For Sunday 10/28/18: "Teacher, Let Me See Again."

Scripture:  Mark 10:46-52, "The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus" (NRSV)

Denominations shrink, ministers are laid off, congregations close, others merge mightily hoping to prevent such an end for themselves.  Increasingly however, American culture and society find these entities of religion irrelevant to their daily lives.

The Religious Right speeds religion's demise by anointing POTUS 45 their Latter-Day Messiah whose behavior in nearly all regards reflects how utterly unfit he is to serve the real majority in United States that DID NOT VOTE FOR HIM by over three million votes.  At most all of 45's political rallies, the attending Religious Right Evangelicals cheer and clap at the 7.6 whopper falsehoods that 45 tells daily.  They heartily endorse and encourage his onstage temper tantrums and anger outbursts, say what a swell guy 45 is, love that he loves politicians who body slam journalists, and then they pray for him.  The Religious Right's blindness gets so bad that in January 2018, former RNC/GOP Chair, Michael Steele, told Religious Right Evangelicals on MSNBC Hardball, “Just shut the hell up and don’t ever preach to me about anything ever again. I don’t want to hear it.”

Even this week, the blindness deepens as Pat Robertson, a prominent leader of the Religious Right, made things a thousand times worse when he announced that the torture and murder of American Resident and Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was not of importance and what was of importance was POTUS 45's $100 billion plus arms deal with the Saudis.  My words at that moment were, "Robertson, just shut the hell up..."

I don't see the blindness of the Religious Right, mesmerized by 45, ever waking up out of its delusion and delight over him.  They will always be searching for the next malignant narcissistic megalomaniac peddling the snake oil that speaks to them.

What I do see are the many who suffer with a different kind of blindness, the kind of blindness that comes from the loss of hope.  As a psychotherapist, I witness all too often the psychological assault after assault that 45 mounts upon the American Citizenry.  Calling one person horseface, he calls another Pocahontas, other people get called stupid, losers, fake, and the list of 45's verbal abuse/assaults goes on and on.  For those to whom this kind of evil appeals, you and God will one day have your very own personal chat together and I doubt there will be much pleasantry in it.  

In Bartimaeus however, we have the example of someone who never lost hope.  People put this disabled blind beggar down, pushed him to the side believing him of no importance, tried to silence him.  Yet, when the real deal came along - that is when Jesus came along rather than some artist of the con - Bartimaeus called out and kept calling out to Jesus until he was heard and the crowd parted and Bartimaeus taken before Jesus and healed.

We too will be healed for God is in the world.  God is working out God's purposes for God's Just, Diverse, Peaceable Reign here on The Earth. In this dark bewildering blinding evil time, we must be like Bartimaeus and never lose hope.  We must never lose our voice, even when there are those seeking to take that voice (or vote) away from us.

We will one day be healed of the damage that 45 and his followers are doing to and in the world.  The malignant narcissists of history have always fallen and have not prevailed.  Their names are known to us: Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Henry the VIII, Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, Joseph Stalin, Napoleon Bonaparte, General Antonio Santa Anna, Gaddafi, Putin, and many more.  Their disturbing frightening despicable natures always find their way onto the trash heap of history.  God sees to it and in ways we cannot always discern or comprehend.

There will be a healing journey that faces us as a nation after the trauma and evil of the present moment has parted from off the world stage and passed out of our day to day national consciousness.  It will be like the parting of the crowd for Bartimaeus, so we too can be brought before our God for healing.  At that time, and in our own very personal moments as blind beggars seeking restoration of what is good and right, the words of God's Spirit and Transforming Grace will be spoken to our hearts and minds.  We shall hear it said, "What do you want me to do for you?"  And we will answer, "Help us see again the path we are to be upon."  From there, we will follow what is good and right as did Bartimaeus and the words of Revelation 21 will renew their movement toward fulfillment:

"Then I saw new heavens and a new earth.  The former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer.  I also saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God, beautiful as a bride and groom on their wedding day.  And I heard a loud voice calling from the throne, “Look!  God’s Tabernacle is among humanity!  God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them.  The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  And death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more, for the old order has fallen.”

The One who sat on the throne said, “Look!  I’m making everything new!” and added, “Write this, for what I am saying is trustworthy and true.”  And the One continued, “It is finished.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  To those who are thirsty I will give drink freely from the spring of the water of life.  This is the rightful inheritance of the overcomers.  I will be their God and they will be my daughters and sons.” ---- Revelations 21:1-7, The Inclusive New Testament

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon
USA
      

For Sunday 9/23/18 - "Who Is Greatest? You Are!"

A person once said to me, "Every time I can tell you a traumatizing memory, it's like a chip I have chiseled off a piece of marble - the image I am trying to become -- the vision of the person God always meant me to be -- The One that I want to become. For me, you are safe. You do not judge me. You help me find me, accept me, and discern the next step forward." This is true spirituality, my friends, not the stuff peddled by elevated prophets, wannabe theologians, and advocates of calcified institutionalized religion. And while I'm at it, let me say that organized religion is a very good thing! It is a very good thing if it genuinely relieves suffering. It is a very good thing if it is truly prophetic helping the lost find themselves in ways they individually want to be found. It is a very good thing if social justice is the armor it puts upon itself toward betterment of the Common Good for all. May we all find such blessings for our lives, for I surely have and will gladly share about my journey with any other living soul.  Never doubt the authority of your own experience with an in-reaching God.  May the "Peace of the God of Your Understanding" be upon you!

"On It!" realtor Jared Kushner for POTUS 45

I am feeling so enlightened by the Manafort trial!! My goodness, amazing how cabinet positions, ambassadorships were up 4 sale through "On It!" realtor Jared Kushner 4 seller POTUS 45. Government pieces 4 sale like coastal real estate! Dang! Does anyone have Kushner's cell#?

— Brad Shumate (@shumate_brad) August 15, 2018

For Sunday 8/12/18 - "The Bread of Life" -> SPACE FORCE USA!!

SPACE FORCE USA!!! VP Pence, "Ready all phazers and photon torpedoes on all Cultural Middle and Cultural Left Metro Areas!"

Weapons officer, "Phazers and torpedoes locked on and ready, Captain Pence."

Captain Pence, "Fire!"

— Brad Shumate (@shumate_brad) August 11, 2018

POTUS 45 at start of presidency told on average 4.9 lies daily, then it increased to an average of 7.6 lies daily! For the past two months, June & July 2018, his lying escalated dramatically -- now the Habitual Compulsive Liar-In-Chief averages 16 lies daily. And yet, 44% of the country thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread and a large portion of that number advocate that he's God's Latter Day Anointed One. GOP Congress, do something or be relegated to minority status when the Midterm Elections happen in November!

Analysis | President Trump has made 4,229 false or misleading claims in 558 days https://t.co/EV4kRD86Sg

— Brad Shumate (@shumate_brad) August 4, 2018

For 7/29/18 - "Share Generously"

Lectionary Scripture - John 6:1-21 NRSV

by Leonard J. Matthews on Flickr.com

Lectionary Reflection:

One worship resource titles the 7/29/18 lectionary, "Share Generously".  In light of the scripture's story of the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand with merely two fish and five loaves of bread, it asks the question, "When have you looked at a group of people and felt overwhelmed with compassion because the need was so great? What was your response?"

Well, it happened for me in September 2017 in Fargo, North Dakota.  Dawn (my fiancé) and I had arrived in town for the 42nd reunion of the West Fargo High School Class of 1975.  It would be my first time attending a gathering of my classmates since graduation.  This particular class reunion was considered special as it was the year that lalmost all of us turned 60 years old!

  
The late evening of our flight's arrival to Fargo on Thursday, 9/14/17, was totally disorienting for me.  I recognized absolutely nothing and understandably so.  I had not been back to Fargo in over 40 years.  The airport was new.  There had been so much expansion and growth over the years that I was lost.  The streets out of the airport were new. The hotel we were staying at was new to me.  In the windy cold darkness of night, I was never so glad for having a GPS app on my phone!

The change that struck me the most however was during the brief stop we made at a Walmart near the hotel for needed personal care items.  Barely a few moments into the Walmart, I realized the almost entirely Caucasian Fargo of my youth no longer existed.  People of color were every where!  Many were hard at work stocking store shelves while many others were actively shopping for their basic needs.  I felt mesmerized and overjoyed as I heard different languages spoken all around me.

My mind subsequently drifted back to the years of my youth when I heard state and local officials plead for young adults, like myself at the time, not to leave the state but to make their lives and futures there as the state's population was declining frighteningly.  Like many others, I went ahead and left.  Now as I looked at all the people of color in the Fargo Walmart, I realized that North Dakota had found a remedy, e.g. an invitation for immigrants to come and find safety, find community, and lastly become numbered among our citizens!  For North Dakota and particularly the Fargo/Moorhead (MN) metropolitan area, it has been very successful.  The New American Economy Report of August 2016 titled "The Contributions of New Americans in North Dakota" points out the following information/data:

• In 2014, foreign-born residents contributed $542.8 million to the metro area’s GDP, including $13.8 million in state and local taxes. This groups also wields $149.4 million in spending power.
• Foreign-born residents in Fargo tend to have higher levels of educational attainment. In 2014, 27.6% of immigrants in Fargo held at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 23.6% of the U.S.-born population. About 11.3% of the immigrants held advanced degrees, compared with 5.8% of the U.S.-born population.
• In fall 2014, 1,597 students enrolled in colleges and universities in the metro area held temporary resident visas. These students supported 343 local jobs and contributed $36.5 million in spending in that academic year.
• If Fargo retains one half of its international students with a bachelor’s degree or higher after graduation, 373 local jobs will be created within six years, boosting the metro area’s real GDP by $84 million.
• Because of the role immigrants play in the workforce helping companies keep jobs on U.S. soil, it’s estimated that in 2014, the 10,663 immigrants and refugees living in Fargo helped create or preserve 490 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere.
• Foreign-born households also support federal social programs. In 2014, foreign-born households in Fargo contributed $23.5 million to Social Security and $5.9 million to Medicare
• With the release of this report, the Fargo Human Relations Commission is announcing the commencement of a process that will engage community leaders in an inclusive discussion of what the City of Fargo can do to ensure that all community members are welcomed and encouraged to succeed.

"Share Generously" has indeed been the spirit of much of the Fargo/Moorhead metro area as well as that of the great state of North Dakota as Asians, Hispanics, and West Sub-Saharan Africans call Fargo and North Dakota "home".  And "Share Generously" has obviously resulted in bounty akin to the twelve baskets of leftovers collected the day that Jesus shared a young boy's two fish and five loaves of bread with five thousand.  The remarkable thing is the miracle of that event had little to do with magical or supernatural happenings.  It had to do with the fact that traditionally most people traveling to, and present at such an occasion, already had considerable food hidden on their person and in their clothing -- and miraculously when they saw the Christ blessing and sharing, they became "free of encumbrance" to their fear and shared generously with others who had less or had none at all.

What is my response to all this?  What is my response in light of POTUS 45 who does not want to share generously, whom he and his staffers stoke encumbering fear of immigrants every chance they can with his political base of 40% of this country -- a man whose racism calls out countries as "shit-holes"?  What do I do?  I do more than leave a voicemail or shoot off an email to government authorities that immigrant families should be kept together rather children separated from parents as POTUS 45 ordered ICE to do.  Instead, I advocate here and on Twitter and with members of Congress and 45's administration and the Media that those fleeing unstable countries, those fleeing war-torn countries or countries full of marauding persecuting murdering gangs, have an absolute God-given right to seek asylum in the safety and security of Western Democracies without judgement or prejudice -- and you should advocate the same.  All immigrants seeking safety have a right to be free of unchristian behavior of government authorities like US Attorney General Jeff Sessions quoting Bible verses with a sardonic smile on his face to justify turning asylum seeking immigrant families away from our borders.  I hope members of his faith tradition keep up their efforts to take him to church court.

In all activity of sharing generously, there are blessings for all.  The blessings of safety and security, the blessings of added bounty, the blessings of community.  North Dakota and Fargo have experienced those.  In a place that I perceived as dying when I was 18 to 20 years old, forty years later I returned and witnessed prosperity -- prosperity because of immigrants.  Prosperity that was so dizzying and disorienting, it took me days to get my bearings, to find my old high school building, my middle school, the homes I had lived in, the grocery store where I worked in high school, the bank where I worked as a teller when home from college during the summers.  So incredibly much had changed.  

Long story short, I admire Fargo and what it's become.  No matter what anyone says, the data and statistics prove that immigrants and their families seeking safety are vitally important to our national well-being and the well-being of all Western Democracies.  Life on the ground in North Dakota is good and makes clear what the Common Good can become when we open our hands and our hearts and our prayers for the need and benefit of all whom "The One" calls children of God.

Brad Shumate

Free of Encumbrance

Eugene, Oregon

USA 

St. Louis Immigration Rally -- February 4, 2017 - by Paul Sableman

     

         

For Sunday, 7/8/19 "A Prophet is Not Accepted....."

Mark 6:1-13 (NRSV) states a prophet is not accepted in his own country, among his own people, even among his own family.  I know and understand this now.  Once I accepted that truth for my life and being, even as Jesus did for himself, I became "free of encumbrance" to those entities.  I became considerably freer to speak my mind and my heart.  I was free to embrace the mystic within me and speak the words God's Spirit desired me to share with the world around me.  I no longer had to be toe to toe in obeisance to a person who proclaimed their self God's Prophet for an entire religious tradition and movement. 

The freedom God's Spirit gave me, hard won over the course of seven years of intensive individual psychotherapy and individual spiritual direction with a professor of interfaith spirituality since leaving the faith tradition in which I was raised, now enables me to say the following:  "You never had a right to expect me to be a follower in lock-step with your theology, you never had a right to expect that of me as a member, you never had the right to expect that of me of one of your ordained ministers, you never had the right to expect that of me as one of your World Church appointed ministers.  As a result of such expectation toward many, you are suffering the consequences of such expectations and you will continue to suffer until you embrace the task of reconciliation with all the billions of diverse souls who live now -- and have ever lived and saw God and Jesus not in quite the way you think they should.  May you embrace the task and journey toward reconciliation with God's great and grand diversity throughout all the world in a manner you should have done from the very beginning of your movement.

Lastly for a people who chose to place in power a wannabe dictator like POTUS 45, an unwell man who wants the American Democracy to make him POTUS for Life, who considers it treasonous if you and I do not grovel in adoration before him -- ask yourselves how much longer you are willing to live with his lies, his falsehoods, his failed promises, his willingness to victimize and traumatize others -- especially very young children by tearing them from their parents' arms, using their trauma as a means to excuse his racism and his demonizing of others for his own failed policies and executive orders.  Look at yourselves, examine your spiritual self, and then ask yourself if truly he is what you want to emulate before the World.  If not, have courage to be the prophet -- the prophet that is not accepted.

Brad Shumate

Free of Encumbrance

Eugene, Oregon USA        

For Sunday, 7/1/18, "Trust Jesus"

Today, I was asked by a couple journeying through one's partner life threatening illness, "Would you pray for us? We are asking this of anyone concerned for our welfare. Please pass our request on to anyone you can."  Moved nearly to the point of tears by their faith, I replied, "Of course, I have been doing this for you already and I will continue doing so." The pastor's heart in me found no conflict in this response and request as the mission to which I signed on with my current employer, a Catholic Healthcare organization, states, "We continue the healing mission of Jesus Christ..."

Interestingly too, are all the other past moments leading up to such a moment, e.g. the Catholic University that trained me to be an insightful master's level psychologist which gave me courage to do what is right by others.  Leading to such a moment is the faith tradition in which I was raised and employed and ordained and to which five generations of my ancestors committed their lives in mission and tithes that gave me birthright to claim myself as prophetic and a mystic -- even to the point of moving on from that tradition when it limited my soul/spirit/mind more than I could bear.  As God once said to me through a sacrament, "Be faithful and I will be faithful to you. I will lift you up out your seeming obscurity. I will dignify your life with my constant daily care. The light of your life shall shine forth and bless many as you become a sharp and refined instrument for good." All which have come to pass.

Further leading to that moment with the couple is spiritual direction work the past seven years with a university professor for interfaith spirituality, a priceless soul and scholar who confronted me and pressed me during our sessions to accept that I too am a prophet of God's diverse unconditional love and that God has chosen to work with me directly and to embrace that journey alongside many others I know and love -- and those who I don't know yet and who I will come to love -- who are themselves prophets and mystics seeking the soul and being and "Just and Peaceable Reign" of "The One" who is the author of us all.

My heart is full of love for each of you, even if your heart has lost love for me. I understand and accept and respect that. For me, I am who I am, and with that there are these days inexplicable moments of joy beyond my comprehension but not my curiosity -- alongside all that come healing moments when I hold someone close in spirit or close in person -- and pray the healing prayers. 

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon USA
Friday, 6/29/18
          

For Sunday 6/24/18 - "Who Is This? Even Wind and Sea Obey?"

JESUS MAFA

"On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" -- Mark 4:35-41 NRSV 

Reflection on the Scripture:

A great windstorm arose this past week in the US.  It was from the people, the Citizens of the USA.  The windstorm was the Voice of the People, a Voice of the Incarnate Spirit of God.  It came in response to GOP POTUS 45 ripping migrant children from the arms of their parents, putting those crying traumatized children and parents into cages and/or internment camps like the Federal Government did to our Japanese-American citizens during World War II.  All of the current crisis being done in vintage obsessional brutish 45 manner to force his GOP controlled Congress to give 45 his big beautiful border wall -- with which his scripture quoting/justifying Attorney General sardonically grinning ear to ear was only too happy to help.  The Attorney General only stopped to consider the evil of his behavior when a Voice of the Incarnate Spirit of God, spoken through members of his faith tradition, decided to file complaint in church court against the AG's ungodly actions.  Good for them

I wish I knew what to say to the Hispanic woman interviewed on CNN this week who threw her weight behind 45 and the AG and said the migrant crisis was a bunch of "bullshit" and that she supported children being taken from their parents and families being separated.  Her utter lack of compassion for those fleeing countries where violence and death threats reign supreme was quite striking.  There are far too many like her, they see little beyond the end of their nose.  They gladly support the violent traumatization happening to their fellow human beings rather than seeking workable solutions such as a migrant worker program that allow migrants a path to citizenship with adequate support along the way such as safe/secure housing, a quality education, and universal healthcare.

"Who is this" that would foster such compassionate things as a migrant worker program for those fleeing for their lives, for those seeking safety? It is you and me, the Incarnate Voice of the Spirit of God.  Even Wind (POTUS 45) and Sea (45's base & GOP) will in the end obey -- for violence shall not be done to children, violence shall not be done to families.  We are "The Voice" and we shall be obeyed -- for "soon comes the Son of Man and all who believe shall be redeemed."

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon
USA        

Kim Jong Un, "Don't worry 45, Vlad and I are working really hard to get ya into...."

Kim Jong Un, "Don't worry 45, Vlad and I are working real hard to get ya in the dictators' club. BTW, great job turning your Congressional majorities into adoring cults of personality. Just a few more things to do and then we can schedule your Coronation as POTUS for Life." pic.twitter.com/fxI7WmD0Vj

— Brad Shumate (@shumate_brad) June 16, 2018

For Sunday 5/27/18 - "Be Born of the Spirit"

For Sunday 5/27/18 - "Be Born of the Spirit"


Dawn (my fiance) and I are having a most precious evening together (5/25/18).  An evening of soul dialogue, it has been for sure. An evening of individually sharing one's truth, one's walk with the Divine. Speaking lovingly passionately while each gives an account of the hope that lies within us, particularly in these dark times perpetuated by 45's disgusting behavior. On that note, I recall being a bank teller in Fargo ND at the age of 19 (some 52 years ago) and being so overcome by God's Spirit conveying God's unconditional love for me while I processed a business deposit, that I nearly collapsed to the floor as God impressed upon my mind, "You're okay Brad, you're really okay.". POTUS has no such ability to convey such unconditionally loving regard, nor will he ever. He only knows how to rip doors off a closet when ignorantly thinking a closet door somehow reflects on his worth as a person. All will be well my beloved, for one day the Earth will look up and the Heavens will look down and both tremble for joy as they become one and the Community of Believers throughout the world will have place until the end come. At least, that's of what I shall dream and for which I will hope. May the Peace of God be with us all during this difficult and trying time as we seek to find ourselves, discover how deeply God loves you and me, and make the betterment of the Common Good our mutual enterprise.


Brad Shumate

Free Of Euncumbance

Eugene, OR

For Easter Sunday 4/1/18, "Alleluia! Jesus Lives!"

Early one morning the spring of 1987, while in prayer and meditating on the deck behind our house, a moment of vision opened in my mind.  I stood near a mountaintop of high elevation.  Sensing a person ahead and nearby, already at the top of the mountain, I looked up and saw Jesus.  He motioned for me to come closer.  When I reached his side, I saw the entire expanse of the Earth.  I saw oceans, snow-covered mountains, vasts beautiful stretches of land that took my breath away. With a sweeping motion of his arm over everything I saw, Jesus said, "In all these places shall you minister."

As the moment of vision closed and I sensed returning to myself, I felt a peace within me heightened by the warmth of the morning spring sun upon my face that moment in Independence, Missouri.  Drawing my meditation time to a close,  I thought to myself, "That was nice."  However, a few moments later in our kitchen getting breakfast ready for my family, I started trembling as the realization dawned up on me that for the first time in my life, I met Jesus face to face.  A few weeks later, my church denomination at the time asked me to enter full time professional ministry.

In the thirty plus years that have followed, I have indeed ministered in many different places and witnessed some of the most beautiful places on Earth.  Perhaps one flight in a small commuter turbo-prop plane to Valdez, Alaska, as a bishop to assist a young adult family with their estate plan most emulated that moment of vision involving Christ so many years ago.  The Earth's beauty astounded me and I wished I could hang there in the air forever beholding that moment.

Now, all these years later and no longer a part of that church denomination to which I gave over fifty years of my life as a bishop, priest, and member of the church, I today (3/30/18) walked the halls at work of the Catholic Medical Center where I work as a psychotherapist in Eugene, Oregon (where my youngest was born in 1988) and today observed the writing on many different walls of our medical center's mission statement- reflected as well in the emails received today from our Spiritual Care Office and from our CEO -- all of whom offered prayers of remembrance this Good Friday and made offerings of acknowledgement today from our administration for Physicians and Advance Practice Clinicians such as myself.  From all this, I realize I am where Christ intends that I be -- continuing the healing mission of Jesus the Christ. I am offering ministry that has always been my wildest dream but escaped me in so many other places of ministry in the past.  And as I watch the Passion of the Christ in my living room this evening, I can only hope that the 27 people I saw this week for psychotherapy took a step closer toward their own healing -- especially in the divisive times in which we live when some so derangedly think the world belongs only to them. What I have to say to them is this, "For soon comes the Just and Peaceable Reign of God."

To you all, have a blessed Easter and may the Spirit of Christ be with you always! 

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon USA  

For Sunday, 3/18/18, "Glorify God"

For Sunday, 3/18/18, "Glorify God"

John 12:20-33  NRSV

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. 27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--"Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Reflection on the Scripture:

For some reason, the Greeks arriving and requesting to see Jesus signaled for him that his mortal ministry would soon draw to a close.  The closing moment would be his death upon the cross, a torturous humiliating way to die.  Rather than that closing moment being one that would cast Jesus into obscurity, it gave birth to a movement that has survived to the present day.  Indeed, Jesus drew all to him.  The same can be said for you and me given our willingness to follow the Spirit of Christ to where we are needed and can best serve the cause for the coming of God's Just and Peaceable Reign here on earth. For me at the age of 19 while receiving an evangelist's blessing in my former faith tradition, the following words were uttered by the minister:  "As you are faithful, so too will God be faithful to you.  There comes now the Spirit speaking directly to you:  My son Bradley, the light of your life shall be a blessing to many.  You shall become a sharp and refined instrument for good.  You shall be lifted up out of the seeming obscurity or your seeming littleness as I dignify your life with my constant daily care.  Seek and you shall find.  Knock and it shall be opened unto. Ask and it shall be given to you."  All these things were said of the Spirit of Christ to me during the course of that precious blessing.  At age 61, I see that all these things have come to be.  As a licensed psychotherapist working in a Catholic healthcare organization, I am blessed every single working day of the week to continue the healing mission of Jesus Christ.  All thanks be to God!

May you be similarly blessed is my prayer for you!

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon USA