I'm so angry I could just....

Waking up in late March to three or four inches of heavy, wet snow may make one have thoughts of grilled groundhog. In the past week or two you have used an expletive before the word groundhog?
Been guilty of road rage? Do you stare down or honk-off the driver who cuts in front of you?
Ever curse Pirates owner, Bob Nutting and his spending or lack thereof?

Anger. We get it, spew it, stew in it.
Being angry over groundhogs, tailgaters, and tight-wad owners are blips in our emotional read-out, inconveniences that quickly pass.

Yet, what about being truly angry about what matters? I read a quote that stated, "Had we been truly paying attention we would have been angrier more." I like it. I understand it. In the work of justice, anger often fuels the advocacy and undergirds the efforts. I think one should become angry when witnessing how people live in oppressive poverty, how white-collar cheats are celebrated and persons receiving benefits are stigmatized, and how greed and bluster deplete both our nation's moral character and bank account.

Women are raised to not get angry. Yelling or swearing or pointing fingers and demanding ultimatums have for a long time been seen as "unbecoming" in a lady.
Guess I won't ever become one.

The Christian tradition holds that on the Monday of Holy Week Jesus became angry, knocked over some temple tables, and called people names. He was angry.

He was irate over how the faith had become a surface faith that was shallow, money-focused, and indiffrent to the plight of persons who are poor. Hmmmmm......

Maybe we are just not invested enough in the conditions of our world to be angry. That's a shame. Heaven knows, there is a lot to be angry about.

sj;

Water Ways

Here in Pittsburgh with our three rivers and many creeks and lakes and streams we know the work and wonder and play of water. It is true that we are drawn to water. We vacation at the ocean, we spend an afternoon near the banks of lakes and ponds, and water supports our industry.

Water, that most precious of resources is so essential to life --- water: bathe, wade, quench, sip, gulp, wash, splash, dive, refresh, sustain.

The global community celebrated WORLD WATER DAY earlier this weekend. For over 750,000 citizens of our shared world, water is a scarce resource. Thousands of women walk several miles each day to gather water for the cooking, cleaning, watering of crops and livestock. They endure years-long droughts. Companies intervene and stake claim to water-ways and place fees on what once was free-flowing.

Here, in the United States we tend to take water for granted. When thirsty, we turn on the spigot or reach in the fridge for a plastic bottle of water. What must three-fourths of the world think about that? With little a thought or concern of if the water will be there, we take our showers, brush our teeth, wash our dishes, even fill-up balloons and squirt guns for water battles. Last summer's drought that baked the midwest shocked us with the apocalyptic-tinged images of miles upon miles of withered, shrunken, burnt acres of corn or the cracked rows of rutted dirt. However, the initial shock quickly passed and the heavy snowfalls of this winter have thankfully filled the water table.

Today, in the many ways you will use water...first....pause. Think. Reflect on this most precious of resources. Consider what it must be like for the thousands who must walk and work for the water we receive so easily.

For an additional exercise, in the readings and reflections and remembrances of this Holy Week, look for the role that water plays in these stories. If not mentioned directly in the text, consider how water was present and what it lends to the story.

Water...the very start of our creation begins there.

sj;

A spring in your step

Yes, there were snow flurries yesterday.

Yes, I am still wearing gloves and a tossel cap.

Yes, the furnace still runs regularly.

Yet, according to the calendar IT IS SPRING!

Simply writing those words or saying them provides an energy, a boost.

Spring is here and soon the words written and proclaimed will be evidenced in green grass, flowers in bloom, warm temperatures, and baseballs in play.
The season of spring is something we anticipate each year and is one whose signs we mark easily. Already, the days grow longer and robins are hopping in the yards where flowers are coming to bloom. Of course, if we get snow those blooms will frost…yet, I digress….spring is here!

There is the season we mark by calendar and time. So to, there is the season of the spirit that we mark by a change in attitude, a new way of being, and a renewal.
This spring season I encourage you to claim newness. The resolutions that never took flight, try again.

This is a season of coming to life!

This is a season of energy released!

This is a season of hope!

Claim it!

sj;