all images and stories are the property of Catherine Beerda-Basso and are not to be used without given permission...thank you

Saturday 24 March 2012

Sunday Speak...


On the first Sunday we were in Colombia
we went to the church
where this food program 
began.
They are the contact church
that over sees things up at the center.
This was my second time at this particular
inner city church
and let me tell you
these people get down with God.
Like many South American cities
the presence of Catholicism is everywhere.
But this church has Christian roots
and offers more of a Pentecostal feel...
Last time I went it was like attending a revival rave...
this time proved to be a little "calmer"
I love that kind of open expression.
*
They had asked us to speak...preach...share.
So three of us did
Julie, Karen and myself spoke 
I wanted to share with you what I shared with them.

As I prepared the couple days before
I asked myself
If I had one chance to share my heart
what would I say?

this is what I came up with:

Jesus said there are two great laws.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and love your neighbour as yourself.
These should be reflected in all that we do.

I then read from The Bible
1 Corinthians 12:12-26
12-13You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.
 14-18I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body," would that make it so? If Ear said, "I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.
 19-24But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
 25-26The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.


I continued on to say:
I believe that we are all connected.
I believe that what happens to another affects me-
sometimes indirectly
sometimes directly
But we affect each other none the less.
We are like threads in a great tapestry and together we weave something beautiful,
something hand crafted
by God him/herself.
When one of us is fed
we all are fed
when one of us is rested
we all rest
when one of us is healed
we all heal
to come here is my heart
To come here helps me learn more about the One
I follow
To give of myself here is easty
what I receive from that giving is great.
This is not about saving each other
it is about coming together, 
working together
coming alongside one another as Brothers and Sisters.
When we do this God's Great Love
is shown
When we journey together,
people from different worlds,
we show the abundant Love of the Divine
who does not see us by the country we live in,
who does not see us by the home we have,
who does not see us by our standard of living
Instead we show a Love 
that surpasses all
those things.
A Love 
that sees the heart
the true reflection of a person
And when we come together that Love grows.
It closes miles, countries, continents.
Bringing Hope
Hope to those who are lost
Hope to those who think they are alone
When we fell alone
separate from others
Hope Faith and Love are easily lost.
But when we stand together
we become strong in Hope and our Faith grows
And when Faith grows 
Love flows forth
And it is Love
The Spirit's Great Love 
through us that 
can
does
and 
will change this world.

then I sang this:


"Life Uncommon"
Don't worry mother, it'll be alright
And don't worry sister, say your prayers and sleep right
It'll be fine brother of mine
It'll be just fine
Lend your voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lend you strength to that which you wish to be free from
Fill your lives with love and bravery
And you shall lead a live uncommon
I've heard you anguish
I've heard you hearts cry out
We are tired, we are weary, but we aren't worn out
set down you chains, until only faith remains
Set down you chains
And lend your voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lent your strength to that
which you wish to be free from
Fill you lives with love and bravery
And we shall lead a life uncommon
There are plenty of people who pray for peace
But if praying were enough it would have come to be
Let your words enslave no one and the heavens will hush themselves
To hear out voices ring out clear
with sounds of freedom
sounds of freedom
Come on you unbelievers, move out of the way
there is a new army coming and we are armed with faith
To live, we must give
To live
And lend out voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lend out strength to that which we with to be free from
Fill your lives with love and bravery
And we shall lead...
Lend our voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lent out strength to that which we with to be free from
Fill you lives with love and bravery
And we shall lead a life uncommon

This is one of my favorite songs
I especially love the line
"no longer lend yourself to that 
which you wish to be free from"
so powerful...

So my lovelies
fill your lives with Love and Bravery
and we shall live
a Life Uncommon

Love and Light

7 comments:

  1. so beautiful. so so so beautiful. all of it and you xo

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  2. One of my absolute most fav chapters of the Bible ever xx

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  3. Oh my gosh, I so wish I could have been there! This is AMAZING. Love your heart for the Word, for Him and for people. You are such a special person xxx

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  4. "no longer lend yourself to that
    which you wish to be free from"
    love this, thank you. <3

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  5. Love this so much and am really enjoying sharing your journey with you xxx

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  6. Unity <3
    Love <3

    Oh my goodness.. beautiful beautiful. I only wish I could have been there to hear you speak this with your own voice and hear you sing this song. So beautiful, Cat.

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  7. My religion is love. And I love seeing you preach it sister.

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Your voice is welcome here, your connection appreciated. Love and Light