Mindfulness Practice

Does the day go by and you have forgotten to stop and pray?  Is life way too hectic?

My suggestion: if you have an iphone, ipad or android, download a mediation bell program.  I use insight timer for my ipad.

Set the timer for a 12 hour period of your day (or longer).

Set a bell to go off periodically, at least every hour but I would say every 15 or 20 minutes would be better.

When the bell goes off.  Stop, still yourself and say a prayer of thanksgiving to God (or help).

Then continue on.  It will seem a bit odd at first but then you will find yourself in rhytum where you are much more mindful of what is happening and more mindful of your relationship with God.

Try it out.  Let me know how it goes.

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Summer Bible Challenge

The Bible Challenge began in 2011 when over 180 members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and over 90 friends from beyond committed to read the entire Bible in a year. One year later, St. Peter’s Church joined them in The Bible Challenge 2012.

The Bible is a wonderfully life-changing book. You will never regret reading it. That is why I want to invite you to join the Bible Challenge 2012 if you haven’t done so already. You can read the entire Bible in a year or select another Bible reading options...

Here are some Bible Challenge options for 2012:

· Read the entire Bible
· Read the New Testament
· Read the Gospel or one Gospel during the Summer
· Read the Psalter (150 Psalms) during the Summer
· Read the Gospel of Mark in a slow, meditative fashion during the Summer

You can download the Bible on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle, Nook or listen to it on CD or tape from our Parish Library. Invite members of your book club, colleagues, friends, neighbors and family to join you in The Bible Challenge.

Questions? Come talk to me.

I recommend the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) - it is what we use on Sundays or the CEB (Common English Bible) which is brand new and worth using as your translation of the Bible.

You are the ethicist!

I’m a lifelong atheist and have recently taken an interest in Christianity, but from an intellectual, historical and cultural perspective. I would like to join a Bible-study group to gain a deeper understanding of the Bible, but I’m not sure if I have an ethical obligation to let the group know I’m not a believer and explain the reasons for my wanting to join (and hope they still accept me).

How would you answer?

This s how the ethicist answered:

http://nyti.ms/KPHndO

- Posted using BlogPress from my mystical iPad!

You are the ethicist!

My father recently died. His daughter from his first marriage (which ended several years before his marriage to my mother) has made efforts to stay in touch with me since his death. I have never had a direct relationship with my half sister. She has had a difficult life, missing out on many of the advantages my sister and I enjoyed. I want to be sympathetic to her struggles, but though I’ve tried, I’ve never felt an attachment to her. She has been an intermittent presence and not always a pleasant one. Is it ethical to decide not to carry on this relationship? Or does someone else’s desire for connection, which perhaps comes out of a strong wish to be part of a family, outweigh my personal preference? J.G., NEW JERSEY

How would you handle this question?

Read here to find what the ethicist said:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/magazine/halfhearted-half-brother.html

- Posted using BlogPress from my mystical iPad!

You are the ethicist!

How would you answer this?

I’m married and recently had an emotional affair. As a result of the frequent phone contact with my paramour, I went way over my minute usage allowance. My wife and I have a shared plan, and the bill is automatically paid from her checking account. That overage brought attention to these conversations. My wife insists I reimburse her for this portion of the bill. She is the primary breadwinner, and I am the primary caretaker of our son; my small income comes from my unemployment insurance. While I freely admit the emotional affair was a breach on a number of levels, am I responsible for reimbursing her? NAME WITHHELD

You can read the NY Times ethicist response here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/magazine/costly-conversations.html

You are the ethicist!

How would you answer this question?

My younger brother, who is now 40, began drinking heavily and using drugs in high school and was in a car accident that left him with brain damage. The last 25 years have been a cycle of rehab, jail, institutionalization and halfway houses, and he is now in such bad shape that he needs a guardian. My parents, who have health problems of their own, have asked me to take this on. I have no relationship with my brother. I am a single mother with a demanding job, and I live about a seven-hour drive away. I do not want my brother near my house or my daughter. Do I need to take on the responsibility of his guardianship?

From the NY Times, the Ethicist.
Answer in the comments section.

The Ethicist's answer is here.

I will comment later...

The Bible & the Newspaper

As a clergy friend once said, "It is difficult to hear some Bible readings in church and think of them as the Good News of God.  Some are very frightening and apocalyptic."

Life, however, can be frightening and apocalyptic.  A glance at the newspaper reminds us of nuclear weapons, oil spills, toxic chemicals, terrorism, plane crashes, political corruption, pedophile clergy and the outrageous worldwide proliferation of weapons.

Our world is a lot like the world of the entire Bible, not the sanitized and censored Bible read in worship or found in the Daily Lectionary.  The Bible can be raw and shocking.

I was recently reminded of this while reading I Kings: 15-16, which tells how Baasha son of Ahijah killed Nadab son of Jeroboam, king of Israel.  Baasha took Ahijah's place immediately exterminated Jeroboam's entire family to secure the throne.  

Later, Elah son of Baasha succeeded his father as king.  One of his military chiefs, Zimri, murdered Baasha, claimed the throne and killed all of Baasha's family to secure his rule.

As I read this, it seemed like little has changed in much of the Middle East.  Syria's despotic President Assad, an optometrist by training, has spent years like his father crushing political opposition.

In waging war upon his own citizens, Assad embodies evil in our modern world dressed in fine western attire with a wife who enjoys European shopping sprees while her husband tortures and exterminates their fellow citizens.

The Swiss theologian Karl Barth encouraged every minister and priest to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.  It would be wise for Christians to read the Bible and the newspaper each day and read from the entire Bible, not just selections from it.  Reading the entire Bible provokes much deeper theological wrestling.

It forces us to grapple with God and evil, what theologians have called "theodicy."  If you wonder about the relationship between God and violence and wish to comprehend it better, join us on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to noon in MacColl Auditorium at St. Thomas Church for what may be the most stimulating lecture of the year.  

In our Forum Professors Walter Brueggemann, Carolyn Sharp and Pete Enns will address God in Recovery: An Examination of the God of the Old Testament and the Relationship between Religion, Righteousness, Violence and God. 

They will focus on some of the Bible's most challenging stories.  What are Christians, Jews and others to make of these terrifying texts?  Where is God when bad things happen to people?  Why does God permit evil to occur?  Is God ever the instigator of violence?
 

If you cannot attend our Forum, then visit the Center for Biblical Studies website at: thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org   Under articles you will find a great short essay entitled "God in Recovery" that we asked Dr. Brueggemann to write for lay persons to address issues of God and violence in the Bible.

Dr. Brueggemann has also written a fine article about the differing natures of God in the Old and New Testament, entitled "The Biblical God who goes to and fro on the Earth."  Both articles make for excellent reading and are very thought-provoking.

If you haven't signed up for this weekend's incredible Bible conference, walks-in are welcome.  You are welcome to join us.  Dr. Brueggemann will preach at the 4:30 p.m. Choral Evensong on Sunday.  He is one of America's finest preachers.  Don't miss it!

With Easter blessings,

The Rev. Marek P. Zabriskie
Rector of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Founder and Executive Director of The Bible Challenge and The Center for Biblical Studies