Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen – a great speaker and profound Christian writer, since passed on to his reward – said of paganism that it created idols out of man’s burning desire to see the gods face to face, to “force” them into this broken world of ours and hold them accountable.
As Christians, we know that man’s desire to see God in the flesh was at last fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ. We know that sin is the result of human action, but that the penalty for sin was paid through God’s action. The difference in viewpoint is crucial.
Jesus, Himself, explained that the righteous will ask at the Final Judgment:
“Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” (Matt. 25: 37-39).
And He will reply, “…inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to Me” (Matt. 25: 40).
This then is the crux: we glorify God by serving others, for God is already here.
That this is a broken world is no indication we have been abandoned to it. Rather, we see His image in the face of every child left home alone by a working single mother. We see Him in the face of an injured laborer, as well as that of an abused woman.
We see Him through anguish and tears. We see Him despite fear, embarrassment or shame.
We need no idols. Our God is here, among us, in this fallen world. No stench of sin is great enough to keep Him away. He extends His hand of mercy, as no lesser god could.
May He use us as His instruments.
Originally posted 3/8/12
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
This is an update from Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia (CLCP), a non-profit I had a small part in launching years ago. The volunteer attorneys who continue to serve the poor of Philadelphia are amazing. Here are just two of their stories [1].
…To preach good tidings to the poor…to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Isaiah 61: 1).
The Men and Women We Serve
“Ms. Eva Rodriguez came to us for help. Earlier this year, she became entangled in a case where her aggressor filed a criminal complaint after she had responded in self-protection to his hostility. Through our attorneys’ involvement, the criminal charges were dropped.
For Mr. Luiz Rivera, family is his number one 
priority, and a matter with child custody hindered him from being involved consistently. ‘First and foremost, I am a father,’ he said. ‘My boys are everything.’
From a son without a father-figure to a dad who has chosen to leave a different legacy for his teenage boys, Mr. Rivera found legal help through several of our attorneys.”
—
[1] These clients gave permission for their names and images to be used.
Donations may be made to CLCP at http://www.clcphila.org/ or mailed to Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia, 4455 N. 6th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
“Return of the Prodigal” by Guercino (1651), Wloclawek Diocesan Museum (PD-Art l PD-Old-100)
“You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?” (Ps. 56:8).
The old hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” was penned by Robert Robinson before the American Revolution. It contains the aching lyric, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love…”
The Bible speaks again and again of man’s wandering from the throne of God. For having murdered his brother, Cain was made a vagabond on the earth (Gen. 4:12). Hagar was sent to wander in the wilderness by Abraham (Gen. 21:14), at Sarah’s jealous urging (Gen. 21:10). Israel was caused to wander for forty years in the desert, for having offended God by little faith (Num. 32: 13). The Book of Job and Book of Psalms both characterize the wicked as wandering about in search of food (Job 15:23; Ps. 59:15).
Some four thousand years later, this flesh of ours longs to wander still. Read more…
Thanksgiving Dinner, Author Alcinoe (PD)
A fellow blogger shared this experience with me. It will bring tears to your eyes.
“I live in a low-income property with neighbors of varied disability. Years ago (now 8 or 10), I was in great distress for the man who lived below me – Tim had fairly well-managed schizophrenia, and kept to himself (shopping alone, going to weekly appointments alone).
However one day the local deputies came and took him away in cuffs (he’d missed a summons to appear) – I foolishly tried to explain that Tim was ill and they lied to me, saying he’d be taken where he could receive treatment.
Tim was probably gone a month, and it was nearing Thanksgiving. I recall standing out in the courtyard and saying, ‘Somebody needs to do something to help’ – as other neighbors just stared mutely at me. And then it was as though God spoke to me, ‘You are Somebody’. It was a turning point.
When Tim returned, I invited him to have Thanksgiving dinner upstairs with me. I knew little about him, though it was apparent that no one visited him. That dinner was a stretch for me, very emotional.
Tim was a very large man, ‘hygienically challenged’ with poor table manners, and didn’t speak much, though he was willing to answer my questions. His parents were dead, and he said he had a sister who phoned from time to time – that she had likely usurped his portion of their inheritance (she lived in a pricey area).
Then Tim said that his recent absence was related to a misunderstanding about a minor criminal issue – and that he’d been held in the county jail, where his eyeglasses had been withheld from him.
By this point, I couldn’t eat my meal and was trying not to burst into tears. He seemed very credible in the details he gave – not attempting to hide the criminal issue, when he could have omitted it.
During this time, as I would occasionally hear Tim screaming downstairs at the voices that were tormenting him, I would call him on the phone and gently ask if he was alright – did he need anything? That seemed to “break the circuit”, and he would be calm for the rest of the evening. Read more…
A homeless man outside the UN in New York City, Author/Source CGP Grey (CC Attribution 2.0 Generic)
We have learned to ignore them: the homeless. Fixtures on every street corner. Present but, for all practical purposes, invisible.
Population Size
On any given night there are over a half million Americans sleeping on the streets [1]. Slightly under half those are homeless families. Approximately 50,000 are veterans (down from a high of 76,000 in 2010).
About 15% of the total are chronically homeless.
Contributing Factors
“…for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in…” (Matt. 25: 35).
The problem of homelessness is complex.
A significant percentage of the homeless will, when questioned, reveal that they were abused.
A large number are children, made homeless along with their parents. This creates issues involving child safety and child custody, with fear of losing their children hanging like a sword of Damocles over the heads of homeless parents.
Veterans (both male and female) are at higher risk of homelessness than the general population [3].
A. Affordable Housing
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head’ “ (Matt. 8:20).
One factor contributing to homelessness is the lack of affordable housing.
Some 12 million renters and homeowners spend over 50% of their income on housing alone [2]. “…a family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States [3].”
The US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers 30% of monthly income the upper limit a household can devote toward housing without compromising on other essentials (food, clothing, transportation, and medical attention). The households spending more are at risk for homelessness. Over 450,000 veteran households fall into this category, teetering on the edge [6].
For those already homeless, shelters are often seen as a last resort. Shelters have limited availability, and may be perceived as too dangerous. In rural areas, services are even more scarce. There the poor, if they can, cope by moving perpetually from one friend or relation to another.
B. Mental Illness
“And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5: 5).
In the USA homelessness is further complicated by mental illness.
As long ago as the 1970s, the policy of de-institutionalisation began discharging mentally ill men and women to the streets, without adequate medical support. There were and are too few half-way houses. Community opposition (“not in my backyard”), and limited funding have played a role in this.
Emergency rooms (unable to house the homeless and ill equipped to treat their long-term health conditions) and police “drunk tanks” have absorbed the brunt. Read more…
A wildfire in Bitterroot National Forest, Montana (PD – federal govt.)
God’s creation is stunning in its beauty and complexity. Fire, for instance, serves a purpose in nature we are only now beginning to understand.
The beauty of God’s creation extends to the best aspects of man’s character. The devotion and self-sacrifice of firefighters is amazing. “Smoke jumpers” actually enjoy their work!
However, human efforts by themselves are inadequate – whether to control fire in the natural world, or bridge the spiritual chasm between God and man. Every approach human beings have, thus far, taken toward wildfire management has failed over the long haul and/or given rise to new problems. Far more so with spiritual issues: we are nothing without God and no substitute for Him.
The small, inglorious tasks are often those which shape and define us. Despite technologic advancements, wildfires are still fought one man and one woman at a time. Underbrush, dried grass, and other potential fuels must be cleared laboriously and at great risk, by hand.
Heroism lies in continuing what – to us, at least – may seem a hopeless fight. Some wildfires are so vast and fast moving, they cannot be put out. Firefighters must fall back repeatedly, yet they fight on. Some of the spiritual battles we face are this daunting. But, as Christians, we fight in the knowledge that our war has been won.
“ ‘When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God…’ ” (Is. 43: 2-3).
Lord God, Your lessons are all around us. You seek in every possible way to teach us who You are, and draw us closer to You.
Again and again, we mistake Your glory for our own. Again and again, we see our own reflection where Your face should be. Forgive us, Father. Walk with us through the fire, despite that. You know our helplessness without You, even if we do not.
We ask this in His name who walked in the furnace with Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego.
Amen
Originally posted 7/7/13
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
Pfc. Desmond Doss, Source http://history.amedd.army.mil/MOH/dossd.html (PD-federal govt.)
The new Mel Gibson film “Hacksaw Ridge” is the true story of Desmond Doss, a WWII conscientious objector. Doss – a Seventh Day Adventist – served as a medic to the 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division, ultimately saving the lives of over 75 men for which he won the Medal of Honor.
The documentary “The Conscientious Objector: Pvt. Desmond Doss – The Fearless Warrior Without a Rifle” includes moving interviews with Doss and those who served with him. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5JVQt-C8YE.
What first strikes the viewer is that Doss was a small man. For him to lift and carry even a single soldier must have been a challenge. Yet he repeatedly risked his life to transport 75 wounded companions off an exposed Okinawa ridge under heavy fire by the Japanese.
What is equally remarkable is Doss’ humility. He accepted little, if any, credit for his valor.
Here is how Doss’ citation describes the events and their immediate aftermath:
“Private First Class Doss was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machine gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands.
On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave’s mouth, where he dressed his comrades’ wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety…”
There is more – no Hollywood embellishment necessary. When Doss’ legs were shattered by an explosion, he instructed litter bearers to evacuate a more critically injured man first. Shot in the arm, as well, Doss used a rifle stock as a splint and crawled 300 yards to the aid station.
These were not acts of bravado. They involved no posturing, no chest pounding. They were instead acts of faith. For Doss entrusted his life wholly to God, whatever the outcome.
Few of us can say as much.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15: 13).
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
Page from Dante’s “Inferno” (PD-Art l Art-old)
“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!” (Job 19: 23).
Those of us who write and/or minister naturally long for an audience, a congregation. Bubbling over with words, we ache to share our thoughts and feelings, even more so to share our faith.
Sometimes, we write simply to express ourselves, for instance, in a personal journal. This is “art for art’s sake” or private prayer. Other times, we want to make a splash! Sometimes, we speak in a representative capacity, in public prayer, articulating what many may experience but most find difficult to express.
We write on topics ranging from the secular to the sacred, the silly to the sublime, as God moves us. But, whatever the topic, we want a receptive audience, an engaged congregation – usually the bigger, the better.
Audience (and Congregation) Size
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count…” (Rev. 7: 9).
Online, the size of our audience is touted as its foremost characteristic. The goal, in that context, is material, specifically commercial, as in the sale of goods and services.
Politically, size again matters. We hear how many were present at a rally; how many tuned in to watch a televised debate. The goal, in that case, is the “sale” of a candidate and his/her ideas.
All too often, the Gospel (or what purports to be the Gospel) is peddled this way, too – as if it were another commodity. Step right up. Make your bargain with God. Get your blessings here, postage and handling not included.
These days audiences and congregations are, also, dissected by their component parts. Is a certain blog or ministry sufficiently appealing to millennials? What percentage of readers are over age 55? Does an article adequately target liberals? How about gun owners? Evangelicals?
Never mind the truth. Read more…
“St. Martin and the Beggar” by El Greco (c. 1598), National Gallery of Art (Accession No. 1942.9.25), Source Web Gallery of Art (PD)
“Socioeconomic status is the most powerful predictor of disease, disorder, injury and mortality we have.”
– Tom Boyce, MD, Chief of Division of Developmental Medicine, Dept. of Pediatrics, UCSF
Epidemiologists term poverty the “cause of causes” because it underlies so many illnesses.
The life expectancy of an adult living at or below the federal poverty level ($11,770 per one-person household) in the Rust Belt or rural South is 7-8 years less than that of an individual making the average American income of $55,775 [1].
Race, Poverty, and Chronic Illness
Race further widens the gap. Chronic illnesses (responsible for 70% of the deaths in this country) show earlier onset and greater frequency in minority populations living in poverty [2].
According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Americans living in poverty suffer from depression at twice the rate of those not in poverty. Asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and heart attack rates are, also, higher among the poor [3].
And the United States is second to last among 29 developed countries ranked by child poverty rates – scoring worse than Poland, Latvia, Hungary, and Lithuania [4][5].
A Complex Relationship
The available data barely scratches the surface of the relationship between poverty and illness.
The relationship between poverty and depression is, we know, complex. Depression can both cause and be caused by poverty [6].
Other health problems may be influenced by the limited healthcare available to the poor, and the environmental conditions under which they live. Lead pipes, for example, are common in America’s inner cities [7]. Read more…
This is an update from Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia (CLCP) http://www.clcphila.org/, a volunteer organization that has long been close to my heart.
Philadelphia has the highest rate of “deep poverty” of the nation’s ten largest cities [1]. The child poverty rate in the city is consistently around 40% [2].
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Prov. 31: 8).
Philadelphia City Hall, Author Max Binder (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
“For four years, Senora Carmen had been waiting for her veteran benefits from her husband’s years of service [3]. After being denied once, she received another packet from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Twenty pages of fine print seemed to indicate more paperwork was needed. Extensive paperwork. Then her request–and financial need–would be considered, or denied again.
Senora Carmen had lived in the U.S. over twenty years, but her limited English was still a barrier for her. Anxious and troubled, she brought the packet to CLCP.
Attorney John Visher, a retired Navy JAG Officer and CLCP volunteer, used his…legal skills to decipher the document.
‘Todo va estar bien?’ Carmen asked. Will everything be okay?
As an attorney, Visher…cannot always guarantee resolution for every client he works with through CLCP, but…[much]of his work is providing comfort…Visher …watches over his clients, and at times, an attorney acting as the legal watchman for an impoverished client is the needed weight to resolve an issue.
With Visher’s involvement, the legal process picked up speed, and Carmen received her benefits check and the promise of continual monthly support.
As a Christian attorney, Visher counts it a privilege to demonstrate his care to needy clients as a watchman of justice, and Carmen, a devout Christian herself, not only had her financial need resolved, but in the process, she also received godly comfort through CLCP.”
—
[1] Philly.com, “Among the 10 largest cities, Philly has the highest deep-poverty rate” by Alfred Lubrano, 10/1/15, http://articles.philly.com/2015-10-01/news/67015543_1_poverty-rate-deep-poverty-philadelphians.
[2] NPR, “Unrelenting Poverty Leads to ‘Desperation’ in Philly Schools” by Eric Westervelt, 11/21/13, http://www.npr.org/2013/11/21/246413432/weighing-the-role-of-poverty-in-philadelphia-s-schools.
[3] The client’s name has been altered in the interest of privacy.
Anyone interested in Christian legal aid can find more information on that topic above
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
A Lawyer's Prayers 