Online Meditations and Devotion
An Ecumenical Ministry to empower Christian Spirituality
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part of the Preface: What Do I do now?
Passing the smoked oysters and the anchovies, I piloted my supermarket basket around the Great Pyramid of Coca Cola cans into the next aisle. Just beyond the cookies and crackers I found her, a twice-a-year parishioner married to a man who sat in the same pew every Sunday. Mispronouncing my name, she began to tell me about leaving him, her fourth husband, because of his insensitivity. In a voice that could be heard all the way to aluminum foil she described aspects of her unhappy union that included everything from his unwillingness to wash her car twice a week to the position he left the commode seat in their master suite. I tried to get her to lower her voice. Without dropping a decibel, she moved on to what she called bedroom issues and then to his inordinate doting on his dying mother. She complained about how much time he took to iron the pillowcases and outlined her dislike of his nieces and nephews. Ignoring my attempts to move this conversation to my office, she followed me all the way to the mayonnaise, railing about other perceived transgressions and offenses. Finally, I turned to her while she was taking a longer-than-usual breath and asked her, "Why are you telling me all this?" Her earnest reply was fascinating: "So you can fix him!"
I could no sooner fix what she didn't like about him than I could push my basket away from her that day. I had thoughts on how things might be improved, but given what she told me about the relationship, they would have probably involved more changes in her behavior than in his.
Even though her issues weren't likely to be solved in the way she wanted, she was insightful enough to realize she had a problem and that there might be a solution to it. She had arrived at a point in her life when she realized that help might be available to her from a source outside her experience -- from someone who had skills different or more advanced than hers -- and she sought it out.
Our shopper here isn't that different from many of us. . . .
Sample of a Devotion
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
(Psalm 23:6a)
Sacred Stalking
Will a restraining order Keep God off my front lawn?
Rebecca Schaeffer, one-time Seventeen Magazine cover girl and a promising young actress, was enjoying her big break as Pam Dawber’s co-star in the ‘80s sitcom, My Sister Sam. But her success, due to no fault of her own, was short-lived. On July 18, 1989, while dressing for an audition for a role in The Godfather: Part III, her doorbell rang. Disguised as a deliveryman, deranged fan Robert John Bardo entered her apartment, drew a concealed gun and pulled the trigger. Screaming, “Why?” she collapsed. After struggling for half an hour at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, she breathed her last. Her death became the catalyst for the passage of anti-stalking legislation in California. By 1993, similar laws had been adopted in all 50 states and Canada. Her assassin, a paranoid schizophrenic, unemployed fast-food worker from Arizona, was arrested and faced prosecution by L.A. Assistant District Attorney Marcia Clark, who later would attract public attention as a prosecutor in the murder trial of O.J. Simpson. Unlike Simpson, Bardo, was tried and convicted, is serving life without parole in a California prison where, in July 2007, he survived 11 stab wounds, allegedly at the hands of another convicted murderer serving a life sentence.
Incidents like these have made us more aware of and sensitive to stalking. The State of Georgia in perhaps the easiest-to-understand definition of criminal stalking has legislated that a person commits the offense of stalking when he or she (1) follows, (2) places under surveillance, or (3) repeatedly contacts another person without their consent. (Georgia Criminal Code, Section 16.5.90) Stalkers follow or watch their victims, often trespass near their home or workplace, steal their mail, vandalize their property, and initiate unwanted contact through deliveries, phone calls, mail, and E-mail. More high-tech stalkers use video cameras, GPSs (global positioning systems), and monitor their victim’s Internet history. Stalking is a loaded word; whether in speech or in writing; its use connotes fear and danger. No wonder people are stunned when they find stalking in the Bible as a descriptive word for something God does! Psalm 23:6 literally translated from Hebrew can read: “God’s goodness and loving-kindness stalks me each day I live.”
Lay aside for a moment the negative emotional charge of the word stalking and try to imagine what the Psalmist might have been trying to say . . . . .
ANOTHER SAMPLE
Mary and Martha of Bethany, July 29
“Jesus and his disciples came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She asked Him, ‘Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ He answered, ‘you are distracted by many things; Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’”
(Luke 10:38-41 excerpted)
Distraction + Diversion + Determination = Disaster
It’s So Hard to Find Good Help These Days!
Martha Stewart, eat your heart out! Before it’s over, every pot and pan in the house will be in the sink. Throttle wide open, she’s worked all day. “Tonight’s dinner party must be a triumph,” she says to herself. After hours over a hot stove, she still has half an hour to dress. Hair combed and gown straight with ten minutes to spare, Martha sits down with a glass of wine, her meticulous eye checking each detail and, not unlike God surveying His creation on the Sixth Day, smiles and thinks to herself, “It’s a good thing!”
Martha, yes. Stewart, no. Not this time. Jump back two millennia and meet the Martha Stewart of Bethany, a small town outside Jerusalem. This Martha has much in common with the contemporary one; she was the Go-To Girl when a luncheon or a bar mitzvah needed a special touch. Had the printing press already been invented, she might have even had a magazine of her own! “For her it’s so easy,” her neighbors quipped as she multi-tasked cooking, cleaning, and arranging the flowers. Confident and competent, she can usually focus through noise and distraction. But not tonight. She would never throw a party so important again. Everyone would be looking. Jesus was coming . . . .
Sample of a Prayer and Act of Faith
This Prayer and Act of Faith support a meditation on how to handle the ordinary, day-after-day nature of life -- neither good nor bad -- the monotony of which often weighs heavily on our souls.
Prayer:
O God, whose Son Jesus experienced great joys and great sadness as well as the ordinariness of the times in between: give me the desire to pattern my life after His. Sing with me as I rejoice in life’s pleasures, weep with me when I must undergo its most profound sorrows, and be with me in the monotony of the countless days between these spiritual hills and valleys. Let me shout Your praises from life’s mountaintops; let me testify to the support given me throughout its darkest depths; give me the grace of realistic expectations for life’s most frequent occurrences, the ordinary and the commonplace. Then, in Your good time, bring me to the height of heights — the celestial kingdom, Heaven itself — where with angels and saints I hope to worship you without end. Amen.
Act of Faith:
Most of us were asked as young children, “What would like to be when you grow up?” According to an article in Forbes, lots of kids would like to be astronauts, professional athletes, dancers, doctors, firefighters, lawyers, movie stars, police officers, and rock stars. But the first choice for 21% of the children interviewed was superhero! Spiderman clocked in at number one. Interestingly enough, short-order cook, toll booth operator, realtor, assembly line laborer, convenience store clerk, salesperson, and custodian didn’t even make the list! Valuable and necessary as those jobs are, they lack the glamour and allure of more high-profile occupations even though, in some cases, they pay better! Truth be told, those who work in glamour jobs couldn’t function without the others: rock stars and dancers aren’t exempt from toll booths; first responders and movie stars use mass-produced goods; even doctors have to eat! Honoring the 80% of Jesus’ life lived in the ordinary; choose within the coming week three people whom you think go unnoticed or unappreciated much of the time. Go out of your way to let them know how much you value them and what they do. That many people go through life vocationally anonymous does not negate the fact that all persons are created in God’s image with dignity and purpose and are worthy of appreciation. The tree does make a sound when it falls in the forest even when we don’t hear it. Jesus was and is Christ for everyone, high-profile and low. And we’re related to all of them.
Read what others have said about Think on These Things
“It is as if Father Bob has looked into my heart and knows the issues I struggle with daily. Then he provides answers to my problems through the teachings of Christ, prayer, and his own "down to earth" advice! When reading his spiritually and intellectually honest and practical chapters, I’m concurrently uplifted and challenged.”
The Most Rev. Ronald Gainer, Bishop of Lexington (Catholic)
“It is as if Father Bob has looked into my heart and knows the issues I struggle with daily. Then he provides answers to my problems through the teachings of Christ, prayer, and his own "down to earth" advice! When reading his spiritually and intellectually honest and practical chapters, I’m concurrently uplifted and challenged.”
The Hon. Moses W. Harrison II, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Illinois (Ret.)
“Father Bosworth has translated his entertaining and easy-to-understand preaching and teaching style into print. Theological and Biblical concepts I never really understood now help me plan and live my daily life at the office and at home with my family.”
Mark W. Angle, Business Owner and Father
“I read Father Bosworth’s Think on These Things with a sense of wonder and excitement. In this small book Fr. Bob brings weaves together theology, history, Scripture and life experiences as to offer the reader a text which is gripping, insightful and useful. The spirituality presented is both challenging and practical. This is a book that one will come back to year after year and always find new insights and challenges.”
The Rev’d Dr. William G. Brown, Professor and Academic Dean, Midway College
"Straightforward, insightful and meaningful; there isn't an aspect of my life that Father Bob doesn't address. By starting the day with his meditations, I'm able to focus and plan my day around the Scriptures."
Julia Peavler, Special Education Teacher and Mother
"These clever, pithy vignettes are perfect for reading before starting a challenging day at work or relaxing before bed. Father Bob's stories inspire us to improve our lives through application of biblical teaching.
Elizabeth A. Sherman, Senior Project Director, Wife and Mother
Table of Contents
Notices: Table of Contents, Acknowledgements and Dedication
Preface: How to Use this Book
Chapter 1: A Rose by Any Other Name (The Holy Name of Jesus Christ (January 1)
Chapter 2: Bucks, Billows, and Balm (January 6)
Chapter 3: God, Mind the Gap (Psalm 23:1)
Chapter 4: Not All News is Created Equal (Vitalis of Gaza, January 11)
Chapter 5: My Place in God’s Sheepy Pastures (Psalm 23:1)
Chapter 6: Wisdom in Wool (Agnes of Rome, January 21)
Chapter 7: Abounding Abundance vs. Perceived Poverty (Psalm 23:1)
Chapter 8: Corner-Stoned in Ireland (Brigid of Ireland, February 1)
Chapter 9: Asleep on the Job (Psalm 23:2a)
Chapter 10: Passin’ the Corned Beef (Patrick of Ireland, March 17)
Chapter 11: Think God Will Notice the Fig Leaf? (Psalm 23:6b)
Chapter 12: Christian Karma (John Donne, March 31)
Chapter 13: Oh, the Farmer and the Cowboy Should Be Friends (Psalm 23:2a)
Chapter 14: Sieg Heil: Two Four-Letter Words (Dietrich Bonheoffer, April 9)
Chapter 15: So . . . This Wet Stuff is Water?! (Psalm 23:2b)
Chapter 16: If You Want to See Alphie Again… (Alphage of Canterbury, April 19)
Chapter 17: Rewinding the Movie of Life (Psalm 23:3a)
Chapter 18: Slaying the Green-Eyed Monster (Damien of Molokai, May 11)
Chapter 19: Onward Christian What? Marching on to Where? (Psalm 23:3b)
Chapter 20: Dodging the Bullet (The Prophet Elijah)
Chapter 21: Take, Bless, Break, Give (Psalm 23:5b)
Chapter 22: Warning: Dangerous Curves Ahead (Psalm 23:4a)
Chapter 23: Who Let the Dogs Out? (Bernard of Menthon, Switzerland, June 15)
Chapter 24: Chutes and Ladders – Ups and Downs (Psalm 23:4a)
Chapter 25: Britain’s First Costume Party (Alban of Canterbury, June 22)
Chapter 26: The Q’umran Pointer (John the Baptist, June 24)
Chapter 27: One Hundred Percent is as Full as it Gets (Psalm 23:4b)
Chapter 28: Let Freedom Ring (July the Fourth)
Chapter 29: License and Registration, Please (Psalm 23:26b)
Chapter 30: How Many Times Do I Have to Pay for That? (James, Apostle, July 25)
Chapter 31: The Seduction of Seclusion (Psalm 23:4b)
Chapter 32: It’s So Hard to Find Good Help (Mary and Martha, July 29)
Chapter 33: Spare the Rod, Spoil the Mutton (Psalm 23:4c)
Chapter 34: The Treasures of the Church (Lawrence of Rome, August 10)
Chapter 35: Faith’s Four C’s (Psalm 23:4c)
Chapter 36: Intense Encouragement (Maximillian Kolbe, August 14)
Chapter 37: Would You Like Matzo with That? (Psalm 23:5a)
Chapter 38: Mary, Mary, Never Contrary (The Ever Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15)
Chapter 39: The Highest Toll Ever Paid (John Coleridge Patteston, September 20)
Chapter 40: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Psalm 23:5a)
Chapter 41: Oil that Is . . . Black Gold . . . Texas Tea (Psalm 23:5b)
Chapter 42: Perfection through Substitution (Francis of Assisi, October 4)
Chapter 43: Bring Your Own Cup (Psalm 23:5b)
Chapter 44: What Stops Us? (Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereshewsky, October 14)
Chapter 45: Sacred Stalking (Psalm 23:6a)
Chapter 46: Baggage: Good and Bad (Margaret, Queen of Scotland, November 14)
Chapter 47: Giving Thanks for All Things (Fourth Thursday in November)
Chapter 48: Nicky the Tricky (St. Nicholas of Myra, December 6)
Chapter 49: Mae West: Little-Known Theologian (Psalm 23:6a)
Chapter 50: Necrophobic Procrastination (Psalm 23:6b)
Chapter 51: The Holy Innocents (Holy Innocents, December 27)
Chapter 52: Separation versus Isolation (Matthew the Apostle, September 21)
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