"I Have A Cross To Carry?"

It is the Christian tradition to give up something for Lent.  What would you have given up in past years for Lent?  What should we do this year, any new ideas?   Well I have a different challenge for you to consider!

Feb 25, 2018 Readings:  Romans 4:13-25   Mark 8:31-38

Today is the second Sunday in Lent and for the remaining Lenten days, I have a challenge for you to consider.  Along with denying ourselves one of our favorite foods , candy, bad habit,  or putting aside some of our monies to make a special Lenten offering for the needy, may I suggest we commit to something new, something even more personal than what I just mentioned.   

In the first Sunday of lent we talked about taking an honest look at how things are going in our personal walk with Christ and to reconsider our commitment to following Jesus.   In this second Sunday of Lent, we are being asked by Mark to consider picking up our own personal Cross so as to prepare ourselves for the journey to Easter Sunday.  Lent should be for the Christian, a time of preparation, preparation for your personal journey to the cross and then to resurrection day or Easter Sunday morning.  Just as our Islamic friends are committed to make their own personal journey to Mecca at least once in their life time, so we too should be committed to make our personal journey to the cross at least once before we pass into the next life folks.   There just might be a lot at stake here?     

Now for the challenge.  In the bulletin this week I have placed an insert with the picture of an empty cross.  {If you are reading this blog, to participate may I suggest you draw a cross on a half sheet of paper as illustrated above?}  

This will be your personal cross for the remaining days and weeks leading up to Easter Sunday.   I am asking you to think of it as your daily personal place of surrender.  It will be your way of preparing yourself for an Easter Sunday morning awakening.  Easter Sunday is not just all about Jesus you know, it is also about you personally.  Your own spiritual journey and “you’re personal” awakening to a new life, a new life in Him.   As Christians, something new is supposed to happen to us on Easter Sunday folks and it not about the Easter bunny nor a multi colored basket of chocolate eggs.   On Easter Sunday morning we get a second change to begin a new resurrected life in Him once again.   So then, here is your Lenten challenge for this year:  Take a few moments each day before you retire and with a pen, write down one thing on your cross that you struggle with in your commitment to walk in the ways of Jesus.  As I said, this for some of us might be foreign and more difficult than giving up a candy or a few dollars.  The keys is to be authentic and truthful to yourself about yourself and to this challenge.    For example: It may be a swear word or a predigest thought that has slipped off your tongue.  It might be a bad habit you need to consider giving up.   It could be your impatience that day; maybe you struggle with jealous feelings; a worry; a fear; maybe your angry has gotten the best of you today; or your tongue got out of control and you told a lie that hurt someone’s feelings; or it could be an old sin that keep showing up in your life causing you to feel negative towards yourself or towards others.  Anything that can keep you from kick starting that new life you so long for within yourself, write I down.   We all have difficulties and darkness in our lives that needs to be surrendered, literally put to death.  Write them down on your Cross, take time to reflect on what your new beginning could look like for you.   Do this every day until Good Friday.  If you have a day with nothing to surrender, write just that, nothing to surrender today, but write something every day.   Then on Easter Sunday morning I would like you to bring in your un named paper cross folded. You will place it in a separate offering basket as part of your Easter Sunday offering for that morning.  Again do not write your name on the paper, I will prayer over this special offerings and later burn them in the Parsonage fire place after the service.  This may sound simple and even a bit silly to some, but I pray that you will make an effort to give it a try.  For those of us who do make the commitment to complete the challenge, be assured that a blessing will be upon you.   For nothing pleases your Heavenly Parent more than a commitment to following in the ways of Jesus. 

The Romans, had their own idea as to what taking up or carrying your own cross meant.  For them it meant suffering, fear and death.  It meant humiliation by publicly having to carry your own instrument of death on your day of execution and it was a sign of submissiveness to the Roman authority.   Mark would use this ugly suffering image of carrying your own cross to illustrate to the disciples and to us today, that commitment is a major key in following Jesus.  Take the challenge and see it through to the end folks.   It takes courage and trust to name aloud the things that hold us back from a commitment to follow Christ, especially when it involves self-disclosure.   Mark explains to us, you should be willing to lose your "self" for the sake of the Gospel because there is no life like it.   In Philippians 3: 8.   Paul tells us that there is nothing worth gaining more in this life, than your relationship with Jesus.  Don’t let the illusions of this world trap and hold you any longer. 

There is a real nugget to be found here folks, if you can see it.   My understanding of the Gospel is that Salvation is not “all about” being saved for a Cosmic Heaven after death.    It seems to me that salvation cannot be complete without being saved from something here.  May I suggest that Mark is indicating we need to be saved from “self”, that self-centered, egotistical, self-righteous self, that everyone is plagued with.   Mark 8: 35.  “Those who seek to save themselves will lose themselves.”   How is it that we have missed this golden nugget in our teachings?  Jesus is asking you to surrender your -----“self” to Him, literally the self in you, that which creates havoc and burdens your soul.  Jesus pleads with us, “give me that negative, sinful “self” that keeps you held in bondage and I will not only give you rest, I will give you the peace that passes all understanding.  You then will be able to eat with joy at the table of your enemies, and you will love your vulnerable self and others with a love that never fails or leaves you.    

Choose to go it alone and you have chosen fear, unbelief, and kayos; and that is what you will receive.  Choose to go it with Me, Jesus says and you will have chosen love, trust and grace; and that is what you will receive.  This truth folks is so simple yet so hard to teach!                                             "I Come To The Cross"

"Something To Consider"

Many of us who grew up in the church don’t realize that we’ve inherited a pretty blurry cosmology: We understood God to be usually male, separate from our world somewhere up there in the clouds, who stands back and judgmentally observes the goings on of our universe and humanity’s faults and failings. This no longer works as we evolve in our understanding of the universe, its creation and how the spiritual and physical world are connected as one. Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as a Jewish Rabbi in the Christian New Testament explains it very well in the gospel of John 14: 20 “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”  Or in John 14: 11  “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

This old view of the created order has gone a long way in perpetuating the idea that we are isolated from each other and from God and that there is something inherently wrong with us and the world. Christianity’s adherence to a Greek philosophical idea that the physical world of matter and the spiritual world of spirit are separate.  This has perpetuated a split between “God-talk” and science.  We now know today that the word God is just a word, a name we have accepted that describes for humans the creative energy where everything both physical and spiritual find it’s origins.  Psalm 19: 1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”  Once this creative force reviled its power {the big bang} or the clap of its hands if you like to use a metaphor, the first Atom was created.  Note the spelling, it is not Adam, but either way, matter and spirit were somehow ingeniously created at the same moment in space and time, science does not yet know how, it only knows that it happened.  The rest is universal history.  Over the centuries there have been many myths created by many cultures to explain how the universe and humans came into the picture but one thing for sure is it all took place through an Atom.  Science and Theology are not at odds over creation, we just need to begin to deeply listen to both perspectives. Let us not remove the mystery, myth and metaphor as they to have there place in our story.    

"It's Not Just About Us"

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, things visible, things invisible. . . . He is before all things and in him all things hold together. . . . For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God reconciled all things. —Colossians 1:15-17, 19-20

Not redemption from sin, but the unification of the world in itself and with God is the ultimate motivating cause for the Incarnation and, as such, the first idea of the Creator, existing in advance of all creation. —Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) [1]

Franciscans have always believed that Christ was Plan A, not a Plan B mop-up effort needed because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Unfortunately for Western Christianity this has been its focus for the last 500 years or so. 

Franciscan philosopher John Duns Scotus (1265-1308) believed that the Christ Mystery was the first idea in the mind of God. The manifestation of the inner life of God in a physical universe was God’s plan from the very beginning. So, the Christ is manifest from the very first moment of the Big Bang (Ephesians 1:3,9-10). Jesus is the later personal personification of what was already true from the beginning. Most Christians were never told to make that distinction, and so their Jesus was often far too small because he was not also the Universal Christ.
Duns Scotus saw Jesus as a revelation of this positive, proactive message: “I say that the incarnation of Christ was not foreseen as occasioned by sin, but was immediately foreseen from all eternity by God as a good more proximate to the end.” [2] Contemporary Franciscan professor William Short explains:

The end here refers to God’s purpose or goal for the whole of creation. That goal, according to Scotus, is the sharing of God’s own life, one so fruitful that it constantly seeks expression. The ultimate goal must be sharing the life of the Trinity itself. . . . The Son may be called the heart of, or the way into the Trinity. [3] 

This may seem like abstract theology, but without it, we end up with Jesus being a mere problem-solver for sin, appeasing a God who seems to be much less than love. God “the Father” ends up looking quite small, and the Christ has nothing to do for 14 billion years until Jesus appears. This leaves most of known time—before humans appeared—empty of God, the universe not yet a revelation of God. Mainstream Christian theology made humans the whole show; worse, human sin was the engine and motive for everything that God did.

Building on St. Francis’ teaching, Duns Scotus laid the theological foundation for a creation that was good, true, whole, and already the glory and freedom of God—before conscious humans even existed. To put it frankly, “salvation” is not just about us! If this ever sinks in, it will be the second Copernican Revolution in decentering this one small planet. The irony, of course, is that this decentered humanity is also even more the glory of God because it can see and say what I just said.

Gateway to Presence:
If you want to go deeper with today’s meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and invitation.


[1] Hans Urs von Balthasar, Cosmic Liturgy: The Universe According to Maximus the Confessor, trans. Brian E. Daley (Ignatius Press: 2003), 272.
[2] William Short, “St. Francis of Assisi and the Christocentric Character of Franciscan Life and Doctrine,” in Damian McElrath, ed. Franciscan Christology (Franciscan Institute Publications: 1980), 153.
[3] William Short, “The Franciscan Spirit,” in Dawn M. Nothwehr, ed., Franciscan Theology of the Environment: An Introductory Reader (Franciscan Press: 2002), 121-122.

This article has been reproduced from Morning meditations with Father Richard Rohr. 

Where did the word EASTER come from?

 Feb 14, 2018    Have you ever wondered where the word Easter came from?

Just as there are many denominational traditions surrounding the celebration of Easter, there are many stories and legends surrounding the origin of the word Easter. To some, it is the celebration of spring; for others it is a day to remember deliverance; for many it is the celebration of a new life in Christ.   More important than the question of how the word Easter originated is, what it means to us today.  When you think of the word Easter, what do you see?  If you see bunnies and baskets of chocolate eggs, you are missing out on the richness of this season in our liturgical year, considered by many Christians to be even more significant than Christmas.  Easter, to Christians, is actually Resurrection Day, the day Jesus rose in triumph from the grave, claiming victory over death. Because He lives, so can you and I and it is through a simple faith in Him. The events that led up to the crucifixion of Christ were not yet historical facts nor did they have their names yet, because the early followers were living out the actual events of the day as they happened.  They were in fact living the Easter story.  After the death and resurrection of Jesus the events became part of our Church history.  A name was needed to signify the season and so it was eventually called Easter.  The day Jesus was actually crucified would eventually get a label also, and so we observe it as Good Friday.  Good Friday and Easter Sunday became part of the Christian tradition and its history.  In 325, the Council of Nicea discussed a 40-day Lenten season of fasting, self-examination and penitence.  This 40 days would demonstrate self-denial in preparation for Easter.  As in all religious traditions some would take fasting and penitence it to the extreme.  Growing up Anglican I would receive a small pyramid shaped box on the first Sunday of Lent and was to give up something during the 40 days.  For me it was penny candy and I was to take my pennies and fill the box and turn it back to the church as my Lenten offering.   I have to admit that the candy always seemed to dominate my pennies and so my Nan would fill the pyramid box before East Sunday morning and save the family from the embarrassment of a ¼ or ½ empty pyramid. 

Lent is one of the oldest observations on the Christian calendar. Like all Christian holy days it has changed over the years, but its purpose has always remained the same: It is a time of self-examination and reflection, a checkup if you will, on how your walk with Christ is going.  It is a time to study and be very conscious concerning what Jesus has done for you personally.  In fact for the Christian it should be the most important season of the year, more important than Christmas because it is trusting by faith what you have learned from His birth to death.  The 40 days would not include Sundays and would end on the day of crucifixion, Good Friday as we now call it.   The church also needed a starting point for the 40 day period.  Again a name was chosen and it would be celebrated on the Wednesday just before the first Lenten Sunday and they called it “ASH WEDNEDSAY”.   Because the original Christian Church was established by Rome, many, even to this very day, believe that Ash Wednesday and Lent belong to the Catholic and Anglican traditions.  It used to be true that Catholics and Anglicans made up the lion’s share of people celebrating Ash Wednesday and Lent, but today, most “liturgical churches”  meaning those who follow the calendar-based  lectionary year, include the seasons of Advent, before Christmas and Lent before Easter Sunday.  Some evangelical denominations have even begun the tradition of Ash Wednesday and Lent.   The ash is used as a reminder that our time here is short and that we came from the dust of the earth and there we will return.  The 40 days of lent is for personal reflection, repentance, and a new starting point if that is necessary in your relationship with Christ.  To reflect on what Jesus’ life and death really means to you personally.  As we come to the two stations tonight, let us remember our mortality with the mark of the ash.  At the table of bread and wine let us ponder what Jesus has done for you.    

  

Mythos and Logos

Mythos and Logos

The Judeo-Christian creation story is told in the form of a cosmic poem (Genesis 1). The realm of myth, art, and poetry can heal and create coherence, connection, and deep trust for the human psyche much better than prose that “tells it like it is.” Rather than orient us toward solving a problem, symbolic language and images turn our focus toward being itself, toward meaning, purpose, and inner life forces. They evoke the depths hidden beneath the practical, self-centered ego, and speak to our personal unconscious—as good therapy does—and our collective unconscious too—as story and myth often do.

There are several levels of knowing and interpreting reality—a “hierarchy of truths,” as Pope Francis calls it. [1] Not all truths are of equal importance, which does not mean the lesser ones are untrue. So don’t fight useless battles against them. Something might be true, for example, on a psychological, historical, or mythological level, but not on a universal level. Fundamentalists think the historical level is the “truest” one, yet in many ways literalism is the least important meaning for the soul. Facts may be fascinating, but they seldom change our lives at any deep level. I do believe the “historical-critical” method of interpreting Scripture is a helpful frame [2], without which fundamentalists create a fantasy that looks a lot like their own culture and preferred class perspective.

Scholars since Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) have been making good use of a distinction between logos, or problem-solving language, and mythos. Logos language includes facts, data, evidence, and precise descriptions. Rob Bell describes how “logos language and thinking got us medicine, got us airplanes. . . . For the past three hundred years we have had an explosion of logos language. . . . But the problem is, there are whole dimensions of our existence that require a different way of thinking.”

Bell rightly says, “The Bible is mostly written in mythos language. . . . Good religion traffics in mythos. . . . Mythos language is for that which is more than literally true. . . . Evolutionary science does an excellent job of explaining why I don’t have a tail. It just doesn’t do so well explaining why I find that interesting!” [3] We need mythos language to express the more-than-factual meaning of experiences like falling in love, grief, and death.

Good religion, art, poetry, and myth point us to the deeper levels of truth that logos can’t fully explain. Early Christians knew this; but the Western Church spent the last five centuries trying to prove that the stories in the Bible really happened just as they are described. For some Christians, it’s imperative that the world was created in six literal days, otherwise their entire belief system falls apart. Christianity came to rely heavily on technique, formula, and certitude instead of the more alluring power of story, myth, and narrative. These give room for the soul, mind, and heart to expand. Ironically, from such an open and creative stance, we can actually solve problems much more effectively.

The whole point of Scripture is the transformation of the soul. But when we stopped understanding myth, we stopped understanding how to read and learn from sacred story or Scripture. Children delight in hearing the same fantastical stories over and over again because they are open to awe, mystery, and discovery. Oh that we could all read the creation story with similar childlike wonder and open-heartedness!

[1] Pope Francis reaffirmed this Vatican II teaching (from the Decree on Ecumenism, 11) in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), 36, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#_ftn38.

[2] Marcus J. Borg gives an overview to this method of Scriptural interpretation in Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but not Literally(HarperSanFrancisco: 2002). For more immediate access, this entry from Encyclopedia Britannica includes links to some general articles on the topic: https://www.britannica.com/topic/historical-criticism-biblical-criticism

[3] Rob Bell, In the Beginning, disc 3 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2014), CD, MP3 download.

Adapted from Richard Rohr, Hierarchy of Truths: Jesus’ Use of Scripture (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2013), CD, MP3 download; and an unpublished talk (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2015).

"Transfiguration Sunday"

 The logical way to discern truth using your mind is get the facts straight right?

Why is it then, that this kind of thinking doesn't work the same with faith? 

Well I hope that this story  from the Gospel of Mark will give us a clue!

The Mysterious and miraculous stories of the Bible, where do you Stand?

Today I am going to try and offer you something that many might only learn through personal research on the internet, a bible study group or if you became involved in a theological class of study at one point in your life.  It is a well-known fact that many church going folks have never gone to seminary and many have never regularly attended a progressive weekly bible study group over the years.  Another known fact is this; many of the non-church-ed, through personal interest and research on the internet have become very educated in spirituality and theology.  Often more so than those who attend a regular Sunday morning worship service.  

To get a good grasp of the reading from the gospel of Mark today we first need to hear from Colossians 1: 15-18 these verses are called “The Supremacy of the Son of God”

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.  Here we need to remember that the early followers did not understand the resurrection .  In fact when Jesus tries to tell them about his death on the cross, they don’t understand what he is talking about let alone believe it.  On the other hand. we know the complete story of His life and death and believe him, so for us, these verses are very important and will help us understand the significance of transfiguration story.   The writer of Colossians describes Jesus as the head of the church, the ruler over all creation, He is Lord of lords and King of kings.  Everything that was made was made for and through Him.  The realm of Christ’s reign covers everything that happens in heaven and on the earth.  No one, not even those who deny His existence can be free of His rule or outside His sphere of love and authority for He is both “Lord of the Living and of the Dead.”  Hold onto those thoughts as you hear the transfiguration story. 

The transfiguration story can be found in three of the Gospels.  Matthew 17 and Mark 9 and Luke 9.  Why John didn’t write about it is also a mystery.  This is one of those stories that would bring up the conversation, fact or fiction because the miraculous is clearly front and center here.  But, we are not trying to prove the story as fact,  what we need to do is to be looking for gold, we should be always mining the scriptures for a truth that we can take home personally.  A key to comprehending this story’s significance can also be found in the verse just prior to the account of the transfiguration and you will find this same verse in all three gospels accounts.  Jesus spoke these words 6 days before these three men are led up the mountain by Jesus.    

 In Mark it is the 1^st verse of chapter 9, and I quote it:   And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”    

Shortly after, 6 days this scripture said, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to a mountain top.  There, Jesus is transfigured.  They no longer see just the physical Jesus, but a shining white light transforms Him into something greater, something greater than just a physical being.   This transformation is just for a moment and seems to take them to another place and time.  This place and time is visible to Peter, James and John and includes two of the most significant figures from the Old Testament who are dead, yet they to are present to this experience.   We have Peter, James and John, the living and Moses and Elijah who have long passed on.  No one know for sure what these men were getting a glimpse of.   Was it heaven or was it a dimension in space and time somewhere between life and death?  All we know for sure is that both the living and the dead find themselves in the presence of "Jesus" and what He had said prior to the event has now become a reality. Mark 9: 1.   In this place both the living and the dead are able to see Jesus in His glory and in His power just as He said.  This story is not about facts, it’s all about the truth, a truth that can only be believed by the faithful whose faith is overflowing with hope, and the assurance that Jesus is Lord of both the living and the dead.  Let the faithful be reminded by Romans 14: 8.   If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  And again from Isaiah 26: 19.    But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again!  Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!    Isn't faith great!!    Thanks be to God.   

The Destination or The Journey?

 Who likes travelling?  We all have our way of planning a trip.  For some we look for the shortest route to get where we are going. For others the shortest route is secondary to the journey.  What was the preference in your family when you were growing up?  Has that changed?  If so, what changed it?  

Feb, 2018   Readings:  1 Corth  9: 16-23 Mark 1: 29-39

Good morning Folks:   Has anyone ever suggested to you that everything your parents, your peers, teacher, even your clergy have taught you might not be right?  

The great architect Frank Lloyd Wright tells the story of an incident that may have seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence on the rest of his life.  When he was 9 years old, he went walking across the freshly washed sand at the shore with his reserved, no- nonsense uncle.   As the two of them reached the far end of the beach, his uncle stopped him.  He pointed out his own tracks in the sand, “look son” he said, “straight and true as an arrow's flight” and then pointed out to young Frank. “Your tracks are wondering all over the sand, aimlessly from one side to the other, first over to the rocks, then to the ocean and back again.  See how straight my tracks lead me directly to my goal. There is an important lesson for you to be learn from our walk hear, Frank.”  Said the Uncle. 

Years later the world-famous architect liked to tell how the experience had contributed to his philosophy in life.   "I was determined right then” said Frank, “not to get distracted by focusing on a goal in life while missing out on the importance of the journey,  as my uncle had done."

Frank saw in those tracks what his uncle could not:   It is so easy to let the demands of an organized, orderly life, keep him from living and experiencing the journey.   He believed that the focus should not be the destination or the goal, but the most important thing was to learn from the journey along the way.  Unfortunately for most of western Christianity the teaching has been mainly focused on a destination, heaven and their understanding of salvation, or how to get there.
If you look closely at the life and times of Jesus you will find His teaching is all about the journey. There was one specific Goal for Jesus to accomplish to do His heavenly Fathers will, but to do that, it wasn’t straight to the cross, no it took his life on a wondering journey outside the norms of life and it shock the foundations of the status quo.  Jesus needed to experience everything we would.  As we have discovered in our bibles, Jesus was not only a divine and special person, but he was also fully human.   His journey would take him well off the straight and narrow, Oh the goal would eventually be achieved, but it certainly wouldn’t be a straight pathway from point A to point B.  Don’t let anyone tell you they have found all the answers to the stories in the bible, for all the rocks have yet to be turned over. 

He would experience the wonder of human birth, love, warmth, hugs, kisses, pleasure, but he also would have endure hunger, hardships, disappointments, setbacks, feel the cold, become lonely, experience emptiness, rejection by his own religion, elders, and in the end, even his own family.   Jesus would be abandonment by his closest friends and then endure the agonizing of death on a cross.  All this to fulfill his goal in life.   His journey would show us a much deeper understanding of justice and love.   A just-world where the least are, just as if not more important, than those who contained the most.  He would show us a love that the world still does not know, a love that is completely forgiving and free from condition.  Jesus would also caution us that our goal in life cannot not be accomplished without the full experience of the journey to include both joy and suffering.    His example shows us that it is through our interactions with people, our response to our human condition with its pain and sorrow, the building up and the termination of personal relationships, and in serving others along the way.   That is how we will find the fullness of life and complete our goal, which is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

  

I think we all recognize that any goal in life worth achieving demands a great journey.  If you are a doctor you must spend vast hours studying to learn about disease and the human body.  The life of your patient demands it.   If you are a teacher you must give countless hours to research and preparation for your lectures. The mind of your student demands it. If you are a carpenter you must patiently spend countless hours learning to craft your skills often before you drive your first professional nail. The integrity of the structure depends on it. If you are a mother you must sacrifice much of your life for another. Your child requires it.   We could not live if we did not set goals and work to fulfill them, no sane person would argue otherwise.   But here's what young Frank Wright discovered at the tender age of 9, and what some don't learn until later in life and others never.  The objective in life is not the goal, as important as goals are, but the journey on the way to the goal.   In other words what kind of footprint do we leave when achieving our goals?  Many misunderstand that achieving the goal is so important that they even compromise their own values, run over or even crush others in their achieving.   Countries have even been known to gone to war over a specific goal.   In the Second World War the goal was to exterminate an entire race of people and rule over all others as the supreme race.  Many today are still struggling with that goal.  

If profit becomes the ultimate goal, we again run the risk of compromising ethical and ecological values.  This is why it is so important that we fellowship and teach each other in the ways of Jesus.  This is why the example of Jesus is so important in the lives of individuals and families today.   We need not only to take the message in, but then we need to take the message out, outside this box.  We need to become the examples for all others to see, not by speaking of what we know, but by actually doing  what we say we know.   As followers of Christ it is our mission, it is our calling.     
Listen to the words in this song: