Mike Murphy – episode 317
It’s always good to have my husband Mike Murphy join me on the podcast. Our focus is looking back at Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday as we look at that time frame through the eyes of the marginalized as well as though our own eyes. You might want to follow Mike on Facebook to read his weekly Rumblings.
Here are the specific Rumblings that we talked about beginning with the single post of Mike’s for Good Friday.
The old spiritual asks all the right questions:
“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Were you there when they pierced Him in the side?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?”
And then the pitch perfect response:
“Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble”
It’s Good Friday. It’s a strange name for such a sadness soaked day isn’t it? I’m thinking of all those who conspired to kill Jesus. I’m thinking of Peter who denied him and Judas who betrayed him. I’m thinking of his friends who went into hiding and his mother, faithful to the end. I’m thinking of the sense of finality the cross represented. All of this and more I have on my mind. Today is about sorrow. Tomorrow we will linger in the silence of heaven and ponder the doubt and confusion of all those who knew Jesus well. Sunday will come soon enough. No need to rush.
Other Rumblings we discussed:
1. “The ever-present fear that besets the vast poor, the economically and socially insecure, is a fear of still a different breed. It is a climate closing in; it is like the fog in San Francisco or in London. It is nowhere in particular yet everywhere. It is a mood which one carries around with oneself, distilled from the acrid conflict with which one’s days are surrounded. It has its roots deep in the heart of the relations between the weak and the strong, between the controllers of environment and those who are controlled by it.” ~ Howard Thurman
We make and hear astoundingly rude and uninformed comments about the economically and socially insecure in our midst. Thurman describes those enveloped by that insecurity as being immersed in a cloud, a fog, a mood that is nowhere in particular but everywhere. It permeates everything. Those of us who feel a degree of economic and social security sometimes have a hard time grasping all this. But it’s real. Very real.
2. “Come unto me you who are depressed
And you who are oppressed
Come unto me you who are hungry
And you who are angry
Come unto me you who are unemployed
And you who are underemployed
Come unto me you who are anxious
And you who are bitter and frantic
Come to the place of blessings
Where you will find respite, peace, and joy” ~ From Liturgies from Below by Cláudio Carvalhaes
“Come unto me” is such a life-giving invitation isn’t it? Don’t we all need to find those places where respite, peace, and joy wash over us? How can God use us to create those places for both ourselves and others?
3.James Martin S.J. wrote:
“What Jesus never said: Feed the hungry only if they have papers. Clothe the naked only if they’re from your country. Welcome the stranger only if there is zero risk. Help the poor only if it’s convenient. Love your neighbor only if they look like you.”
It’s good to remember what Jesus didn’t say because there are plenty of nitwits arguing that Jesus was a hater who gives us permission to hate.
4. “The storm rages on
When life and beliefs collide
I get curious” ~ Anita Lustrea
When I heard Anita read this haiku on her podcast, “Faith Conversations”, I smiled. Who else grows ‘curious’ when life and beliefs collide? Fearful maybe. Bewildered perhaps. But curious? What a great response. It says “I wonder what God is up to now.”
5. “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore
6. “Faith does not need to push the river precisely because it is able to trust that there is a river. The river is flowing; we are already in it. This is probably the deepest meaning of divine providence. So do not be afraid.” ~ Richard Rohr
I know what it means to be anxious and fearful. To be able to trust God, really trust that He’s got me, has been a lifelong battle. I find Rohr’s words to be comforting, assuring and true.