be reflective with meditations by Dave Andrews
be.reflective
The Sermon On The Mount In Summary
Brian McLaren Don’t have anxiety about money or security or pleasure at the centre of your life, but trust yourself to the care of God. Don’t live for wealth, but for the living God who loves all people, including your enemies. Don’t hate your enemies or competitors, but love them and do to them not […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »They and We
People say: “They don’t do this, they don’t do that, they ought to do this, they ought to do that.” Always “They” and never “I.” People should say: “They are crazy for doing this and not doing that but I don’t need to be crazy the way they are crazy.” The Communitarian Revolution is basically […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »A New Society
To be radically right is to go to the roots by fostering a society based on creed, systematic unselfishness and gentle personalism. To foster a society based on creed instead of greed, on systematic unselfishness instead of systematic selfishness, on gentle personalism instead of rugged individualism, is to create a new society within the shell […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »Jesus’ Self-Portrait
Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor, the gentle, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for uprightness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness” (Matthew 5:3-10). These words offer us a self-portrait of Jesus. Jesus is the Blessed One. And the face of […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »Jesus’ Compassion
Jesus is called Emmanuel which means “God-with-us” (see Matthew 1: 22-23). The great paradox of Jesus’ life is that he, whose words and actions are in no way influenced by human blame or praise but are completely dependent on God’s will, is more “with” us than any other human being. Jesus’ compassion, his deep feeling-with […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »Change Lanes or Change Direction?
Let me ask a simple question that will, I hope, help to inform or shape our work for change. It uses the all-to-familiar experience of driving down a highway. Do we need to change lanes, or change direction? Are the needed changes in this time of crisis fairly minor — like changing lanes to avoid […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »Losing and Gaining Our Lives
The great paradox of life is that those who lose their lives will gain them. This paradox becomes visible in very ordinary situations. If we cling to our friends, we may lose them, but when we are nonpossessive in our relationships, we will make many friends. When fame is what we seek and desire, it […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »If you want peace…
“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” – Moshe Dayan
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »To See This
I have come into this world to see this: The sword drop from men’s hands Even at the height of their arc of anger Because we have finally realized There is just one flesh to wound And it is His – the Christ’s, our Beloved’s. Hafiz
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »Muslims For The Dalai Lama
Can we call Muslims and Buddhists who work for peace “children of God”? How can we not?
How can we call ourselves “children of God” if we do not work for peace?
This beautiful piece came from a facebook group. It is urging everyone take a stance for peace before the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »It is time Anzac Day was replaced
We need a day set aside to remind us that war is the ultimate human failure. This would be the day when we hear speeches about suffering and destruction of property and not about noble sacrifice. We would be reminded of the hacking coughs and trembling hands suffered by our returned soldiers in the decades […]
Read the rest of this entry » Read the rest of this entry »Friends as Reminders of Our Truth
Sometimes our sorrow overwhelms us so much that we no longer can believe in joy. Life just seems a cup filled to the brim with war, violence, rejection, loneliness, and endless disappointments. At times like this we need our friends to remind us that crushed grapes can produce tasty wine. It might be hard for […]
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