Daily Dose (June 24 – 27)

TUESDAY JUNE 24 —

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating an adventure. Food fell off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled onto the tablecloth.
It didn’t take long for the son and daughter-in-law to become irritated with the mess. “We must do something,” the son decided. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.”  So, the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinners together.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. The only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a piece of silverware, or spilled his food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son sitting on the floor, playing with a piece of wood. He asked his son sweetly, “What are you making?” Brightly, the boy responded, “Oh Daddy, I am making a bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in, when you get old.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
The next night, Grandfather joined them at the family table.
“I once was blind, but now I see.”
Yes. Either there is real transformation, or there is not. The power to surrender the constraint that comes with wooden bowls, and small tables in the corner.

Without thinking, it’s easy to dismiss someone, to label and categorize, making our world about those who are in, and those who are out.
And we need to decide whether or not we are playing church.
Either we believe in real transformation, or we do not.
Either we believe in grace, or we do not.
Either we believe in hope, or we do not.
Either we believe that love is the way, or we do not.
This transformation cannot be orchestrated or coerced or predicated on shame.  It can however, be embraced, and celebrated, and shared.

“The community of believers was of one mind and one heart. None of them claimed anything as their own; rather, everything was held in common.” Acts 4:32

WEDNESDAY JUNE 25 —

“What radicalized you?”
“Well, in preschool I was told to treat people the way I would want to be treated, and it made sense. I really don’t know what else there is to say.”
And I say, Yes, and Amen.

Or, we can put it in Jimi Hendrix’s words, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, we will know peace.”
This week we’ve been asking, “What would our world look like, if love is alive and well? If love is the way?”
I’m grateful for Brian McLaren’s reflection (based on Matthew 5:1–16), that inspires boots on the ground.
He writes, “Jesus advocates an identity characterized by solidarity, sensitivity, and nonviolence. He celebrates those who long for justice, embody compassion, and manifest integrity and nonduplicity. He creates a new kind of hero: not warriors, corporate executives, or politicians, but brave and determined activists for preemptive peace, willing to suffer with him in the prophetic tradition of justice.
Our choice is clear from the start: If we want to be his disciples, we won’t be able to simply coast along and conform to the norms of our society. We must choose a different definition of well-being, a different model of success, a new identity with a new set of values…
We’ll be tempted, no doubt, to let ourselves be tamed, toned down, shut up, and glossed over. But Jesus means for us to stand apart from the status quo, to stand up for what matters, and to stand out as part of the solution rather than part of the problem. He means for our lives to overcome the blandness and darkness of evil with the salt and light of good works. Instead of drawing attention to ourselves, those good works will point toward God. ‘Wow,’ people will say, ‘when I see the goodness and kindness of your lives, I can believe there’s a good and kind God out there, too.’’’
(Brian D. McLaren, We Make the Road by Walking. Thank you, Center for Action and Contemplation)

We’ll give Archbishop Desmond Tutu the last word. “We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know. We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders. All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow, rich, poor, educated, not educated, male, female, gay, straight, all, all, all. We all belong to this family, this human family, God’s family.”

THURSDAY JUNE 26 — If we give up our blindness, we accept our vulnerability and embrace responsibility. Because Grace gives us sight. And sight connects us. (I love the greeting in the movie Avatar, “I see you.” I acknowledge you.) And this kind of love has the power to change the world. I don’t have three steps to compassionate living. However, here’s the deal; if we are open to it, grace—the power of “love is the way”—changes our life. And that change spills to everyone around us. Even if we can’t explain it.

And the good news? A vulnerable heart, is an open (and receptive) heart. A heart that looks for and is enriched by replenishment (sanctuary and rest and tender moments). Which allows the heart to not live defensive (or impenetrable), but instead to expand, and graciously spill love and light and hope and grace to the world around.
Yes. Love spills not because an order or directive is followed, but because the heart is enlarged, and it overflows.
My question for us all: In what ways was our heart enriched by replenishment this week?

I write this on the flight home to Seattle, after two days with a friend I’ve known for over 40 years. And a good time to be replenished by cooking and conversation and sharing memories.
And to be refilled by music and writing.
And yes, sitting on the deck, savoring some good wine.
And, reading reminders of the grounding power of “love is the way” that did my heart good. Here are a couple from today.

Brian Doyle’s affirmation is worth re-reading every day. “The coolest most amazing people I have met in my life, I said, are the ones who are not very interested in power or money, but who are very interested in laughter and courage and grace under duress and holding hands against the darkness, and finding new ways to solve old problems, and being attentive and tender and kind to every sort of being, especially dogs and birds, and of course children.”

And this from Anne Lamott. “If you don’t know what else to do right do, do love: take a big bag of food over to the local food pantry. Don’t forget Oreos for the kids and Ensure for the elderly. Walk around the neighborhood and wave or hug everyone and pick up litter. My husband Neal said that everything true and beautiful can be discovered in a ten minute walk. Love and beauty are truth.
Talking and sticking together is usually the answer. We become gentler, more patient and kind with each other, and that’s a small miracle. It means something of the spirit is at work. For me, it is grace made visible. It doesn’t come immediately, or by bumper sticker, and it doesn’t come naturally. What comes naturally is rage and blame. Blame R Us. But Grace bats last.
We never gave up on peace and love before, and we won’t now.” 

FRIDAY JUNE 27 — Garrison Keillor once reflected on the church of his youth: “We had a surplus of scholars, and a deficit of peacemakers.” I would argue, that is a ratio which needs to be reworked.
And then we read this from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, “So; chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength and discipline. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”
I like the paradigm shift. We are not mandated to design or create or assemble the wardrobe. Only that we inhabit the wardrobe we’ve been given.
And here’s the good news; every single one of us have been endowed and equipped, because every single one of us has been given the name, peacemaker.
Yes. Love is the way.
Too good to be true? I can relate.
So, too often, I settle for less.
Because, “That can’t be me,” I tell myself.
Which begs the question; in this churning, and uncertain, and too often disheartening environment, from where do we draw our identity?
From where to we draw our character?
I know this to be true: the bottom line is that I would like to be known as a peacemaker.
I would like to live as a non-anxious presence.
And that sounds like a pretty good way to live.

“Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish.
Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears.
Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless.
Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.”
Thank you, Henri Nouwen

I write this back home in Port Ludlow, WA. We have cloudy skies and a light rain. A good bit cooler than so many other places.
And I hung out in my garden for a wee bit. Having to bite my tongue, seeing what the deer had done, decimating all my raspberries, and two of my roses.
Let’s just say that being a peacemaker with the deer who visit here, may not be a realistic option.

Prayer for our week…
Brian’s Benediction
May you be blessed to see in your anger not just a danger but an opportunity.
May you be blessed to see in your anger a window into what you love.
May you be blessed to see your sadness not just as a danger but also as an opportunity.
May you be blessed to see in your anger a pathway into sadness, and may your sadness sweeten your anger until it is transformed into the energy of love.
May you come to see indifference, complacency, apathy, and self-centeredness within you as signs, not of your lack of anger, but
of your lack of love.
May you welcome anger as a source of information … about what you love, about what needs protection and repair, and about the courage and strength needed to make this world a more joyful and peaceful place.
May your anger lead you to sadness and may your sadness lead you to love, so that you meet the tears of things with a heart of bottomless compassion.
May you experience such a transformation of your own anger that you become an agent of loving transformation in our world.
May the deep wisdom of God guide you deep into your anger, so that you join with Jesus in weeping for the world, and so that you groan with the creative Spirit in the labor pains of a better tomorrow.
Copyright 2025 Brian D. McLaren

Photo… “Dear Terry, A great neighbor from my childhood passed away on Monday. She has been living in Arizona. When we had breakfast at our motel the next morning, a member of the staff was there who we had seen the week prior. She remembered us and smiled. When I asked her how her day was going she started sharing the heaviness of the day and gave some details. She had come from Arizona with not much more than a suitcase and her little dog. After awhile, I told her we had a connection, Arizona. I asked if I could give her a hug because I sensed she needed one, and I told her about our loss and I needed a hug, too. I ask for permission to pray for her and encourage to stay safe. I think we were both blessed that morning. Let us keep walking… and noticing. I was delighted to return home and find this lily in full bloom, before the deer find it. Grateful for your ministry, Terry,” Pat Stetter… Thank you Pat…  and thank you for your photos, please send them to tdh@terryhershey.com