessly, and steadfastly…to be still.

God calls TO us when our minds are focused elsewhere.  And we remember that we are cleansed in our own baptisms, whether by our faith or by our human ability to start anew.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

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Gut Reaction

What does one billion mean to you?  It’s that next level, the powerful tier above a million that gets our attention.  On the heels of the Academy Awards, the movie “Avatar” has made more than 2.5 billion dollars worldwide—and it’s not done yet.  Ted Turner bestowed a billion-dollar gift on the United Nations a few years back.  We know about the Gates Foundation.  And in the news lately, Tiger Woods has been dubbed the only athlete ever to reach that mark in earnings.  But then there’s the stark reality we learned about in 2009 that the number of people who are chronically hungry in the world has reached one billion.

One billion.  Where do I start?  How can I make a difference?

If you’re like me, you have asked yourself these questions.  It’s a mind-numbing number, one that can make making a difference seem futile.

But we’re the church.  We don’t get to make that decision for ourselves.  We are called to act.  We are called to reach out to our neighbor.  Not acting is not an option.

So if you find that number so incomprehensible that it almost makes you not want to try, set it aside.  I’m not suggesting you ignore the reality of the global picture of hunger but just keep it in perspective.  Lead with your gut for a moment.  Is it okay that thousands and millions and even one billion people are chronically hungry?  Is it okay that one person in your community is sleeping on the streets or walking around without knowing where that next meal will come from? 

If you’ve ever been intensely hungry and you had to wait an hour or two to eat, recall those hunger rumblings and allow that to take over your gut.  It’s that gut reaction that has the potential to circumvent numbers that almost seem made up.  It’s your gut that in a moment of cerebral paralysis can kick into overdrive that instinct, that compassion that has compelled you to read this blog and care about doing something about it.

Follow your gut.

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