Paul writes, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2, NIV).

That law, of course, is to love God and one another. These are needed words in a world divided like the one we seem to be living through. How we do it, this love thing, is to first be sympathetic to those around us. Get to know their story and sit in silent contemplation in their life.

Another way is to console them instead of fight them. They, like you and me, feel pain too. We all have our good and bad days, stresses and worries that we don't share. Share them. Name them. Get those concerns off your heart so you can have room to embrace the wounded and stressed out.

"Consolation is a beautiful word," writes Henri Nouwen. It's a word that literally means "to be" (con-) "with the lonely one" (solus). Nouwen reminds us to offer consolation is "one of the most important ways to care life is full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see."

"We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with aids, The family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager contemplate suicide the old man who wonders why he should stay alive."

This does not mean that we have to take away their pain, but instead we just need 'to be' there and allow our presence to say, "you are not alone."

Together we carry one another's burdens we cannot be afraid of doing this. God says do not be afraid, I am with you. That is the consolation we all need to receive and to give when we enter one another's lives, stories, pain, space, and breath.

This is how the law is fulfilled. And peace prevails.

From Henri Nouwen's " Bread for the Journey."

This morning my son challenged me to a game of Backgammon. I crushed him. However this did not stop him from challenging me to another game. He was fearless and relentless in his attacks, stating "Big risks equals big rewards." Powerful and poignant wisdom from a 9 1/2 year old.

In my morning readings I noticed there was a lot of this idea of risk/reward in the texts. Here are some things I extracted:

"Life is not a competition that you have to win. It is not supposed to be a rat race. Life is a huge privilege and an opportunity. God has trusted you with gifts and abilities, which he wants you to use. Use them or lose them. He is faithful to us and he expects us to be faithful to him." - Bible in one year 2017, Bible app

"It has been said that, ‘The greatest mistake you could make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.’"

In the reading of Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story of three servants who are each put in charge by their master to care for a specific sum of money/talents. The servant who received five talents and the one who received two talents must both have had to risk losing it all. The third was fearful, afraid.

The moral: Step out in faith, use your gifts and risk failure. You have amazing gifts/talent. You are worth so much to God that a great investment was made in your life. The cost? His own life which was given up for your eternal joy!

The other half of the chapter tells the story of "the sheep and the goats" at the day of judgment. One, the sheep, stepped out of their comfort zone to care for those in need..."the least of these" as Jesus calls them. The goats, did not. The one who risked their personal resources, time, and even safety were given the gift of eternal joy. The ones who didn't were cast out to live out their lives in darkness.

In short, I invite you to put yourself out there today and take a leap of faith. Use the talents that you have been given to care for one another...to do "On earth as it is in Heaven."

"You wore camouflage today, because you wanted to be noticed." Of all the songs I know, or have written, this line is one of my cherished favorites.

For one reason or another, we all wish to be noticed. I have been around enough celebrities who, for example, pretend they don't want to be recognized. But the best part of this humbleness is they almost always get miffed when people don't know who they are. You can see the little light within their sparkle dim. They, like you and me, don't want to be overlooked. We don't like being ignored, or picked last, or worse, be invisible to those around us. There are many reasons for this, but suffice it to say we want to be noticed so we don't miss out on what the world has to offer. After all, we all want something from the world (or from God), right?

Yesterday, during a visit to a local church, the priest spoke of this need to noticed by God. Some of us pray out loud, or do "good works" required by scripture or law, and so on. We go out of our way to be the best that we can at being "good." For ancient Israel, as it continues to be with us today, this can be a problem. For example, the religious leaders of Israel would do things to get noticed by both the people and by God. But isn't this is doing God a disservice? If anything, what does it say about your faith?

To paraphrase Fr. Dan of St. Michaels and All Angels, the point of doing the work of Christ (showing love to the other) isn't to be noticed by God and be rewarded. Instead we imitate Christ so that we might see God in others. And to be the vessel of God's love for others to experience the redemptive grace giving to us all.

It's in our noticing and meeting the needs of those around us (the immigrants, the poor, the tired, the scared, the hungry, sick, naked, imprissoned and outcasts) that we begin to see God all around us.

Our desire to be noticed, therefore, should be first and foremost for others to see God's light and love in you. And so I invite you to ponder this question: Is that what others see in you?

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." Ephesians 5:1-2 (NASB)

This is an excerpt from a conversation I had with a friend on Facebook. I sent it to my brother and sister in law who recently had the world premiere of their movie "September 12" at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this weekend.

The reason for this post is simple. This film captures the true essence and spirit of what this blog is trying to communicate. Here is an excerpt from the thread.

Me:   "So Kathleen and I went to Santa Barbara yesterday to see our brother in laws film called "September 12." The movie was flawless on so many levels; direction, editing, music. The storyline was captivating and the message very hopeful and positive, especially in light of where we find ourselves today.

"The overall theme was "the kindness of strangers" which is solidified through the power of music. This was portrayed in a diverse range of examples where hospitality was shared and humanity came together, united by grace in the face of national and personal tragedies.

"My favorite character was a man who lives off the grid, and has no idea what happened in NYC and DC, and around the globe. His story and heart captures the true spirit of what God has called us all to do...even though he himself seems to be the antithesis of who we believe God wants us to be. .

As I held on to every scene, every word and song, the words of the author of Hebrews kept rolling in my consciousness: "Keep loving each other like family. Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it.”

‭‭(Heb. 13:1-2‬ ‭CEB‬‬)

This passage, of course, will always remind me of you and the way you "forced" a friendship. This movie captures the exact spirit of our meeting. It is our story and is exactly what I envision my next church to be most like. I wish I could have shared the movie with you and all the friends you have gathered in the Forced Friendship Club."

As you can tell, I loved the way the movie tells God's story without meaning to. And I believe this is what God meant by 'bearing fruit and multiplying' in Genesis 1:26-28. We are called to use our talents, our passions, our gifts to not only tell God's story but to be the story and write the scenes that show God's love alive in the world; to family and strangers alike. This is what it means to be made in the image of the Divine.

To my brother and sister, David and Fiona Heinz, it is my sincere hope that this movie makes its way all around the world just as it made its way into my heart. God knows it is both timely and needed now more than ever."