Sunday Reflection - Jesus Could You Forgive Me?

Rodney

photo by John Decker

Jesus Could You Forgive Me?

I wonder what would happen if Jesus came back to live among us. Suppose He just wanted to see up close what we’re doing with our lives, how we’re treating one another, and if we’re practicing the values of love, compassion, and mercy that He taught. I imagine Him taking on a human form that would allow Him to live as one of us. The Jesus I love probably would not take the position of a CEO of a large company or a well-known leader.

He might be more likely to return as a homeless person. The thought of that makes me shudder. For just last week, a homeless man approached me, and I turned away. Was it a lack of empathy on my part? Fear perhaps? It doesn’t matter why really. I could have been generous, but I chose to be selfish – not just with my money, but worse, with my heart. Dear Jesus, if that was you, could you forgive me?

He could come back as a lonely old man, like the one who lives next door to me. My neighbor keeps to himself and we seldom speak – and to be honest I haven’t made an effort to change that. I’ve never offered to help him lug his groceries up the stairs, scrape ice off his sidewalk, or do any of the many tasks that must surely challenge an elderly man. Have I been too lazy to be kind? Too self-involved to reach out? Jesus, if that is you, could you forgive me?

If I hurt them, did I not hurt Jesus, too? For He has said, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”. So, still I must ask, Jesus, can you forgive me?

Every single day offers chances to be helpful, supportive, or generous. What do you do with your chances? Do you see a person in need as an opportunity to touch another life – or as an intrusion on your own? Do you walk away, when you could reach out? Do you judge, when you could support? When we fail to help, aren’t we failing Jesus? And ourselves?

If I could strive to treat those individuals as if they were Jesus, I’m pretty sure He would be a lot more pleased with the person I had become. And so would I.

written by David L. Weatherford

Matt 25:40 And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.'

Matt 25:45 And he will answer, 'I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.'

Did you know that today is World Toilet Day?

Did you know that today is World Toilet Day?

I am guessing that most of you reading this have lived your entire lives with access to indoor plumbing and a working toilet.

I am also aware that some of my readers may still not have running water or a flushable toilet in their home. While many of us take for granted that we will always have daily access to a bathroom there are millions of people in many developing countries who are denied this basic need every day.

You're probably wondering: Do we really need a National Toilet Day? The answer is yes. It is a day set aside to try to bring awareness to people around the world.

A group called ‘Water For People’ supports long-lasting solutions that empower communities to solve their own sanitation problems. They have asked bloggers to talk about this topic today so I am glad to do so.

Even thought at first glance World Toilet Day may seem frivolous there are activists in Washington D.C and around the world who use this day to call for increased access to basic bathrooms for everyone.

A toilet is actually a luxury in many areas of the world. Lack of toilets can spell trouble in the form of contaminated water and the spread of diseases such as cholera. Our friends in Haiti lived this experience this past year - 1,180 have died so far. The huge humanitarian operation in Haiti appears to be losing the battle against the latest catastrophe occurring in the poor Caribbean nation. 20,000 people have been treated in hospitals for the diarrheal disease, which can kill in hours through dehydration if not treated quickly.

It is estimated that 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean toilets and make do by using plastic bags or hustling off into the bushes.

Educate yourself about the lack of sanitation in the world. The facts are staggering - it is the world's biggest cause of infection. Safe disposal of children's feces leads to a reduction of nearly 40% in childhood diarrhea.

What percentage of the world uses toilet paper? The answer is: 30% –alternatives for the other 70% include hands, water, sand, small rocks, mud, leaves, rope, seaweed and corn husks.

So, when you sit down on your throne today, keep in mind that this is a day to remember that not everyone has the same ability to do what you’re doing. Not having a toilet would be like camping outdoors in the woods your whole life, don’t you think?

When I lived in El Salvador I met people in the rural communities who did not have electricity, running water or indoor plumbing. They dug out an open pit in the ground to dispose of fecal waste and when it was almost full they would cover it in with soil and then dug out another. In one community that I spent time in, some Dutch volunteer workers had built each family a raised commode (with a door) outside of the home which was built up high on cement cinder blocks. One had to go up several steps to use the commode and the waste would fall into a chemical filled site below. The villagers laughed and said that they now had royal thrones.

I once attended a gathering in the village where the local pastor conducted a religious service of thanking God for the gift of access to running water. Every villager was in attendance to give thanks to God and to witness the blessing of the water. The same volunteers from Holland had dug for water and it was finally being channeled into a pipe and one faucet. This single outdoor faucet was for the entire village to share. Before the installation of this faucet the villagers had to travel long distances to collect water and carry it in containers, balanced on their heads, back to their homes.

I also witnessed similar conditions in rural India, especially in the Dalit (formerly known as the Untouchables) community.

So there you have it - World Toilet Day is a day marked to make us aware that over 2.6 billion people in other countries across the globe do not have basic sanitation, causing widespread diseases and deaths every day.

Some may pooh-pooh the whole idea – yes, I said it :-) but really, why not stand up so that others can sit down this World Toilet Day!

******

1 out of 5 children die of diarrheal disease, which means the mother in this photo can expect to bury at least one of her children before their 5th birthday.

*****

To learn more about this go to - http://www.worldtoiletday.com

UNICEF is also committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide.

Why not volunteer to help with labor or a financial donation? Check them out.

peacesojourner

Happy News - Today is World Kindness Day

Today is World Kindness Day

This separate day dedicated to acts of kindness to humanity was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Organization. The Cosmos flower is adopted as a symbol of World Kindness Day. This Day is observed in many countries including Canada, Japan, Australia and India.

The purpose of World Kindness Day is to look beyond ourselves, our country, our culture, our race, our religion and realize we are citizens of the world.

Hopefully, kindness is something which should be displayed on a daily basis and not just on one day, the fact remains that we are so caught up in our own comforts, problems and needs that many times we fail to look around and see the needs and hardships of others or help them.

So what can we do on this World Kindness Day to make at least a small difference to mankind? I think there is no better gift one can give to a fellow human being than peace and happiness. Let us do at least one act of kindness on this day. Let us help ourselves and help our global brothers and sisters by spreading the message of peace and happiness.

You ask the question ‘What can I do?” – just look around you – help an elderly person or someone in need, contribute to charity, give food for a needy person, donate blood, visit an orphanage or a nursing home, spend time with the inmates and so on. Have you ever tried to meet the local refugees who may be living in your community? Reach out to them in kindness. Give everyone a smile today – it will bring you personal happiness.

If a person should try to pay you for your act of kindness – just smile and say “Just pass it on – do something nice for someone else when you can.”

peacesojourner

Happy News - Group of Phil Campbells help town after tornado.......

I haven’t mentioned a ‘Happy News’ story in quite a while - there is so much negativity in the daily news. However, there is something about the following story that really made me smile.

*****

The town of Phil Campbell, Alabama is located about 95 miles northwest of Birmingham, it began in the 1880s as a work camp established by railroad crew leader Phillip Campbell, originally from England. It was incorporated in 1911 as the only town in Alabama to have both a first and last name, a distinction it still holds.

A few years ago Brooklyn writer Phil Campbell visited the town during a trip to Alabama and decided to organize a gathering for people with the same name to be held in the town of Phil Campbell.

At the first convention in 1995, twenty two Phils and one Phyllis showed up. Plans for making it an annual event faded out. Earlier this year Brooklyn Phil and others banded together through the Internet and decided to try again. They sent out 400 invitations to people named Phil Campbell. This year’s gathering was planned to coincide with the town’s 100th anniversary celebration scheduled for Saturday June 18^th.

On April 27^th of this year a massive EF5 twister plowed through the city during the Southern tornado outbreak. The twister killed 27 local residents and injured twice as many, some seriously. Among the city’s 450 or so homes, dozens were destroyed and more were damaged.

One Phil, in Juneau, Alaska, took up a collection in his church and raised about $5,000 to help the Alabama town.

“Just because of the coincidence of our names we can do some good,” he said Friday as he joined several other Phils in clearing tree limbs and a shattered pavilion outside the Phil Campbell Community Center, now a distribution site serving tornado survivors.

This weekend Phil Campbells from across the globe converged on the hard-hit city of 1,150 for the “I’m With Phil” convention, a gathering meant to raise spirits, money and new roofs.

Phil Campbells are cleaning up storm debris, marching in a parade, donating money to build a Habitat for Humanity house, listening to country music and just showing they care.

“We’re doing whatever it takes to be part of the town for a weekend,” said Phil Campbell of Nottingham, England.

There’s also Phil Campbell from La Farge, Wis.; Phil Campbell from Austin, Texas; Phil Campbell from Glasgow, Scotland; Phil Campbell from Palo Alto, California. A couple Phils from Alabama and two from Australia.

It gets confusing having so many people named Phil Campbell in one place. The Phils tend to call each other by their hometown or state.

“Hey California, you want a sandwich?” said Brooklyn Phil.“There’s Birmingham,” said Alaska Phil.

In those first days after the storm, Mayor Jerry Mays wanted to cancel the anniversary festivities and the Phil Campbell gathering. The thought of celebrating anything amid flattened homes and funeral wreaths seemed wrong.

“A tornado just takes everything with it,” he said. “Those 27 people who died, we knew them all.”

Then Mays heard about all the people who were planning to visit despite the tragedy. He reconsidered, and he’s glad he did.

“I got to thinking maybe it would give people a chance to get this off their minds and enjoy themselves a little,” said Mays.

Now, rather than having just another sweltering weekend in Phil Campbell, the Phils are helping in the cleanup and reconstruction. The Phils, some companies and others donated money to help the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity construct a home. About $35,000 has been raised so far, said Brooklyn Phil.

Adapted from a story by Jay Reeves -The Associated Press

*****

Just the thought of spending a few days with people who have the same name as me is very intriguing – and to meet them while helping in a disaster relief mission would be priceless!

As I mentioned before – this story made me smile. J

peacesojourner

The Power of Prayer - Pray for Japan Today

This group's sign says "We offer our prayers for the victims of the

Japan earthquake and tsunami."

The monks offer up prayers for the people of Japan

You know that feeling - when the task at hand seems hopeless.

The aftermath of the Tsunami -

A boat that was washed on top of a house

When we hear of disasters that happen in faraway places. and we see the photos of the people who are in pain and suffering, we often feel helpless, that there is nothing we can do.

Yes, we can send donations of money to the International Rescue teams and this

is a source of aid. I am suggesting to you that prayer does make change.

If you find yourself viewing my blog today, I am asking you to take a moment to view these photos again, slowly, and then offer up a prayer for the people in the photos and the people who are affected by this disaster. If each one of you does this then I can feel that I helped in a small way also.

If you do not believe in prayer then believe that others believe and do it anyway.

Feel free to pass this message along to others.

There is power in collective prayer.

peacesojourner

(all photos shown here are from AP)

'Mother of Mothers' - A Poem to the Mothers in Haiti

photos from AP

Mother of Mothers

When a brave woman's out walking

she's Mistress Life's spitting image

(Michel-Ange Hyppolite)

The faces of mothers of mothers,

their cheekbones gleaming against

taut skins; their eyes glazed

with the scarring of so much loss.

In Haiti, the mothers

of mothers have lamented for so

long—all that is left is the

sturdy presence of grace,

the wide open heart of knowing

how much a casket weighs, how

it feels on the open palm.

The mothers of mothers

march through the congregation

while the children of men

clap their hands, beat

tambourines, scratch the grater

and sing the flat harmony

that shivers the air.

Beneath a cascade of flame yellow

and red flamboyants,

she stalks the outskirts of the

feet worn worship ground—

the outer limits of the congregation

where the weeds and stones

have accumulated, here, where

the excavation of rubble takes

us as far as weary arms

and the creaky wheel barrow

can go.

These women draw a pattern

of circles with their heavy planted

feet, their arms raised high, their

voices continuing with greater

ceremony and occasion;

that conversation that began

with Jesus at four in the morning.

Oh, the mothers of mothers

who know too well the hottest

sorrow—the broken bodies

of children, the boy who covers

a jaw full of maggots, and the

tall lanky son, whose spine

gives under the weight of concrete

before he is pulled out,

laid under the soft blue light

of a wayside clinic, waiting

to go; and quietly, with the flies

returning to his skin, he is

still, though he must wait

there until dusk, before they

notice, before a procession

of mothers leads the body out

into the night, and mother of

mother, she hears her child

wake, look around, and speak:

"How nice the air is out here,"

before he dies, this time for good.

Mothers of mothers,

in your bandana and with your

holy testament, you must

draw the line of defense

around the beleaguered souls,

and speak a torrent of curses

on the beast lurking in the shadows. – Kwame Dawes

Poet, Kwame Dawes, born in Ghana in 1962. The images from post-earthquake Haiti a year later remain hauntingly powerful, the facts strikingly sad — yet somehow, the USC professor and poet who has traveled there several times to document the aftermath among people with HIV/AIDS through poetry — finds as much hope as horror.

*****

A tribute to the mothers in earthquake torn Haiti.

peacesojourner

Haiti - One Year After the Earthquake- 1/12/11

Haiti

Delaware and Haiti are about the same size. Last year Haiti's population was estimated at approximately seven million. The country's demographic statistics reveal the effect of extreme poverty and an HIV/AIDS epidemic. These conditions have reduced life expectancy to 49.2 years, contributed to high infant mortality and general death rates, and slowed population growth.

Haiti's population is a young one, with 41 percent estimated to be between 0 and 14 years of age. Most Haitians are of African descent.

The National Cathedral - photo by David Albers

Today I heard that the people of Haiti gathered in a memorial tribute in Port au Prince, the city where so many died on that fateful afternoon one year ago. It seems that every family lost someone, a spouse, a sister, a child, a cousin or a friend in the earthquake. Haitians marched down empty, rubble-lined streets singing hymns and climbed broken buildings to hang wreaths of flowers. The nation held a minute of silence at 4:53 p.m., the moment when the earthquake ripped the ground on January 12, 2010. The government has stated its death toll estimate is more than 316,000.

Thousands gathered around the city to be with loved ones and pray. They flocked to the ruins of the once-towering national cathedral, to soccer stadium that served as an open-air morgue and later housed a tent camp, to parks, hillsides and the neighborhood centers.

Workers are still finding bodies in the rubble. Neighborhood-sized camps look like permanent shantytowns on the fields and plazas of the capital. A cholera epidemic that erupted outside the quake zone has killed more than 3,600 people, and an electoral crisis between President Rene Preval's ruling party and its rivals threatens to break an increasingly fragile political stability.

I have been wondering what it would be like to live in the earthquake portion of Haiti today. Tent camps were erected for people who lost their homes – they created little tent communities, some of them quite small, some of them very large, where an estimated one million people still live, unable to afford new homes.

If you live in a tent village with a million others what are your expenditures? No public utilities are available, no toilets, no telephones, no electricity, no running water. There is still the need for money for food and clothing.

Everyone has that desire for his or her own personal space. Many of us can seek refuge in our homes, in our bedroom. In the tent camps the living area is incredibly small, hot, constructed out of canvas and metal, and whatever else they could find. It is reported that less than 5 percent of the rubble has been cleared, only 15 percent of the temporary housing that is needed has been built and relatively few permanent water and sanitation facilities have been constructed.

The current cholera epidemic is mostly in the extreme rural areas, in the mountains and in a river valley where the outbreak began. It is heartbreaking to hear the stories of people who just weren't able to get to a treatment center in time.

This past week I watched a TV documentary about a private person from the US who took his personal 60-year-old plane and got the local people, who live on a mountaintop in Haiti, to create a landing strip for his aircraft so that he could bring medical personnel and supplies to help the people who have cholera. Many lives have been saved by the actions of this one man.

Cholera victims just need rehydration and antibiotics, and most people can be taken care of. But the problem is, so many people live out in rural areas far from treatment centers. Nearly 3,000 people have died of cholera and more than 100,000 were infected.

All of this is taking place against the backdrop of political turmoil. They had an election for president in the fall, but the results are still disputed months later. There were all kinds of allegations of fraud. There was violence in the aftermath of it that shut this city down a couple of days last month, in December.

Another problem that has surfaced is that on the day of the earthquake the local prison collapsed and hundreds of seasoned criminals escaped. There are reports that they are intimidating people and taking control of some areas. The police have been trying to round them up and have re-arrested about 700 who are being detained in a facility where there is no room for a man to lie down, so the inmates have to sleep standing up. They report that their legs are swollen and that there is a lot of fighting within the facility.

The United States and many other countries have helped to rally international support for Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction.

Over the past year, countless lives have been saved and many Haitians affected by the earthquake now have better access to food, water and health care than they did before the disaster. However, rubble continues to clog the streets, too many people are still living in tents, and for so many Haitians progress has not come fast enough. It has been said that helping the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere recover from one of the worst natural disasters ever to strike our hemisphere will take years, if not decades.

From the slums of Port-au-Prince to the rural Central Plateau, this impoverished country continues to need assist. Right now 90 percent of the quake devastation still remains. Many people, including orphanages still live in tents and families struggle to survive on less than two dollars a day.

The bottom line is that the people of Haiti and the volunteers are living in nightmare conditions. Poverty, illness, famine, lack of adequate water, homelessness and an unstable government. But there are consistent reports of the stamina and courage of the residents who live there. In spite of their current conditions the majority maintain a sense of dignity and hope.

What to do? What to do? I don’t have the answer to that except that we should make sure that we keep ourselves informed of the circumstances in Haiti. We can contact U.S. elected officials and the United Nations to let them know that the world is watching. We can continue to support relief efforts financially or by volunteering, and for those who believe that prayer can change things – PRAY for the people of this little country who have such strong spirits and hearts.

peacesojourner

Happy News - The Wedding Dress

JACKSON, Miss. – Days after a tornado obliterated their home and delayed their wedding, a Mississippi bride and groom say they feel blessed by the kindness of strangers, including the gift of a wedding dress from a jilted bride in Kentucky.

"I think it's great, because I never really expected this much help," Morgan Hayden said Wednesday from a hotel in her hometown of Yazoo City.

Hayden, 27, and her 31-year-old fiancé, Josiah Moton, huddled in their bathroom with three relatives recently when a tornado blew apart the house the couple had helped build a few months ago in a wooded area just outside town. The storm left them homeless — but uninjured.

Left with few belongings beyond the clothes they were wearing, Hayden and Moton delayed their plans to go to Little Rock, Ark., on Monday for a small, informal wedding. Hayden said she had not purchased a wedding dress but was planning to wear something from her closet.

Katie Smith, 20, who lives near Louisville, Ky., said she read about the couple in an AP article and decided to find Hayden and offer her the dress. Smith said she had planned to marry this summer, but her fiancé from England broke their engagement last month.

"Honestly, it still hurts, Smith told the AP Wednesday. "But life goes on."

Smith said she has been trying to give away the wedding items she'd already purchased, including the dress she bought on sale for $350. Hayden accepted the offer, and Smith said she mailed the dress Tuesday. "I know every girl wants to look pretty on her wedding day," Smith said.

An executive at a resort in the Bahamas also said that he had read the AP article and the resort offered the couple a honeymoon when they're ready for it. They will provide two round-trip air tickets and five nights with an ocean-view room "as kind of a way to make some new memories and help them get past what happened."

The National Weather Service said the tornado was 1.75 miles wide — a record for Mississippi. It killed 10 people, injured at least 49 and damaged about 700 homes as it plowed nearly 150 miles through state.

Hundreds of tornado survivors in Mississippi are getting help from strangers. Charities are providing meals and bottled water. Church groups, civic groups and random people from in state and out of state are in the storm-damaged areas to cut fallen trees and clear debris.

Hayden said a homeowners' insurance policy is paying hotel expenses for a week, and she and Moton hope to move into an apartment. She said they will reschedule the wedding when life becomes somewhat normal again.

Excerpts taken from an article by EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS,

Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 29

*****

We read so many stories in the news that tell of horrors and inhumanity from around the world. It is nice to have reaffirmation that there are so many people who are genuinely kind and giving who reach out to others in distress. This is a happy news story :-)

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Compassion by Frederick Buechner

“Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity

for feeling what it is like to live inside

somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that

there can never really be any peace and joy for

me until there is peace and joy finally for you, too.”

-- Frederick Buechner

photo of Gabriel and Igor from the pen of the wayfarer