September 17, 2010, Christianity (85), City & Commonwealth (63), In the News (Nation, World) (80), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
Headlines today, across the country, tell us of the hard reality: 1 in 7 Americans currently live in poverty.
Let us pray for the poor, and let us remember what has been called God's "preferential option for the poor."
We recognize, in Jesus' life and teaching, a constant concern for the poor, for those in our community who are most in need of compassion, care, and generosity.
May this latest news cause us all to ask ourselves what we are doing for the most vulnerable among us, what we are doing for the poor, what we are doing for the ones about whom God is most concerned.
And, in a word, let us ask, what would Jesus do?
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Tags: poverty, richmond times dispatch, rtd
September 14, 2010, Food for the Soul (55), In the News (Nation, World) (80), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
If you haven't already read it, or even if you have, I commend to you a 2001 sermon delivered by the Reverend Peter Gomes, Pastor of Harvard University's Memorial Chapel. The Richmond Times Dispatch reprinted the sermon this past Sunday, in honor of the ninth anniversary of September 11, 2001.
From the sermon "Outer Turmoil, Inner Strength
"If you are looking for something to read in these troublesome times, do not turn to books of cheap inspiration and handy-dandy aphorisms; do not look for feel-good and no-stress and gain-and-no-pain kinds of books. They're out there, and you will be sorely tempted, but if you want to read something useful during these times, read the letters of Paul. Read them and weep! Read them and rejoice! Read them and understand that neither you nor I are the first people in the world ever to face sorrow, death, frustration, or terror.
There is a record here, not only of coping but of overcoming. If you do not wish to succumb to the tidal wave of despair and temptation and angst that surrounds us, you will go back to the roots of our faith, which are stronger than any form of patriotism. Don't misunderstand me -- I don't despise patriotism -- but there is no salvation in love of country. There is salvation only in love of Jesus Christ, and if you confuse the two, the greatest defeat will have been achieved."
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Tags: interfaith, peter gomes, richmond times-dispatch, rtd, sermon
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