What does the LORD require of you?

'Josephine and Mercie' by Edmund Charles Tarbell

Micah 6:8  

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  

  This is one of my favorite Scripture verses.  I even painted the verse on chairs at my home.  As I reflected on it the past few days, it crossed my mind that this relatively short verse could sum up how I should seek to live each day.

There are three basic things listed, easy for my mind to grab hold of as I go about my day-
1. To do justice/justly
2. To love mercy/kindness
3. To walk humbly with my God

As I go about the day doing my work - interacting with people in person, over the phone, online; and even thinking to myself...I  can easily remind myself of these three requirements which to me consist of, at the very least, doing all things with integrity, standing up against injustice; showing kindness and mercy, with patience and gentleness; and knowing my status before my God (not some impersonal God out there but my God, the God who is personal, who created and redeemed me, who knows and loves me, and who is with me wherever I go).

It has helped me to have these three requirements in my head throughout the day.  My naturally impatient, self-centered self with a tendency towards rudeness would now pause and think if I am showing kindness in how I speak to the person across from me or on the phone (I'm especially guilty of rudeness here), or if I am true to my word, or if I am being cowardly and selfish by not doing my part in securing hope for the oppressed (not necessarily always on a grand scale but equally crucial in everyday encounters like speaking up for the widow who is being bullied).

But more importantly, the verse reminds me to start each day cognizant of my status before my God, humbly obeying Him in everything and every way as His Spirit leads, not for fear of punishment by some distant oppressive God, but out of love of a personal God who loves me first and is ever present with me.  To me, it is like a child holding on tightly to her father with adoration and respect as he leads her with loving authority and impeccable wisdom.

I have failed and will continue to fail as I go about my day, stumbling as I act out in anger or without integrity, or  when I treat God and man with contempt, seeking to do things my way.  But my God's love is steadfast, He does not give up easily and is gracious to let me see my erring ways,then pulls me back up and set me once again on the journey with Him for another mile, for another day.

Before I end this post, I would like to point out that other than the use of the personal possessive pronoun "your" before "God," the name of God used in this verse "YHWH," translated "I AM WHO I AM" or "I AM" ("the LORD" in English Bibles) was first revealed to the Israelites during the Exodus.  God told Moses to tell the people before they set out that it's "I AM" who had  sent him to lead them out of Egypt (Exodus 3:14).  Up to this point, God's chosen people, including the Patriarchs, knew God only by titles.  YHWH is the first personal proper name that God revealed of Himself. It is this YHWH, this personal God who redeemed His people from the bondage of the Egyptians and who was with them every step of the way to the promised land.  It is YHWH (the LORD) who saved His people and overthrew all who opposed Him.

It is the same God, revealed now in the fullness of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that is leading me to live my days to do justice, to love mercy and to live humbly before my God.

Death Be Not Proud

Painting by Kenneth Rowntree

My mom died this day four years ago.  I miss her with all my heart.  Absent from me, but joyfully present with her God!

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

John Donne

1 Corinthians 15:25-26

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 

The Inheritance of Loss

Illustration by Lauren Monaco

This way of leaving your family for work had condemned them over several generations to have their hearts always in other places, their minds thinking about people elsewhere; they could never be in a single existence at one time. How wonderful it was going to be to have things otherwise. 

Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss

Kiran Desai describes movingly the dilemma of those of us who have traveled far from home for education or employment, leaving behind our loved ones and the way of life, forging a new life but always missing the old.

I am more fortunate than Desai's characters who went far from their hometowns in India to England and the US but found it hard to assimulate into their new societies and sadly also did not succeed in bettering themselves or their circumstances.  Jemubhai (the Judge) became a warped, harsh man as a result of his years at Cambridge; Biju slaved in greasy and often sleazy kitchens in New York, to have his savings and belongings down to to his pants robbed on his return to Kalimpong to be reunited with his father.  In contrast, right from the get-go, I was fortunate to adjust seemingly seamlessly to American society.  As a university student, I adapted well and was included and embraced by my fellow American college mates.  Upon graduation, I proceeded to live the "American Dream."  But through it all, until the deaths of my parents, my heart and mind were always here and also there. I would constantly be thinking about my grandparents, my parents -- missing them, worrying about them.  Despite the distance that separated us, I managed to be embroiled in their lives, tackling happy circumstances and complications from afar, and always feeling inadequate and torn.

And in spite of how well I have adjusted to American life, there is always a yearning for things from "home" and of the way of life there (many aspects are far from ideal and from which I would not want to be subjected again).  And even though my closest ties are now severed by death, a part of me will always be tied to the land of my birth -- to its culture, to its landscape, and to its people.  Living the American life in the present yet subjugated to the memory of the people and the life back home.

In a sense, everyone feels the same way when she leaves family and hometown to study or work in another city, even in her home country with all its familiarity.  The dilemma is probably more painful and the parting more poignant when we have to cross oceans and cultures.

Sometimes the ache for loved ones and "home" is so acute that you wonder if it's worth the costs. But that is the way of life for many of us living in the present and those in generations past and in generations to come.  How wonderful indeed it would be "to have things otherwise" -- to finally be home and ever be with the ones you love and never ever having to say goodbye again.

But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 

2 Peter 13-14

These Inward Trials

Photography by A. Monaco

These Inward Trials

John Newton

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, His face.

‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
“‘Tis in this way, the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.”

The Kingdom

Pritzker Pavillion, Millenium Park
Photography by A. Monaco

It has been a trying few months battling health issues and a very ugly United Healthcare.

But there was blissful respite this evening as I sat on the lawn of Chicago's Millenium Park, enjoying the last concert of the summer, Elgar's epic oratorio, The Kingdom.  The weather was perfect with a  soft cool breeze drifting through the park as people set down their picnic blankets, chairs, and folding tables under the cloudless blue sky, pulling from their baskets and bags varied foods and drinks, from the sophisticated to the mundane. We had our usual faire of Chicago deep dish pizza, packed with calories and memories of previous happy jaunts to the park during other concert seasons.

The concert soon began - the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus steering me away from the thick rich pizza with its sublime performance of the prelude.  Dusk stealthily claimed the skyline - the fading light bringing with it a happy calm and contentment, ironic for a city setting packed with hundreds of people.  And as night set in and lights lit up the iconic buildings, accompanied by Elgar's masterful choral composition, I leaned my head on my daughter's shoulder and treasured that moment as I did numerous others when I gathered with family and friends during these charmed summer evening concerts at Millennium Park.

Here is a performance of The Kingdom with Sir Andrew Davis conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (‭Acts‬ ‭1‬:‭1-11‬)

Jesus Loved His Mom

Cottage near Largo, Painting by G L Hunter

As it's Mother's Day, I am reminded of one of the most touching passages for  me in the Bible.  It is found in the gospel of John when the apostle describes how Jesus handed over the care of his mother to the disciple "whom he loved".  As he hung in agony on the cross, with the weight of salvation of the world on his shoulders, Jesus was still thinking of his mother, making sure that she was getting the best care possible, now that his earthly course was coming to a close.  He hand picked the one who was to take over his role as provider and protector of his mother.  He surprisingly did not choose his own brothers (we know there were a few as seen in Act 1:14) but his beloved disciple John.   Remarkably, this disciple whom he loved willingly took on the role and immediately brought Mary to his home and loved her and took care of her as if she were his own.

I love this scene because it shows me the deep, deep love that Jesus had for his earthly mother and how carefully he went about in providing for her.  I can therefore be assured that when I ran to him with all my concerns and anguish over the care of my mother (and father), he knew perfectly how I felt and was ever ready and capable to provide for all her needs, sometimes and oftentimes in ways that I did not anticipate and even found difficult to accept.  I must admit that I had many  (and still have residual) regrets about the care of my mother at the end of her life.  This passage reminds me and assures me that in spite of my shortcomings, he who loved his mother so, who was ever so particular about her care, must have heard my heart's cry for my mother and provided amply for her, more than I could ever hope or will ever know.

Oh, how wonderful that we have a God who took on humanity, to become like us in every respect so that he might be our merciful and faithful Advocate.  And because he had gone through life's sorrows and triumphed, he is able to empathize and ever willing and able to help us in our sorrows.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

 John‬ ‭19‬:‭26-27‬

He Has His Hands on You

Photography by Lauren Monaco

LIstening to NPR this weekend, I came across a beautiful gospel song that brought much comfort to me.  It reminded me of God's shelter and providence during times of trouble and uncertainty.  I do not normally gravitate towards gospel music, but my husband and daughter introduced me to that world of music and have drawn me in.  My daughter Kathryn was part of a gospel choir at her university, one of a handful non-African Americans in the group.  It was a highlight of her time on campus.

Here is Marvin Sapp singing his composition, He has His Hands on You.  

He sees the tears you cry
He shares your pain inside
And sometimes you wonder why He allows you to go through what you go through
Just know He has His hands on you.

Your days are filled with dark clouds
Even when the sun is out
And from the top of your lungs you shout will there ever be a change, what shall I do
Just know He has His hands on you

He has his hands on you

He says He'll see you through
When you cry He's holding you
So just lift your hands up high
For He will provide
Just know He has his hands on you

Sometimes you feel so alone
Like a child lost with no home
They keep telling you to be strong
But you say when will it end?
When will I win?
But just know He has His hands on you.

He has His hands on you
He says He'll see you through

When you cry He's holding you
So just lift your hands up high
For He will provide
Just know he has his hands on you.

When times are hard and it seems no one can understand
But it's in those times that we, we tend to forget what it means to be in His hands.

He has His hands on you
He says He'll see you through
When you cry He's holding you
So just lift your hands up high
For He will provide 
Just know He has His hands on you.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm‬ ‭138‬:‭7-8‬