You almost make we wish I were a prisoner in that place. For 30 years I preached among people like me, who measured our worth by measures that left us poverty stricken. But hungry for the real thing. Did I offer it? maybe. Sometimes. Now I am old and beyond striving. Your words reach me where I'm living. Jesus is using you.
" people like me, who measured our worth by measures that left us poverty stricken" <--- so well said, Blayney. Spending time with women in the prison has really impacted how I think about nearly everything. These women have taught me so much
Nadia, I love this soooo much. I always wondered about Betty, thinking she got kind of a raw deal to have to get up and start cooking for people when she was just recovering from being so sick. I thought that was an imposition, not a loving response. Just … wow.
In “Lord of the Rings,” the valiant warrior-woman Eowyn is being sent away from the battle to help protect the women, children and elders in a cave system. She complains to Aragorn:
“I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death."
"What do you fear, lady?" he asked.
"A cage," she said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”
I was thinking about that quote a LOT a few years ago when I heard this song, by We The Kingdom, “Cages”:
A man sat in his prison cell. He stared at the iron bars in front of him. The man heard a voice. "Turn around," it said. He gloomily continues his concentration on the iron bars. "Turn around," The voice said again to no avail. "Turn around, my child," said the voice of God. Finally recognizing that the voice wasn't one of the ones in his own head, he turned to see that the wall behind him had never existed.
I had to laugh at naming Simon's mother-in-law Betty. I had a neighbor named Betty. She was a little old lady that loves Jesus and would pray over anyone who needed it. She prayed over me in a grocery store when I was having some health problems (all went well). She even prayed over my car when in conversation I told her I needed it to last just one more year (it lasted exactly one more year). She prayed over a friend's dog that was dying (the dog still died but it became and remained calm through the process and didn't appear to be in pain and stopped struggling). Betty went to Jesus about three years ago.
Gratitude is an action. I am so grateful for my life, sobriety, and salvation. How can I NOT share any of it with others? God has blessed me beyond measure and imagination. I have to tell, show and share it with others in the hope they can experience God's love. Service is not convenient but I do it because I feel an urgency to share the gifts I received from God. Perhaps the two Bettys felt that urgency to share their gifts too.
Thank you for this message today, Nadia. One of my favorite images for God these days is The Great Recycler. I’m not a fan of any theology that would say suffering happens for some grand purpose, but wow!- I have seen healed imperfect people help heal other people. Your message nurtures and compels my heart and spirit this cloudy morning. ❤️
Nadia, this is pure gold. And I don’t mean like one big gold bar, I mean like a whole bunch of god nuggets, each one of which can be treasured and spent as needed. A cage for God! Etch-a-sketch boundaries! There is so much great theology in this one piece. Thank you!
Cages works.. This whole sermon works really well. More and more I've been thinking of churches (including the one I joyfully attend) as something like pretty boxes holding in the images we've made for what we so confidently and piously call "God." I can't help but wonder if the declining church membership everywhere is a way the doors are being blown open--who knows? maybe by the very wind of "God"?--so that Christ followers can be free from buildings and budgets and everything else that gets in the way of the good news.
Budgets don't get in the way of the Good News, a good budget helps to implement the Good News. Jesus' ministry had to be bank rolled because he had no income. Money can be used and needs to be used for the good of God's Kingdom.
God's cage! Wow. You really free us from the old stories that we have heard growing up. I smiled when you said out loud what I have always felt about Betty. Poor Betty is what I used to think but you helped turn it around. Healed people heal people. I like that too. I use the hurt people one too much so this is good. Finally, what a great image of God as the Great Etch-a-Sketch shaker. Yes, we are all welcome to soak up this Good News. Thank you Nadia. And boy, Omega! I learned so much just going to see where you will speak. Wish I could go....
I so love the way your brain works and the way you interpret scripture, Nadia. You truly bring the Word alive. Forget the cages, we are ALL part of Jesus’ Dream Team. Yes!! What a wonderful way to move forward into each day! Thank you!!
I never thought about ‘healed people heal people’ before. That’s what I love about your writings, Nadia - they show me the world from a different perspective. Always a more generative and generous perspective. I love that 💗 thank you! Grateful for you this morning 🌞!
You almost make we wish I were a prisoner in that place. For 30 years I preached among people like me, who measured our worth by measures that left us poverty stricken. But hungry for the real thing. Did I offer it? maybe. Sometimes. Now I am old and beyond striving. Your words reach me where I'm living. Jesus is using you.
" people like me, who measured our worth by measures that left us poverty stricken" <--- so well said, Blayney. Spending time with women in the prison has really impacted how I think about nearly everything. These women have taught me so much
I'm an old lady preacher who is constantly blown away by your deep and original take on these old texts. Certainly God is working through you.
Me too. And ditto!
I agree completely with Rachel!!
Nadia, I love this soooo much. I always wondered about Betty, thinking she got kind of a raw deal to have to get up and start cooking for people when she was just recovering from being so sick. I thought that was an imposition, not a loving response. Just … wow.
In “Lord of the Rings,” the valiant warrior-woman Eowyn is being sent away from the battle to help protect the women, children and elders in a cave system. She complains to Aragorn:
“I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death."
"What do you fear, lady?" he asked.
"A cage," she said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”
I was thinking about that quote a LOT a few years ago when I heard this song, by We The Kingdom, “Cages”:
https://youtu.be/SxwAcMfKgHo?si=8nFVeaDxLN4YYXZf
Significantly, Aragorn replies, “You are a daughter of kings, a shieldmaiden of Rohan. I do not think that will be your fate.”
Sometimes cages are imposed on us. Sometimes we forge our own. But as the poet says,
“Stone Walls do not a Prison make,
Nor Iron bars a Cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an Hermitage.
If I have freedom in my Love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above,
Enjoy such Liberty.”
Iron bars may still enclose us: bars of illness, poverty, incarceration come to mind.
But some cages are of our thoughts and imaginations. And in Jesus, we are free to swing our Sword.
Nadia, the Breath gives you such amazing, beautiful insights!
A man sat in his prison cell. He stared at the iron bars in front of him. The man heard a voice. "Turn around," it said. He gloomily continues his concentration on the iron bars. "Turn around," The voice said again to no avail. "Turn around, my child," said the voice of God. Finally recognizing that the voice wasn't one of the ones in his own head, he turned to see that the wall behind him had never existed.
We can certainly build our own prison.
I had to laugh at naming Simon's mother-in-law Betty. I had a neighbor named Betty. She was a little old lady that loves Jesus and would pray over anyone who needed it. She prayed over me in a grocery store when I was having some health problems (all went well). She even prayed over my car when in conversation I told her I needed it to last just one more year (it lasted exactly one more year). She prayed over a friend's dog that was dying (the dog still died but it became and remained calm through the process and didn't appear to be in pain and stopped struggling). Betty went to Jesus about three years ago.
Gratitude is an action. I am so grateful for my life, sobriety, and salvation. How can I NOT share any of it with others? God has blessed me beyond measure and imagination. I have to tell, show and share it with others in the hope they can experience God's love. Service is not convenient but I do it because I feel an urgency to share the gifts I received from God. Perhaps the two Bettys felt that urgency to share their gifts too.
We miss you Betty.
Thank you for this message today, Nadia. One of my favorite images for God these days is The Great Recycler. I’m not a fan of any theology that would say suffering happens for some grand purpose, but wow!- I have seen healed imperfect people help heal other people. Your message nurtures and compels my heart and spirit this cloudy morning. ❤️
Nadia, this is pure gold. And I don’t mean like one big gold bar, I mean like a whole bunch of god nuggets, each one of which can be treasured and spent as needed. A cage for God! Etch-a-sketch boundaries! There is so much great theology in this one piece. Thank you!
Cages works.. This whole sermon works really well. More and more I've been thinking of churches (including the one I joyfully attend) as something like pretty boxes holding in the images we've made for what we so confidently and piously call "God." I can't help but wonder if the declining church membership everywhere is a way the doors are being blown open--who knows? maybe by the very wind of "God"?--so that Christ followers can be free from buildings and budgets and everything else that gets in the way of the good news.
Budgets don't get in the way of the Good News, a good budget helps to implement the Good News. Jesus' ministry had to be bank rolled because he had no income. Money can be used and needs to be used for the good of God's Kingdom.
Everyone is welcome without exception because of Jesus Christ! No qualifications, no special favors, all are welcome!
God's cage! Wow. You really free us from the old stories that we have heard growing up. I smiled when you said out loud what I have always felt about Betty. Poor Betty is what I used to think but you helped turn it around. Healed people heal people. I like that too. I use the hurt people one too much so this is good. Finally, what a great image of God as the Great Etch-a-Sketch shaker. Yes, we are all welcome to soak up this Good News. Thank you Nadia. And boy, Omega! I learned so much just going to see where you will speak. Wish I could go....
So grateful for your words about cages. And your message. And you
I so love the way your brain works and the way you interpret scripture, Nadia. You truly bring the Word alive. Forget the cages, we are ALL part of Jesus’ Dream Team. Yes!! What a wonderful way to move forward into each day! Thank you!!
Amen
Nadia I love you! You give me fresh air and speak grace in abundance. So thankful for all your writing which ministers to me at 76.
Marilyn
Love this
I never thought about ‘healed people heal people’ before. That’s what I love about your writings, Nadia - they show me the world from a different perspective. Always a more generative and generous perspective. I love that 💗 thank you! Grateful for you this morning 🌞!
“She transmits what was given to her. She gets up and serves. She’s been deputized.”
Love this.
THAT’S how we express our gratitude for his grace!