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Until we link up again, more posts to come in 2020 for sure!

Greetings!

It’s been many moons and many life changes since my last post; so, it goes without saying that it’s time for me to pivot!

Check out the following link for my new vlogging project, HigherLink Equation:

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It has been a long time since my last update SO  here is a rare video of one of my speaking engagements during my blogging hiatus (since I almost never make videos):

(CLICK HERE–>2016 Parent & Child Relationship Forum Hosted by Tots & Teens in Focus Inc. & Circle of Dynamic Women of Power*

*Although my name is misspelled on that youtube page in the link (https://youtu.be/pHC0PeDh0yI) it is really me speaking about the Ten Commandments and family and community values in the green blazer… Dartmouth is my Alma mater after all!

I chose this link since I truly believe in the power of group discussions for the clarification of thought as well as the edification of the community through education and dialogue. No matter what is going on in the world today –or maybe especially because of the news we see, we must not forsake the assembling together that is the heart of progress and grassroots power.  As Hebrews 10:23-25 states:  ^“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Whether it is in church or in secular settings, there is wisdom and hope to be birthed when people gather together and share ideas! After all,  Margaret Mead’s words in the picture I used at the top of this page reinforce the reminder to “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has…”

I’m signing off now; but before I end just yet, below is a bonus video link (https://youtu.be/idzrFNNuNyc) to a longer one-on-one interview that was filmed and aired for BRIC/BCAT if you have time to check it out: BRIC/BCAT Summer 2016 Interview… (I’m wearing the black & white color-block dress since I love that style).

More posts should follow after I finish my  “Foundations  New Orleans 2017: Teaching at the Interface of Faith & Science” University of Notre Dame seminar that ends this summer… Until then, feel free to leave comments about the videos!

Stabroek Market as of August 24 2015 -with view of digital screen 

Summer Greetings!

As the school year draws closer, I cherish these last few days of vacation and remain especially grateful for my time in Guyana. August 2015 has been so much of a blessing that I was moved to create this new post after a long period that lacked posts and updates. If it had not been for my travels to various villages and towns in Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara, I would not be as recharged for future partnerships in Guyana and America as I am now.

While I greatly enjoyed spending time in places like the N.O.C., Ana Regina, New Amsterdam, Union/53 Village and Kitty, the highlight of this year’s experience was attending the “Symposium on Youth Development Strategies- Then and Now” at the GNS Sports Complex at Carifesta Avenue. In the midst of the discussions with community members, Guyana’s honorable President David Granger listened to the sentiments and suggestions of the people before giving his own remarks and truly conversing with the people. Some of the many issues addressed were youth unemployment, the pardoning of youth and female prisoners, ECIS (Every Child in School) Campaign, successes with the Burnham Education Scholarship Trust program, increasing enterprise and eliminating the persistent problem of poverty. With permission and better wi-fi, I’ll work on releasing the video and full transcript of the conversation; but until then, the positive feeling of progress was palpable throughout that evening and all throughout the country.

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The honorable President David Granger

In order to express the general gratitude and optimism of the youth and people gathered, Blossom Parris and Faith Parris sang a song for the President and the people gathered that can be seen here: Click to watch https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByVVcnlf3P5MUURZMzhIbXY4UTg/preview

As the APNU-AFC coalition settles into power there is a sense of dignity and revolution in the truest sense of the word as the people of Guyana and it’s leadership move away from past trends of racial division & corruption and instead move towards uplifting the rights and power of people and encouraging enterprise through the development of Guyanese natural resources and treasures within the country. People were encouraged to continue to educate one another and use the power of the people to create industries and even start small companies that produce plantain chips, clothing and pepper sauce to let their gifts be shared in Guyana and abroad.

One of the places where the intellectual and cultural gifts of Guyana are continually circulated remains the National Library of Guyana in Georgetown. I thought that I’d close this post with one of the recipes from the rich resource of Guyanese Cuisine available at the library. Many recipes were displayed on the library bulletin boards including mettemgee, conkie  and  curry; however, I’d like to share how to make (and possibly sell) Bake & Saltfish or Saltfish and Bake.

If you have any recipe requests, please feel free to post in the comment section of this site… I hope that you enjoy this recipe:

The National Library in Georgetown

Bake and SaltFish or (Saltfish and Bake)

Fried Bake (Serves eight)
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
About 2 cups water
1 cup oil for deep frying

Instructions
Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add enough water to make soft dough. Kneed then let rest for half hour or more.
Cut in pieces and roll each piece five to six inches in diameter an1/4 inch thick. Fry in hot oil, turn once, and fry until brown. Drain on kitchen paper (or paper towel).

Saltfish (Serves six)
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. saltfish (I prefer either salted&dried cod or mackerel)
1 tablespoon oi (I prefer organic coconut oil or any vegetable oil)
1/2 tomatoes, chopped
a few drops of lime juice
1/2 cup sliced onion
Approx. 1 teaspoon minced garlic and shallot
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon chopped hot pepper

Method:
Break fish in pieces and boil for ten to fifteen minutes to remove the salt. Drain. Remove the skin and bones from fish and break into pieces.
Fry fish in hot oil for about four to five minutes. Add tomatoes, lime juice, onion, garlic, shallot, thyme and hot pepper. Cook for ten minutes.
Serve warm with bake or with white rice. To eat the saltfish with bake, slice open the bake and fill the inside with saltfish.

Alternative method for those who want to avoid fried food(!!!!)

You can also oven-bake the bake and also do not fry the fish since it is cooked when it is boiled. Do not boil the vegetables with the codfish though!

Below is a baked bake recipe:
Oven-baked Bake (Serves four)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 oz cold butter or margarine
1/2 cup of coconut milk
Method:
Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Mix together the aforementioned ingredients with butter or margarine and also add the coconut milk. Knead until the dough is smooth and set in a cool dry place to rest for 25 minutes. After the dough has rested it should rise 1-2 inches and afterwards can be rolled Into circle about 1 inch thick. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

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Ferguson, MO Time magazine photo

John 1:43-51
Good morning, St. Stephen’s!
On this youth Sunday in August our gospel introduces us to the apostle known as Nathaniel or Bartholomew.
Nathaniel(Bartholomew) begins our gospel with no knowledge about who Jesus really is and unaware of Christ’s power to save and change anything or anyone. Though Nathaniel(Bartholomew) has a closed heart and a closed mind, his friend Philip is a believer and a positive motivating force in this scripture. Philip knows and loves Jesus and naturally wants to share his faith with Nathaniel (Bartholomew); so in the gospel of John chapter one verse 45, it is written that “PHILIP found Nathaniel(Bartholomew) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'”
Philip enourages Nathaniel(Bartolomew) to come see about Jesus and shares his belief about the fulfillment of God’s promise that he had found in the man known as Christ. Philip proclaims the good news to a friend who was otherwise lost –And as Philip seeks out this sinner to follow him as he follows Christ, he exerts positive peer pressure on his friend to turn to the Lord above all else that was going on at the time. In this gospel, brothers and sisters, Philip shows us a great example of how awesome it can be for us believers to share our faith and reach out to our peers to expand the body of Christ. The old adage that sheep produce sheep rings true for Phillip and for all believers as God’s kingdom expands as friends of Christ speak up about Jesus in their friend-groups and social circles across time, place and space to the glory of God the Father.
Indeed Philip shares the good news of how great the Lord Jesus is, yet though Philip convinces Nathaniel (Bartholomew) to physically go and see Jesus, only God can open the closed heart that Nathaniel (Bartholomew)has at the begining of his existence. Though Philip and all believers have the right and responsibility to uplift and encourage friends to consider Christ, acceptance of Christ is a different matter that is only between God and the individual believer. –Free will holds true with matters of faith so; Not even Moses, the greatest prophet of the law and torah, could convince Pharaoh to accept God while he willingly held onto the hardness of his heart.
No one can force anyone else to have the open-heart to believe in God… SO, the ultimate decision to choose Christ and accept God’s presence was out of Philip’s hand. Nathaniel (Bartholomew) had remained reluctant to accept the Lord into his heart until he meets Christ for himself. In fact, the hard heart of Nathaniel (Bartholomew) is made clear in John’s gospel this morning. Although Philip convinces Nathaniel (Bartholomew) to meet Jesus of Nazareth, Nathaniel (Bartholomew) betrays his coldness towards Jesus of Nazareth in John chapter one, verse forty-six with the hateful question: “”Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
After a statement like that, it is clear that Nathaniel(Bartholomew) is not afraid to speak his mind and be real about his feelings. In proclaiming his close-hearted skeptism about Jesus and his hometown, Nathaniel (Bartholomew) shows that he can “keep it one hundred” at all times and he also proves that he does not hide or disguise his beliefs. By verse 47 of the first Chapter of John, even Jesus respectfully notes the honesty of Nathaniel (Bartholomew). The gospel explains that “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
In this instance, JESUS engages the realness of Nathaniel (Bartholomew) and Nathaniel (Bartholomew) in turn engages the realness of Jesus. Simultaneously as Jesus publically acknowledges Nathaniel (Bartholomew) as a truth-telling force to be reckoned with; Nathaniel ultimately realizes that he has encountered a Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. When the two individuals truly consider one another, and Jesus prophesizes over the spiritual integrity of Nathaniel (Bartholomew), the skeptic is transformed into a believer as his heart opens to the savior who has welcomed him with open arms. By chapter one verse 49 of John’s gospel, Nathaniel (Bartholomew) himself declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
The power of respect and truth allows Nathaniel to be saved and accept Jesus into his heart. And especially in this day and age, we need more encounters of respect and truth to save and transform our world.The question raised by Nathanael(Bartholomew) is truly revelatory and real to this day:
can anything good come from Nazareth?
If we re-phrase it for our time, the power of the question might be more understood if we ask ourselves”
Can anything good come from Brooklyn, NY? or even more chillingly
can anything good come from Ferguson, Missouri?
We see and read about absurd tradgedies each day such as people being killed by the very same people who are paid to protect them. We operate within world systems so unjust that people who merely protest are met with riot gear, tear gas, and negative media propaganda.
And In time where people lie, kill and rob one another of the goodness promised to us in the gospel, the power of seeking and uplifting the truth to power is as much a saving grace to us as it was for Nathaniel(Bartholomew).
In the words of the great Spirtual ANTHEM, “lIFT eVERY vOICE AND SING” by James Weldon Johnson:
“we have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
we have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
(Yet) out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last”
And we can stand stronger than ever knowing that we fight the good fight of faith started by Jesus and continued by martyrs and champions of Justice like philip(Bartholomew), as well as Dr. Martin Luther King and community organizer Ella BAker.
The blood of Jesus, Bartholomew, Dr. King and even the teenage victim of police execution Mike Brown was not shed in vain as long as we bear witness to God’s power to transform, heal and save while the kingdom of love and justice continues to manifest itself on Earth as it is in heaven.
Let us raise our voices, open our hearts, and transform ourselves and this world one friend at a time, one neighbor at a time, one heart a time, and one day at a time.

In the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.

Standard Image of Wisdom sharing: folks sitting in a circle around an elder who shares stories and sayings 🙂

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and her tongue speaks justice.” Psalm 37:30

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Greetings from Miss Parris, netizens! As I prepare to travel to Guyana once again, there’s a lot of excitement about a long-overdue family reunion happening during the first week of August. As the title of this blog entry demonstrates, I grow most excited about reconnecting with beloved elders and relatives who are always ready and willing to share stories, advice and precious gems of Guyanese folk sayings and wisdom.

****

Below is a list of 10 folk-wisdom-sayings shared by some of my Guyanese relatives as a small sample of the type of dynamic life-skill teachings or “street smarts” that communities in Guyana have exchanged throughout the years. Although these folk sayings may or may not be uniquely rooted in Guyana due to the nature of the trans-atlantic slave-trade patterns (among many other factors), hopefully the wisdom within these words highlights glorious aspects of Guyanese folk-culture (such as the incorporation of nature and animals in many of the sayings) and perhaps at least one of the sayings will be a blessing to you.

Bird that often represents wisdom: The Owl!

Saying 1:

“No matter how bird vex, he can’t vex with tree.”

-Similar western message: honor the people and/or entities that sustain you at all times … Also similar to don’t bite the hand that feeds you

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Saying 2:

“What rain nah full, dew can’t full”

-Similar western message: too little too late is ineffective.

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Saying 3:

“Don’t go to crab dance if you don’t want ya foot get mud”

-Similar Western message: Prevention is the best medicine… stay away from trouble if you want to stay out of trouble

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Saying 4:

“Monkey paint he pickney ’til he spoil ’em”

-similar western message: less is more! Too much of a good thing can ruin everything.

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Saying 5:

“All skin teeth is not laugh”

-Some people are laughing with you and some people are laughing at you…Not everyone who is around you is there for positive reasons.

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Saying 6

“Don’t fly past your nest.”

-Don’t forget where you came from and especially don’t disrespect your elders.

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Saying 7

“Rat does forget but trap don’t forget.”

-Even if you don’t remember all the things you have done in this world (and if you’ve made enemies during your dealings,) you eventually reap what you sow later than you sow… Especially if you are dealing with people who wait for their revenge and hold grudges.

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Saying 8

“The same dog that bring bones does carry bones away.”

-People who engage in gossip often gossip about the same people that they share gossip with.

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Saying 9

“If Christmas is going to be good, you does know from the Eve”

-Always heed warning signs since there is probably writing on the walls for people to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

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Saying 10

“Hard ears pickney does shit small”

-similar western equivalent: disobedience leads to hardship… “Honor your father and mother so that your days may be long”

“Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens” -Jimi Hendrix

What are some of your favorite and most useful wisdom sayings and/or folk teachings?

Post them in the comments section of this blog and/or or e-mail: chantee.parris@gmail.com

Parris Pentecost Sermon on Youth Sunday & Bullying 5-19-13

“Pentecost: Those Speaking in Tongues & Those Wagging their Tongues”

Good morning, St. Stephen’s! Today we celebrate youth Sunday and we are also celebrating Pentecost, that glorious day when the Holy Spirit came down on the disciples and believers in the early church community. We just read the New Testament account of the first Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter 2 which shows how the believers experienced the Holy Spirit as wind and also as fire. And just in case folks missed the fantastic flames or the big breezes created by God, the Holy Spirit also caused the believers to speak in all sorts of different languages as a small crowd gathered to watch and talk about what was taking place. Such a spectacular event easily captures the attention of many; but according to verse 13 not all of the attention was good. While the believers were living their miracle and watching for God, some of the onlookers were watching at them. And as those crowds watched the believers, brothers and sister, our readings today tell us that in spite of the miraculous move of God, some of the onlookers were just not impressed. In an interesting but all-too believable report in acts chapter 2 verse 13, we learn that while watching the church folk, some of the onlookers made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Even as the spirit visibly changed atmospheric wind, flames, and miraculously moved the tongues of the disciples, then and even now there are people who did not believe nor acknowledge that God was  moving through the believers. Instead of recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit, some doubters questioned the blood-alcohol-content of the disciples. And if these doubters had a soundtrack, their tune would most likely be featuring the lyrics of that popular Jamie Foxx song “blame it on the alcohol.”  They blamed what God was doing on liquor rather than to try to understand the move of Holy Spirit taking place right in front of their faces. (and) Even as God changed the world around them, they bad-mouth the disciples over an instance that they clearly did not understand.

As an educator, I see instances of students bad-mouthing one another like this sometimes and even facilitated anti-bullying student rallies and discussions this quarter with students who were tired of seeing bullying themselves. And now especially in light of the cases of teens who have killed themselves because of bullying, more people in our society are becoming more vocal in decrying psychological, physical and verbal attacks inflicted in the school environment. Many rush to support and defend the victims of bullying but what about the bullies themselves? Aren’t many of them a lot like the doubters in the Book of Acts?

Like many bullies in our society the doubters in the book of Acts would rather gossip than to grow in knowledge. They would rather open their mouths than open their minds or actually get to know the disciples much less heed this visual fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit as a comforter to fill the people. The naysayers also clearly never learned the old Guyanese proverb that: People have two eyes to see twice as much, two ears to ear twice as much and one mouth to talk half us much!

Nor did the doubters heed another similar Guyanese proverb : “When fool ah talk, NOT fool ah listen.” Guyanese elders knew and shared that negative words are double-edged swords to be wielded with great caution since they inflict harm to the very people who say them as much as they seek to harm others. In light of this folk wisdom and the related scripture Proverbs 18:21 that life and death is in power of the tongue, there is the sense that the naysayers destroyed their own experience of Pentecost.

When those naysayers opened their mouth to gossip, they killed their chance to be moved by the Holy Spirit alongside the disciples as they denied the power of God and maligned the disciples as drunks rather than fellow saints. They did not allow their own selves to have a positive Pentecost while they spewed negativity from their mouths and minds and basically missed out on a miracle.

Brothers and sister, we must learn from this kind of mistake and open our own spiritual eyes to see and our ears to hear what God is doing through the Holy Spirit on Earth. With God being willing to pour the Holy spirit on all flesh, there are not many differences between the doubters and the true disciples in this story more important than the difference in their attitudes. And while the believers embrace the Holy Spirit with open hearts and arms, the naysayers deny and dismiss the power of God with their words. While the believers have an attitude of gratitude and welcome for the Holy Spirit, the doubters focus on disbelief and denigration.

How do we avoid this mistake? And should we?

After all, the disciples probably did look strange speaking in tongues and other languages– But even if the tongues and other languages appeared as foolishness or even drunkenness, there is no way to explain away that fire brought on by the Holy Spirit. On that First Pentecost day with that strong wind blowing everything else away and those disciples speaking in a similarly miraculous way, no natural substance and especially no alcohol could have spontaneously combusted the way the atmosphere did when the Holy Spirit came down.

When we focus on the fire that came down on that first Pentecost in our reading, we focus on the miraculous nature of God and we also get some insight about why it’s in our best interest to embrace God. Rather than fall into the trap of the doubters and the naysayers, we have a chance to experience Pentecost with the Holy Spirit ourselves if we take a moment to reflect on the image of the fire that came down that day. Even if we simply use our common knowledge on what fire is and what it does in our world these days, we find that fire is something that enhances our physical and spiritual lives. Fire is something that humans use every day to have proper shelter & food and it is also a symbol of many of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we’d be hard pressed to live without.

Fire provides warmth and light in addition to purifying metals and any compound strong enough to withstand the large amounts of heat energy in its blaze .

The LIGHT of FIRE in particular can burn through any darkness and allows us to see people, places and things for what they really are.

On Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to each and every believer like fire and stayed with them that way, God was filling them with the power to be fire-like sources of light and warmth to other people. As Matt 5:16 states, the believers and all Christians thereafter are called to “Let our light so shine …” in this world as God guides our way and motivates us with the consuming energy of the Holy Spirit as well.

We need to remember such aspects of the fire of Pentecost as a light for our journey through life as the Body of Christ and especially during the cold and lonely points of life. When circumstances or people are especially cold, the warmth of the FIRE of Pentecost is an important comfort to us all. The warm temperature of fire represents the equally warm love that GOD has for us, as is demonstrated by the sacrifice of the son of God that happened in the gospel story not too long before Pentecost.And even when that love-like warmth of a fire turns into a destructive blaze, that power to destroy sin even to the point of his own death was shown by JESUS and offered to us with the fire of Pentecost as well.

If we meditate on these kinds of aspects of fire given to us in our readings, we can see all of these mercies and more. Let us embrace each of these mercies of God and welcome the Holy Spirit in our lives to the point that we experience Pentecost everyday.

Let us go forth from church today determined to live a Pentecost kind of life where we not only embrace the Holy Spirit but also bear its fruits. And we know from Galatians 5:22 that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. With God’s Holy Spirit we can and will bear that fruit no matter what people say and come what may…

In the name of the Father,, the Son and the Holy Spirit . Amen

Parris 4-22-13 Sermon- “For Boston and For Earth”

Good Morning church family! As we gather on another Sunday during this Easter season, it’s a blessing that we can hold fast to the resurrection of Jesus and saints like Dorcas. In our New Testament, we have a powerful witness of this resurrection power of God that can transform suffering to glory, tears to laughter and most of all, bring life and life more abundantly from death… And Brothers & sisters, in light of current events this week it is this kind of good news that makes our gospel stories about Jesus & Dorcas all the more important to us today.

If the recent newspaper headlines and news reports are any indication of the future before us, then our world is in some serious need of the Holy Spirit and it’s resurrection power now more than ever. Just a few short days ago in our country, the tragedies and destruction in places like Texas and Boston have shown us the importance of walking with our risen Lord in faith rather than fear.

Especially when we call to mind the fatal bomb explosions at the Boston Marathon that left three people dead and many more injured and afraid, it seems as if the whole world is heightened to a new sense of awareness about human vulnerability in both the domestic and international communities in which we operate. While we wrestle with the reason for such heinous attacks, some people may have wondered where is God when tragedy strikes? And where was God during those explosions and the chaos at that Boston Marathon finish line? Many people are still struggling to find answers to these questions and some people may never find any clarity or closure at all on this matter. But in the midst of competing voices and violent news reports, I believe in the gospel news that God is still working and speaking even through unfathomable circumstances and times like these. As the Presbyterian minister and tv icon Mister Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fame once articulated:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things on the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers –so many caring people in this world.”

And these words ring especially true when we think about the countless images and footage of people rushing to help and care for wounded people in the aftermath of the explosion.

While some may struggle to see a divine presence this week, I believe that I saw glimpses of God working through the HANDS of the pedestrian doctors who ran in the relay themselves and yet worked tirelessly alongside the various Boston MEDICAL TEAMS that rushed towards the explosion site to save and care for others. I saw traces of the Trinity when people dropped to their knees to pray for and hold hands with the blast victims while sharing kind and hopeful words through the first and even second explosions. And finally, Brother sisters, I see God working in each and every one of you as you worship here without fear and refuse to let violence tear you away from this church community and the work that God still wants us to do in America as the body of Christ witnessing to the slow but sure growth and manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. That single victory of faith over fear is the spiritual equivalent of a coup d’etat or TKO over and against acts of violence and terrorism in this world.

Especially when we understand the purpose of terrorism, it is clear that fear and manipulation is the goal of those bombers in Boston and the past terrorist who attacked the World Trade Center buildings right here in New York on September 11^th not too many years ago. As the FBI states on its website: “There is no single, universally accepted, definition of terrorism. [BUT] Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” Intimidation lies at the heart of how and why terrorism exists so it’s up to us to resist violence and especially guard our hearts against intimidation and fear during these times. When we hear the news of such violent acts as we saw in Boston, it’s natural to be afraid; yet the state of fear and intimidation is exactly what state that terrorist individuals seek for people operate within. But when we let faith triumph over fear and make the world news reports be reconciled with the good news of the gospel, WE CAN AND WILL break the cycles of violence and destruction in this world. Just like 2 Timothy 1:7 says, brothers and sisters, WE WERE NOT GIVEN THE SPIRIT OF FEAR, but of power and love and of a sound mind. And especially during this Easter season celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and his triumph over sin, the world, and death, we are invited to walk in that victory each day and be restorers of the streets and repairers of any breech that we see. Death and destruction do not have the last word in our gospel story and it should not have the last words in our community or our country as long as we follow Jesus and encourage one another as the resurrected body of Christ on Earth.

This call is especially important as this Earth is under attack by terrorists as well as various other destructive forces that don’t make it on the news but take just as much of a toll on creation and our communities. While the open violence is easy to spot, we must be aware of our own destructive behaviors such as the polluting biological attacks that we inflict on our own land, sea, and air that poisons us everyday.

As Earth Day approaches this Monday, I hope we all remember that God sees all sin with the same judgment that sent Jesus to the cross. I hope that we remember to resist violence and to also resist all the habits of greed that destroy the natural resources of the Earth. Let us bring ourselves and one another closer to the risen savior Jesus who will cleanse us of all types of unrighteousness as we repent so that our stony hearts become new. And as our hearts are made new, the entire Earth will become new too as we love one another and care for this gift of life of on Earth even more. As we open our hearts and realize the interconnectedness of all creation, we can have life and life more abundantly just as the gospel promises us. And before I close on this point, I would like to share with you the lyrics of one song by Bette Midler that reminds me of this call to open our hearts to all of creation. The song is called “From a distance, and the lyrics are as follows:

“From a distance the world looks blue and green

And the snow capped mountains white

From a distance the ocean meets the stream

And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance there is harmony

And it echoes through the land

It’s the voice of hope

It’s the voice of peace

It’s the voice of every man

From a distance we all have enough

And no one is in need

And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease

No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance we are instruments

Marching in a common band

Playing songs of hope

Playing songs of peace

They are the songs of every man

God is watching is

God is watching us

God is watching us

From a distance

From a distance you look like my friend

Even though we are at war

From a distance I just cannot comprehend

What all this fighting’s for

From a distance there is harmony

And it echoes through the land

And it’s the hope of hopes

It’s the love of loves

It’s the heart of every man…

or rather it’s the heart of human being if we are to use a more inclusive version of these lyrics for our purposes.

When all is said and done Brothers & Sisters, since God sends sunshine and fresh air on all countries and continents on this Youth Sunday in Easter, let us take these lyrics and our good news to heart. God is with us, God is watching us and instead of living in destruction and fear, we are invited to celebrate the gift of God’s handiwork, the creation of all that is. In the face of violence and diverse kinds of destruction inflicted upon God’s people and Earth, we must ask ourselves today and every day, what are we going to about it? And , brothers and sisters, I use the word “we” because it is up to each and every one of us to come together in both good times and in trying times like these and we all must work through our responses and responsibilities to this world as a faithful community. WE MUST NOT BE WEARY IN WELL-DOING, brothers & sisters… and we must encourage one another to see God more clearly, follow Jesus the Good Shepherd more closely, and love God and one another more dearly.

Today and every day we must have the faith to believe that we can and will do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Today and every day we can open our hearts more to all of creation. And today and every day, God is willing to fill us with the resurrecting Holy Spirit so that there no room for any sin and destruction that tries to cling so close. May God strengthen you to believe with your whole heart, your whole soul and your whole mind. And may you walk in Jesus Christs’ precious footsteps in both good times and bad times as you carry the gifts and mysteries of life and creation within you to the presence of God and one another. In the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.