Well Being

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

John 13:34 (The Message)

The students were amazed by the joy we saw when we first visited and lived in a small rural poor community in Honduras!  It was obvious that most of the metrics used to assess need would not capture the well being of this community.  

More recently, we heard again from Jean Varnier, the 2015 Templeton Prize winner and founder of L’Arche communities of the disabled.  His big ideas find their reality in small acts of kindness and communities that value the most rejected.  

This last week, we where all amazed by the forgiveness given by the relatives of those murdered at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.  What was the origin of these great acts of forgiveness in that community of faith?

The message for me of these examples of “Well Being” starts well before the suffering and pain.  It happens in small ways that are practiced over and over again.  It becomes a way of being well in a welcoming community.  The practice of healing is found in this practice!  It requires a focus and faith that is lived everyday.  It means that we need to be present with those who suffer even before we try and “do something”.   It is for Christians the basis of our healing mission.  

Thanks be to God for all who build communities that care for each other and bring “Well Being”.

Marvin

References:

http://www.jta.org/2015/06/19/news-opinion/united-states/op-ed-this-is-not-the-charleston-i-know

http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/wheeler-tim-and-gloria/

http://www.jean-vanier.org/en/home

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/charleston-comes-together-in-stirring-show-of-unity-469621827911

Doing Better?

“When the consensus culture collapsed in the 1960s and 1970s, 

taking with it all but the vestiges of the old Protestant establishment, 

that collapse initiated, among other things, a religious crisis.”

 George Marsden

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10 (NIV)

Our church has begun reading Robert Putman’s book, Our Kids, that is a critical look at the changes in American society since the late 1950’s.  He makes the case from a personal as well as with social statistical data that there has been growing inequality in the United States and that it should be corrected.  Others have come to the same conclusion.  What is less clear is the nature and rationale of the prescriptions,  You would think that we know the answer from what has worked as well as failed both here in the United States as well as other nations and cultures.

We need to clearly see the nature of “well-being” as well as the nature of “non-being” and understand that these ideas are not solely economic, educational, societal or scientific.  At its most basic level, the idea of “well-being” combines the ideas of “meaning” and “purpose” as applied to individuals and communities.  These ideas have come to us through faith and within faith communities. 

This is where I think we can find a clear response to what our church is trying to address…How do we respond to and with our community with a message of “well-being”?  What I think we already know, is that when we have reached out, we have been blessed and we have felt that “well-being” both as individuals and a community.  It needs to be the story we share.  It is a story of reconciliation and healing.  It is a “better” story!

Marvin

Reference 

Marsden, George (2014). The Twilight of the American Enlightenment: The 1950s and the Crisis of Liberal Belief . Basic Books. Kindle Edition.

Putnam, R. D. (2015). Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. Simon & Schuster.

Pickett, K., & Wilkinson, R. (2011). The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger (Reprint ed.). Bloomsbury Press

Deaton, A. (2013). The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality. Princeton University Press.

Healing Missions

Mission

Calvin College equips students

to think deeply,

to act justly,

and to live wholeheartedly

as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.

David Brooks in his recent book, The Road to Character, outlines the paths of and the ideas behind a meaningful life.  Like the last post, “Healing Stories”, we get to hear the stories of struggle and healing in the lives of some famous historical figures and are challenged to examine our own stories.

The book is descriptive and prescriptive!  The authority behind the prescription is a deep faith and purpose demonstrated in the life stories.  This model of education resonated with my teaching a freshman seminar at Duke University and a medical school elective.  We required the students to write a biography of someone they admired.  It was a wonderful experience to share the stories and see them lived out in the lives of the students.  The good news is there is a path based on a faith and mission that results in a wholeness in our lives. 

This weekend, I attended the Calvin College commencement and the alumni reunion of the class of 1965  The alumni shared their faith and life stories as they lived out the mission of Calvin College.   I was inspired by their lives and their faith.

Thanks for letting an “outsider” hear and be a part of the Calvin story and to David Brooks for a challenging book.

Marvin

References:

https://www.calvin.edu/about/who-we-are/

Brooks, D. (2015). The Road to Character. Random House

Hage, M. L. (2015). Healing Stories. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2015/04/healing-stories_17.html

"Exploring Medicine: Cross-cultural Challenges in the 21st Century” 1/95-3/98  Duke University Medical Center

Healing Stories

“The difference here is legacy is an act of ego, while teaching is an act of faith.”

Bruce Kramer

In the midst of a very severe trial, 

their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

   2 Corinthians 8:2 (NIV)

The broadcast of the experiences of Bruce Kramer with Krista Tippett, “On Being”, is a moving account of his life after the diagnosis of ALS.  He has also written a book and blog not as a legacy, but as a lesson on living.

For me the best part of the book is how “art” is the medium that helps us see and understand his life.  For Bruce it was music in his life and his teaching vocation that were the basis of the healing he experienced. These two “loves” were the foundation of his healing.

Another important story for me, is how Bruce Kramer’s living mirrors the experience of Chris Rosati.  Chris’s first lesson for all of us focused on gifts of doughnuts!  Who knew the healing power of doughnuts?  He has continued to reach out to students and communities and that has been inspiration to all of us.  

These two men have a lot to teach us about living!   Thanks for the lives and witnesses of Bruce Kramer and Chris Rosati and for their healing lessons.

Marvin

References:

Bruce Kramer

Kramer, Bruce H.; Wurzer, Cathy (2015-04-01). We Know How This Ends: Living while Dying (Kindle Location 118). University of Minnesota Press. Kindle Edition.

http://onbeing.org/program/bruce-kramer-forgiving-the-body-life-with-als/7420

Kramer, B. H., & Wurzer, C. (2015). We Know How This Ends: Living while Dying (1 ed.). Univ Of Minnesota Press.

https://diseasediary.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/from-the-silence/

Chris Rosati

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nc-man-bakes-up-krispy-kreme-caper/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/chris-rosati-als_n_6880546.html

http://www.inspiremedianetwork.org

Going Far Together

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth. 

Psalm 121: 1-2 (NIV)

“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.” 

African Proverb

I have been in Kenya this last month and those experiences alter your vision!   Upon returning, a common expectation is to share what we saw.  I have come to believe that the most important response is how those experiences change “vision.”  I returned with new perspectives of what we have come to believe is reality.

What is most surprising on returning is how central to our lives are the images that confront us daily.  We are overwhelmed with media and advertising that were absent where we lived for a month.  We were in an environment where relationships were the most important and real.   We were blessed to have new relationships as well as reconnecting with others.

The experiences at Tenwek Hospital were about deep relationships and a common faith. That connectedness is what is contained in the African proverb and in a favorite Psalm.

Marvin

References

See blog: Kenya 2015 - motown1941.blogspot.com

Battle, M. (2009). Ubuntu: I in you and you in me. Seabury Books.

Hage, M. L. (2012). Rx Ubuntu. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/04/rx-ubuntu.html

Confrontation, Conversation and Healing

Children of Peace

“Peace from above” - Amani ya Juu

Keep your tongue from evil

    and your lips from telling lies.

Turn from evil and do good;

    seek peace and pursue it.

Psalm 34: 13-14 (NIV)

But let justice roll on like a river,

    righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Amos 5:24 (NIV)

It has been a tragic couple of weeks of deadly confrontation.  We have been drawn into debates with complicated choices.  What do we all want?  Where is the common ground?  Where is the path of healing?  The answers are unclear from our media driven culture.  The answers are unclear in our violent responses. 

If we believe the psalmist, it starts within each of us speaking the truth that moves us to “seeking”!  We have seen examples of this reconciliation in the context of truth telling.  We have come to understand our interconnectedness in the concept of “Ubuntu”!  We have been forgiven and have a mission of healing that comes from our deepest beliefs and longings for peace and justice.

Today, let us look for those “connections” that are the basis of conversation and see our conversation as an opportunity and a gift.  We can have healing, if we live generously out of those relationships.  It is a divine promise!

Shalom,

Marvin

References 

Battle, M. (2009). Ubuntu: I in you and you in me. Seabury Books.

Hage, M. L. (2012). Healing and Violence. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/12/healing-and-violence.html

Tutu, D., & Tutu, M. (2014). The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World. HarperOne

Telling the Story

Come and hear, all you who fear God;

    let me tell you what he has done for me.

Psalm 66:16 (NIV)

I have read two wonderful books, Endurance and Deep, Dark, Down that describe survival of two very different groups of men.  The stories are true, complicated and instructive to all of our ordinary lives!

What is similar in both reports is the importance of being able to tell the story.   These very talented authors have been able to listen and read the accounts to craft a story of healing and salvation.  Both authors describe the critical importance of leadership and  the importance of “others” in the task of survival.  Both describe the miracles of faith and hope.

Like the authors, we have the wonderful privilege to listen and tell the stories of healing and with that opportunity we also find meaning and healing in our own lives!

Marvin

References

Lansing, A. (2014). Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (Anniversary Edition ed.). Basic Books

Tobar, H. (2014). Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Hage, M. L. (2010). An International Healer Parable. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2010/10/international-healing-parable.html

Hage, M. L. (2011). Pilgrimage and Healing. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/02/pilgrimage-and-healing.html

Hage, M. L. (2012). God, Trials and Fears. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/04/god-trials-and-fears.html