Monday of Holy Week

greetings!!!

well, this morning was the root canal...

it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be...

makes me wonder why i hadn't been to the dentist in 17 years???

dr graddy was A-OK...

i was almost hoping it would be worse so it might diminish my appetite for a few hours -- no such luck -- ha! ha!

the following is a reflection i wrote for my spiritual community -- the tampa underground [www.tampaunderground.com] -- as we prepare our hearts for easter worship next sunday...

hope you enjoy it...

"Today, we begin our journey together toward Resurrection Sunday…

The authenticity of our celebration depends on the preparation of our heart for Easter worship…

Our first step begins with a reflective question from Franciscan Richard Rohr: when have I consciously chosen to move downward in my life?

His thoughts are searching and provocative…

'I am going to direct you today toward the great parabolic movement of descent and ascent described in Philippians 2:6-11, the second reading on Palm Sunday. Most consider that this was originally a hymn sung in the early Christian community, and certainly an inspired one on many levels. The hymn artistically, honestly, but boldly describes that “secret hour” when God in Christ reversed the parabola, when the upward movement preferred by humans became the downward movement preferred by Jesus. It starts with the great self-emptying or kenosis, that we call the Incarnation in Bethlehem, and ends with the Crucifixion in Jerusalem. It brilliantly connects the two mysteries as one movement: down, down, down into the enfleshment of creation, into humanity’s depths and sadness, and finally into identification with those at the very bottom (“the form of a slave”) on the cross. Jesus represents God’s total solidarity with, and even love of, the human situation, as if to say, “Nothing human is abhorrent to me.” This is what we walk through together in this, our great Holy Week.'

This is a “riptide” thought – it goes totally against the prevailing flow of our culture…

What about us – you and me this Holy Week?

Have we followed Jesus in this powerful “reversal of the parabola” – have we exchanged the upward mobility obsession of our culture for the embrace of the downward mobility of Jesus?

What are some of the things we must personally “self-empty” if we are to become missional agents of the Incarnation in our city?

Let’s do an agape [love] check in our hearts – are we living and loving as if “nothing human is abhorrent to me?”

I still have a way to go – how about you?

That’s why I am so glad we are on this spiritual journey TOGETHER…"

more tomorrow...

love ya!!!

guy

tomorrow may be better -- i may be full of vicodin -- ha! ha!