Joseph, Joseph:
by Joseph Furnari
There you go again, you foolish man. You of all people letting your emotions cloud your mind and heart. Why all of a sudden are you overly concerned about a building that houses our worship of God. You have been overly concerned by appearance of painted walls and ceilings. The cross should be here, no it should be there. This decoration is good; that doesn’t look right over there. Our place of worship should be spotless and perfect in all ways.
How soon you forget coming from a church building, a Cathedral of greatness and beauty. Yet how many times the house felt so barren; lacking in the love of Jesus. How can you have forgotten it is the presence of Jesus that glorifies whatever temple He dwells in, be it a building or the temple of yourself.
Once again I will remind you of the coming of Jesus. He chose to be born in a stable, yes a stable with all that goes with a stable that houses animals. It was there that Joseph had to take Mary to protect her and Him from harsh weather and prepare for His birth. You have been in stables; You know it is not a pretty place. The odor of animals manure smelling, decaying hay strewn about; not a perfect place for the Son of God to be. So many buildings of beauty and comfort. He could have chosen temples, castles, the finest of the fine. Even the worst room at the Inn would have been a better place than this.
Then they came. Kings and wise men to give glory to Jesus. They were not concerned with conditions at the stable. All they saw was the glory of Jesus. It is His presence that overcomes all that surrounds Him. It is He that I should be concerned with and not overly concerned with his
surroundings.
There is more I would remind you of; Jesus dwells in you in spite of your imperfection and flaws. He does not demand you be perfect before He would abide in the temple that is you with all your faults.
Don’t you remember the feeling of a special joy and uplifting when someone you shared Jesus with walks into a room or large gathering. The special joy of embrace and oneness.
I would take this opportune time to remind you of scripture. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth who also was with child, and the child, John, leapt with joy at the presence of Jesus, the child to be born to Mary. That was a special moment for John and Jesus. This reminder to you of a great gift of God to feel his presence in another person, pimples and all
Be aware, now. Do not be overly concerned with beauty and cleanliness alone. You must always strive to see Jesus, be it in Cathedral or stable because if you cannot find Him in both places how will you ever find him in your brothers and sisters?
More important, how will your brothers and sisters find the Jesus in you!.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
WORLD MARRIAGE DAY
WORLD MARRIAGE DAY
By Joseph Furnari
This is the day we put aside to celebrate the gift of marriage.
A time to wander down memory lane; to remember that special day.
Standing there before the altar of God, slightly nervous, anxiously awaiting the moment for her to appear in the doorway. Here it is forty-five years later and I can still remember the moment that she walked through the door. Her dad along side, she held on to his arm. She is beautiful; all dressed in her white gown , bright shining face so beautiful.
It is good to have a day to remember and reflect on those forty-five years of joy, laughter, tears and pain. The gift of three wonderful children and now four grandchildren to embrace and love.
Like every marriage we have our ups and downs but with God’s help we journey on.
In my lifetime, I have been blessed with the gift of two special women who have been given a great love by God. My mom and my wife. About my mom, my sister said it best, "She was one Great Lady, full of love."
My wife, like my mom, has this enormous love for her God. I will never forget the day my wife said to me, "I will always love you, but you will always be second
in my life, because God will always be first."
I believe this is the very reason our marriage not only lasted but has helped us to share our love with family and friends.
Our marriage has not been without its difficulties. There have been hurts to one another that require a constant ongoing need for healings. Today young people find it so easy to run away from marriage at the first sign of difficulties, We have found over the years if we keep our focus on God, He continues to heal and lead us back to love.
Each night before we go to sleep, I bless my wife. As I awake, I thank God for the gift of her love.
A number of years ago we were looking for a way to always remember God in our marriage. So we gave our first gold wedding bands to a nun friend who made us new bands. Three rings of gold banded together. The center ring has cut tiny cross marks in it to represent Jesus; the two outer bands represent my wife and I. This is our constant reminder that it is Jesus who binds us to Himself and to each other.
Joseph Furnari
By Joseph Furnari
This is the day we put aside to celebrate the gift of marriage.
A time to wander down memory lane; to remember that special day.
Standing there before the altar of God, slightly nervous, anxiously awaiting the moment for her to appear in the doorway. Here it is forty-five years later and I can still remember the moment that she walked through the door. Her dad along side, she held on to his arm. She is beautiful; all dressed in her white gown , bright shining face so beautiful.
It is good to have a day to remember and reflect on those forty-five years of joy, laughter, tears and pain. The gift of three wonderful children and now four grandchildren to embrace and love.
Like every marriage we have our ups and downs but with God’s help we journey on.
In my lifetime, I have been blessed with the gift of two special women who have been given a great love by God. My mom and my wife. About my mom, my sister said it best, "She was one Great Lady, full of love."
My wife, like my mom, has this enormous love for her God. I will never forget the day my wife said to me, "I will always love you, but you will always be second
in my life, because God will always be first."
I believe this is the very reason our marriage not only lasted but has helped us to share our love with family and friends.
Our marriage has not been without its difficulties. There have been hurts to one another that require a constant ongoing need for healings. Today young people find it so easy to run away from marriage at the first sign of difficulties, We have found over the years if we keep our focus on God, He continues to heal and lead us back to love.
Each night before we go to sleep, I bless my wife. As I awake, I thank God for the gift of her love.
A number of years ago we were looking for a way to always remember God in our marriage. So we gave our first gold wedding bands to a nun friend who made us new bands. Three rings of gold banded together. The center ring has cut tiny cross marks in it to represent Jesus; the two outer bands represent my wife and I. This is our constant reminder that it is Jesus who binds us to Himself and to each other.
Joseph Furnari
Nobody Loves a Dandelion
Nobody Loves a Dandelion
by Joseph Furnari
I am trampled on, dug out, pulled from the earth, sprayed
with chemical to dry me up and shrink back into the earth
This is my life, the life of a dandelion. Nobody loves a
dandelion.
I can grow anywhere, in a field where no one goes. I can spread
out hundreds of bright golden yellow petals giving glory to the
day.
My most cherished moment came when I sprouted in an unusual
place, because my power to grow comes from within. I can grow
anywhere.
It happened this way. There in the gutter where the hard cement
sidewalk clung to the black dry asphalt, a little green began to
sprout. When I opened my petals, there I was trapped between
these two surfaces. Still I proudly shone in the sun.
A little girl with golden ringlets in her hair came upon me. She looked
at me and smiled. Suddenly she yanked my stem from its moorings.
I thought, "Here I go again."
I realized this was different. She did not toss me aside. Cradled in her
hands, softly, she ran quickly to her home. She pushed the door aside.
It was then I saw her. Sad, tired, her shoulders sagged, her life hard as
cement, black as asphalt. Excited the little girl shouted. "Mommy, look
what I have for you." She gently placed the dandelion flower in her
mother’s hand and softly she whispered, "I love you Mommy."
It took a child’s love to see the power that was within this flower we call
dandelion. Because of this child’s love, this dandelion will forever be known
as the flower of God’s love in the world.
by Joseph Furnari
I am trampled on, dug out, pulled from the earth, sprayed
with chemical to dry me up and shrink back into the earth
This is my life, the life of a dandelion. Nobody loves a
dandelion.
I can grow anywhere, in a field where no one goes. I can spread
out hundreds of bright golden yellow petals giving glory to the
day.
My most cherished moment came when I sprouted in an unusual
place, because my power to grow comes from within. I can grow
anywhere.
It happened this way. There in the gutter where the hard cement
sidewalk clung to the black dry asphalt, a little green began to
sprout. When I opened my petals, there I was trapped between
these two surfaces. Still I proudly shone in the sun.
A little girl with golden ringlets in her hair came upon me. She looked
at me and smiled. Suddenly she yanked my stem from its moorings.
I thought, "Here I go again."
I realized this was different. She did not toss me aside. Cradled in her
hands, softly, she ran quickly to her home. She pushed the door aside.
It was then I saw her. Sad, tired, her shoulders sagged, her life hard as
cement, black as asphalt. Excited the little girl shouted. "Mommy, look
what I have for you." She gently placed the dandelion flower in her
mother’s hand and softly she whispered, "I love you Mommy."
It took a child’s love to see the power that was within this flower we call
dandelion. Because of this child’s love, this dandelion will forever be known
as the flower of God’s love in the world.
St Paul and the Body of Christ
St Paul and the Body of Christ
by Joseph Furnari
Tonight at this retreat I have the opportunity to express thoughts and feelings which over many years, I have attempted to put together.
My heart and mind are often preoccupied, plagued, if you wish, with thoughts of how many similarities exist between our physical bodies - created by God, and the body of the church - also created by God.
We are made in the image and likeness ofGod. That expression and my love for Paul led me to his first letter to the Corinthians where he
compares the church body of Christ to our physical body.
Paul says in his letter "As a body is one though has many parts and all
the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks Slaves or Free Persons, and we were all given to drink of one spirit.
Now the body is not a single part, but many. If the foot should say,
because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,it does not for this
reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, "because
I am not an eye I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason
belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing,where would the
sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts,each one of them in
the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body
be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye canot say to the hand, "I do not need you", nor again the head to the feet, "I do not
need you." Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less
honorable, we surround with greater honor and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But god has so constructed the body as to give
greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part is honored, all parts share its joy.
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
Paul stops there. My thoughts do not end there. I must search
further.
I embark on (begin) a difficult task.
I am challenged (or driven) (a sense of urgency) to write what I believe.
First of all before I begin I must confess I have no formal training in the theological or medical profession. Aware of my limitations, I go on.
First let me deal with the image and likeness of God. I have been taught that God is three persons, Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Many have struggled with this for years. How can three be one?
How can the three be one in the body? Remember, Paul says "many parts, one body."
I believe the brain symbolizes the Father.
I believe the heart symbolizes the Son.
I believe the Spirit symbolizes the blood that flows from each.
Each one separate, yet one. Each one dependent on the other.
Together, they are the I Am.
I came across an article by David Gibson, Editor of Faith Alive in which he starts to explain a kind of grace that would require a person to tell exactly who God is and how God works in human lives.
But God is a mystery and God’s ways cannot be limited by any description of grace. That doesn’t mean we should stop trying to define grace. So here I go with my description of grace.
Grace is a gift of the father(brain). It travels throughout the body giving life and movement. This grace in the physical body I believe to be like the pathway (nervous system) that travels throughout the body. The energy source in my body is what is enabling me to write this down. The energy signal from my brain tells my hand what to do and gives life and movement to my hand. All movement and energy of body is done in this manner.
Therefore, I conclude grace must be like the energy source from God giving life and movement to my body.
Now we have the crucial parts of God in His church and the crucial parts of humans in their body. In humans the brain gives signals to the heart. The heart begins to pump the blood to the brain and itself. So it is with Church, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the body. ME.
I see the similarities between the church, Father, Son, Holy Spirit and grace and the human body, Brain, Heart, Blood, Nervous System.
Do I dare continue my search to find the working church represented by body?
The difficulty of my task is that my knowledge of the physical body is limited. In fact doctors and scientists who have been well trained are forever trying to discover the workings of our bodies. Much remains a
mystery to them. Just as much of God remains a mystery to His church.
I press on.
Being of the catholic faith I feel there is a correlation between the life of God in His church and the life of my physical self. Therefore I will attempt to find this sameness between my body and the body of the church and its sacraments.
BAPTISM
The beginning of the church for all is baptism. Water the symbol of life.
There cannot be life for us without water.
Just as the water of the church gives us life in the church, water gives life to the physical world. In fact the largest majority of our bodies is water. This is fact. We may be 80, l50 over 300 lbs., but when the water is removed we become just a handful of dust. We can all come to the conclusion then, that water is essential for life, whether Baptism of church or physical life.
CONFIRMATION
Confirmation I have learned is the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit travels through the church sent by God to inspire, teach and to nourish us. The Spirit flows throughout reaching every part of our Church.
How then and where is this spirit working in my body? I have already
stated that I see the spirit as the blood traveling in our body. The blood
travels through our veins to every part of our body from the tip of our toes to the end of our fingers to the top of our head.
I can see the similarities, my body with its brain (Father) sends signals (grace) to my heart (Son, Jesus). My heart pumps the blood (Holy Spirit) through the body, giving life.
I see that Baptism and Confirmation of Church, water and blood are essential to life whether church or body.
HOLY ORDERS - PRIESTHOOD
I ask myself what is the other item I need to sustain life in my body? Of course, Air, Oxygen. No life can exist without it. I see similarities between priests and oxygen. How does it work? How does it get to the whole body? Air comes into our bodies, carried in our blood and pumped from our heart to our lungs to be cleansed. The oxygen (Priesthood) that is needed for life then is carried by the blood (Holy Spirit) back to our heart (Jesus, Son) ad then pumped by our heart carried by our blood to all parts of our bodies to feed and nourish us. This once again is directed by the Big Three, Father (Brain), Son (Heart), Holy Spirit (Blood).
EUCHARIST
Everyone knows you must eat to stay alive. Food and water must be put into our bodies for nourishment and strength. If this then is true, then there must be food for our spiritual and church body to stay alive as well.
This is what Jesus has done for us. Leaving us the food of Eucharist. The bread and wine changed to His Body and Blood by His priests to be carried by His spirit as food for the life of His church. Just as ordinary food must be consumed to keep the body alive so too the Eucharist must be consumed to keep the church and spirit alive. This is an ongoing experience. For the body that is fed will become hungry again. So too our spiritual body has to be fed again to stay alive.
RECONCILIATION
The liver acts in our bodies just as Jesus does for our spiritual life. We foolishly, at times, overburden this vital organ with food and drink that has to be separated. We know many things are not good for us, still we give into our bodies craving excess food, alcohol, smoking, etc. It is a wonder this vital organ doesn’t scream out at us, enough already. Our liver, in spite of us, continues to do the tasks as Jesus does for our spirit, renews life.
In the church Jesus is the sacrament of reconciliation, cleansing, we continue to fill our Spirit with sinful acts that also poison our spirit. Jesus, like the liver in our bodies, takes these to himself, separates the good and discards the rest. As many times as we put our spirit in jeopardy, Jesus will always be there to cleanse us.
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
The church has the power over illness through its sacrament of anointing the sick. When the body is sick, our spirit is also affected. Jesus has shown us His power over sickness with his ability to heal spiritual and bodily illness. The physical body also has a system to ward off illness. There are outside forces always attacking our bodies. There are bacterial, pollution, all types of sickness, lurking, waiting to strike. God has put in place in our bodies an immune system to attack and destroy these outside forces.
SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE
The coming together of two people or the marriage of many people in one church. Inside of His church, all the other sacraments take place and a life of the spirit with all its sacraments gives life and meaning to our existence.
I could not think of a thing that covers all the physical body that God has given us that is similar to marriage. The making of one. Holding together all parts.
The skin of course covers all parts and joins one to the other. This marriage of parts must all work together as Paul has said in the beginning. Wouldn’t it be a funny picture; one leg wants to go left, the other right. One eye wants to see the sky, the other grass growing below.
This may be extreme, but it shows how important it is to have all parts work in unison for the good of the body.
I have attempted to explain my feelings and thoughts on the great gifts God has given us.
I have tried to show the similarities between the working of the physical body to the working of the spiritual body of the church.
The two bodies. So much in common and yet very much at war with one another. From birth God sets us on a journey with the freedom to choose our own direction. Unfortunately, our choices many times lead us away from Him. The body seeking its own glory and pleasures. This becomes a constant tug. God seeking to show us the true way to happiness. The Body, its own glory and pleasure. This seems to be like living two lives both at the same time. Each pulling in different directions. I am reminded of a movie I once saw. The person was trying to make a decision on what to do. On each shoulder there was a
little person whispering in his ear advising which course of action to follow. Two bodies constantly in conflict. The reason God so loved us he gives of His son Jesus who with the spirit guides us in the right choices.
Jesus, with His apostles, began His church to love and support each other. Unfortunately, the uncaring of church has become so muddled and confusing.
To be honest, like so many do now, I used to think of church as someplace you went to and came from. Maybe this is because we call the building we go to church. This idea is so imbedded in our minds it becomes reality.
The reality for me now is that I believe I carry church with me where ever I go. It goes with me, the physical body and the church body, though sometimes in conflict, travel as one.
The problem is this. How do I get these two in harmony with one another until God calls me home? For myself I have found the answer to be "JESUS".
by Joseph Furnari
Tonight at this retreat I have the opportunity to express thoughts and feelings which over many years, I have attempted to put together.
My heart and mind are often preoccupied, plagued, if you wish, with thoughts of how many similarities exist between our physical bodies - created by God, and the body of the church - also created by God.
We are made in the image and likeness ofGod. That expression and my love for Paul led me to his first letter to the Corinthians where he
compares the church body of Christ to our physical body.
Paul says in his letter "As a body is one though has many parts and all
the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks Slaves or Free Persons, and we were all given to drink of one spirit.
Now the body is not a single part, but many. If the foot should say,
because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,it does not for this
reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, "because
I am not an eye I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason
belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing,where would the
sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts,each one of them in
the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body
be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye canot say to the hand, "I do not need you", nor again the head to the feet, "I do not
need you." Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less
honorable, we surround with greater honor and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But god has so constructed the body as to give
greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part is honored, all parts share its joy.
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
Paul stops there. My thoughts do not end there. I must search
further.
I embark on (begin) a difficult task.
I am challenged (or driven) (a sense of urgency) to write what I believe.
First of all before I begin I must confess I have no formal training in the theological or medical profession. Aware of my limitations, I go on.
First let me deal with the image and likeness of God. I have been taught that God is three persons, Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Many have struggled with this for years. How can three be one?
How can the three be one in the body? Remember, Paul says "many parts, one body."
I believe the brain symbolizes the Father.
I believe the heart symbolizes the Son.
I believe the Spirit symbolizes the blood that flows from each.
Each one separate, yet one. Each one dependent on the other.
Together, they are the I Am.
I came across an article by David Gibson, Editor of Faith Alive in which he starts to explain a kind of grace that would require a person to tell exactly who God is and how God works in human lives.
But God is a mystery and God’s ways cannot be limited by any description of grace. That doesn’t mean we should stop trying to define grace. So here I go with my description of grace.
Grace is a gift of the father(brain). It travels throughout the body giving life and movement. This grace in the physical body I believe to be like the pathway (nervous system) that travels throughout the body. The energy source in my body is what is enabling me to write this down. The energy signal from my brain tells my hand what to do and gives life and movement to my hand. All movement and energy of body is done in this manner.
Therefore, I conclude grace must be like the energy source from God giving life and movement to my body.
Now we have the crucial parts of God in His church and the crucial parts of humans in their body. In humans the brain gives signals to the heart. The heart begins to pump the blood to the brain and itself. So it is with Church, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the body. ME.
I see the similarities between the church, Father, Son, Holy Spirit and grace and the human body, Brain, Heart, Blood, Nervous System.
Do I dare continue my search to find the working church represented by body?
The difficulty of my task is that my knowledge of the physical body is limited. In fact doctors and scientists who have been well trained are forever trying to discover the workings of our bodies. Much remains a
mystery to them. Just as much of God remains a mystery to His church.
I press on.
Being of the catholic faith I feel there is a correlation between the life of God in His church and the life of my physical self. Therefore I will attempt to find this sameness between my body and the body of the church and its sacraments.
BAPTISM
The beginning of the church for all is baptism. Water the symbol of life.
There cannot be life for us without water.
Just as the water of the church gives us life in the church, water gives life to the physical world. In fact the largest majority of our bodies is water. This is fact. We may be 80, l50 over 300 lbs., but when the water is removed we become just a handful of dust. We can all come to the conclusion then, that water is essential for life, whether Baptism of church or physical life.
CONFIRMATION
Confirmation I have learned is the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit travels through the church sent by God to inspire, teach and to nourish us. The Spirit flows throughout reaching every part of our Church.
How then and where is this spirit working in my body? I have already
stated that I see the spirit as the blood traveling in our body. The blood
travels through our veins to every part of our body from the tip of our toes to the end of our fingers to the top of our head.
I can see the similarities, my body with its brain (Father) sends signals (grace) to my heart (Son, Jesus). My heart pumps the blood (Holy Spirit) through the body, giving life.
I see that Baptism and Confirmation of Church, water and blood are essential to life whether church or body.
HOLY ORDERS - PRIESTHOOD
I ask myself what is the other item I need to sustain life in my body? Of course, Air, Oxygen. No life can exist without it. I see similarities between priests and oxygen. How does it work? How does it get to the whole body? Air comes into our bodies, carried in our blood and pumped from our heart to our lungs to be cleansed. The oxygen (Priesthood) that is needed for life then is carried by the blood (Holy Spirit) back to our heart (Jesus, Son) ad then pumped by our heart carried by our blood to all parts of our bodies to feed and nourish us. This once again is directed by the Big Three, Father (Brain), Son (Heart), Holy Spirit (Blood).
EUCHARIST
Everyone knows you must eat to stay alive. Food and water must be put into our bodies for nourishment and strength. If this then is true, then there must be food for our spiritual and church body to stay alive as well.
This is what Jesus has done for us. Leaving us the food of Eucharist. The bread and wine changed to His Body and Blood by His priests to be carried by His spirit as food for the life of His church. Just as ordinary food must be consumed to keep the body alive so too the Eucharist must be consumed to keep the church and spirit alive. This is an ongoing experience. For the body that is fed will become hungry again. So too our spiritual body has to be fed again to stay alive.
RECONCILIATION
The liver acts in our bodies just as Jesus does for our spiritual life. We foolishly, at times, overburden this vital organ with food and drink that has to be separated. We know many things are not good for us, still we give into our bodies craving excess food, alcohol, smoking, etc. It is a wonder this vital organ doesn’t scream out at us, enough already. Our liver, in spite of us, continues to do the tasks as Jesus does for our spirit, renews life.
In the church Jesus is the sacrament of reconciliation, cleansing, we continue to fill our Spirit with sinful acts that also poison our spirit. Jesus, like the liver in our bodies, takes these to himself, separates the good and discards the rest. As many times as we put our spirit in jeopardy, Jesus will always be there to cleanse us.
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
The church has the power over illness through its sacrament of anointing the sick. When the body is sick, our spirit is also affected. Jesus has shown us His power over sickness with his ability to heal spiritual and bodily illness. The physical body also has a system to ward off illness. There are outside forces always attacking our bodies. There are bacterial, pollution, all types of sickness, lurking, waiting to strike. God has put in place in our bodies an immune system to attack and destroy these outside forces.
SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE
The coming together of two people or the marriage of many people in one church. Inside of His church, all the other sacraments take place and a life of the spirit with all its sacraments gives life and meaning to our existence.
I could not think of a thing that covers all the physical body that God has given us that is similar to marriage. The making of one. Holding together all parts.
The skin of course covers all parts and joins one to the other. This marriage of parts must all work together as Paul has said in the beginning. Wouldn’t it be a funny picture; one leg wants to go left, the other right. One eye wants to see the sky, the other grass growing below.
This may be extreme, but it shows how important it is to have all parts work in unison for the good of the body.
I have attempted to explain my feelings and thoughts on the great gifts God has given us.
I have tried to show the similarities between the working of the physical body to the working of the spiritual body of the church.
The two bodies. So much in common and yet very much at war with one another. From birth God sets us on a journey with the freedom to choose our own direction. Unfortunately, our choices many times lead us away from Him. The body seeking its own glory and pleasures. This becomes a constant tug. God seeking to show us the true way to happiness. The Body, its own glory and pleasure. This seems to be like living two lives both at the same time. Each pulling in different directions. I am reminded of a movie I once saw. The person was trying to make a decision on what to do. On each shoulder there was a
little person whispering in his ear advising which course of action to follow. Two bodies constantly in conflict. The reason God so loved us he gives of His son Jesus who with the spirit guides us in the right choices.
Jesus, with His apostles, began His church to love and support each other. Unfortunately, the uncaring of church has become so muddled and confusing.
To be honest, like so many do now, I used to think of church as someplace you went to and came from. Maybe this is because we call the building we go to church. This idea is so imbedded in our minds it becomes reality.
The reality for me now is that I believe I carry church with me where ever I go. It goes with me, the physical body and the church body, though sometimes in conflict, travel as one.
The problem is this. How do I get these two in harmony with one another until God calls me home? For myself I have found the answer to be "JESUS".
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Parable of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf
The Parable of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf
By Joseph G. Furnari
Therefore everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against his house, it did not fall. It was founded on rock.
Every time I hear these words of Jesus from the gospel of Matthew, I am reminded of a story from my childhood. The Three Little Pigs, and the Big Bad Wolf . Over time many versions of this story have been told. I would like to share with you my interpretation of this lovely tale.
One morning Mama Pig gathered her three little pigs to her side. She was about to send them off into the world outside. She wanted to warn them of the difficulties and dangers. “You will need shelter, so each of you must decide how to build his house for protection”. They were very excited to begin their journey. All three wanted to show her they were grown up now and ready to venture out. “Before you leave let me remind you again about our enemy the bad wolf. Now that you are on your own and separated, he may seek you out and try to catch you unawares”. Even this warning could not dampen their excitement of beginning a new life. Out the door they ran searching out land to build their houses on. Heeding their mother’s warning they decided to build close to one another so that they would be able to help one another in case of trouble.
The youngest of the three came upon some straw. “This should not be difficult for me to build a house with”. He built a fence and began to fill it up with the straw and a wooden door to go in and out. He settled in. It was fairly comfortable, but it did not look very strong.
The second did not believe his younger brother’s house would be a safe place to live. “I will build my house of wood, he said, not straw. Not only will my frame be wood, I will close all the walls with wood. This will be much stronger than straw”.
The oldest brother was not happy to see his younger brothers’ houses. “ You have to take the time to build a strong house to protect yourself against the wolf, he said”, but they laughed at him. “What you are doing is too much hard work. We will have no time to play, they said”.
Seeing that they would not listen, he began the task of building his house. A trench had to be dug for the walls of his house. He spent the money he had saved and bought many bricks to build the walls. This was very hard work. Each brick had to be handled and prepared one by one. Slowly the walls rose up. Now that he had walls that were very strong, they could support the heavy wooden beams for the roof and a heavy wooden door to protect the entrance. His work complete he sat in the safety of his home to rest.
A short while later, the wolf who had been lurking around, heard about the three pigs leaving home. “Now is my chance,” he thought. “ I will find them and get them one by one”. He soon came upon the youngest of the pigs in his straw house. “Let me in” he cried out. The little pig was very frightened. His knees began to shake. His hands trembled. The wolf’s voice grew loud and angry. “Let me in or I will huff and puff and blow your house in”. The wolf took a deep breath and the fierce wind blew from his mouth. The straw in the roof began to fly in all directions. “Let me in he cried out”. Then he got ready to huff and puff again.
The little pig, knowing his house could not stand another big wind, sneaked out the back and began to run up the hill just as the wolf blew the rest of his house in.
The wolf seeing him run began to chase after him. Just in time he reached his brother’s house that was built stronger with wood.
The two pigs clutched each other in the hope of protecting one another. The wolf reached the outer door and slammed his fist on the door. Again he cried out, “I will huff and puff and blow your house in”. He drew in a deep breath preparing a large huff and puff. He saw this house of wood would take a stronger blow to bring down. His fierce wind blew at the house. The wood began to rattle loose. The two little pigs inside knew, after the first huff and puff their house could not stand many more blasts. They decided to run out the back while they had a chance. They quickly slipped out and ran as fast as they could to their brother’s house.
Their brother seeing them running up the path with the wolf in hot pursuit had opened his heavy front door wide so they could run directly into the house to safety. He slammed the door shut just as the wolf had gotten to the door.
Now the wolf’s eyes burned with rage. He yelled, “nothing will stop me from huffing and puffing until I blow your house down”. He was not thinking clearly. He was blinded with frustration and anger. He was not even aware of how weak he had become with his efforts to blow down the other houses. He did not care anymore. He had to get the three pigs at all costs. He was very hungry now. He drew back all his strength that he had left and blew a mighty gale. The house did not budge. The bricks held tightly together. Again and again he blew but could not shake one brick from the walls of the house. The three pigs cheered and danced. Now they were safe from the wolf at last. They had plenty of supplies in the house. They felt they could outlast the wolf who was getting weaker each time he tried to blow the house in. His anger prevented him from moving. As time passed he became very weak from hunger.
In the meantime their brother said, “come I will teach you how I built this brick house so that when the wolf leaves we will begin to build your houses”.
He had some bricks left over. While he gathered the things he needed, the one brother began to stack the bricks one upon the other to build a small wall. The younger brother leaned against the wall and they all came tumbling down. “No, no the older brother shouted. The bricks are strong only when they have been bonded together. Here, let me show you”. He took the bag of powder, poured some onto the floor. “This powder will hold the bricks together firm”. “ But how can this dry powder hold them together”, they asked. “Wouldn’t the bricks still topple over”. “Watch, he said. “The secret is in the water”. He began to pour the water into the powder, gently mixing them together. A paste began to form. He took a blade and began to spread the paste material around each brick. Then he placed each brick one upon the other and waited. The three pigs lay down to rest for the night. This had been a trying day. The wolf too, decided to rest; to build up his strength for another try at their house in the morning.
The three pigs awoke early. The first thing they did was to check on the whereabouts of the wolf. They saw him lying out under the tree. He was still asleep. He looked very weak. The next thing they did was to run to see how the wall they had built was coming along. The two little pigs who had never before seen a wall built like this were amazed to see the wall was so strong they could not separate the bricks. The thin covering of paste had hardened between the bricks and bonded one to the other.
They were ready now to build their own houses. The wolf was still outside. He wasn’t about to go away. He was still huffing and puffing and getting weaker and weaker. His face was pale. His arms hung weakly at his side. His legs buckled and he fell down along side of the tree. Even if he wanted to leave to search for other food to survive, he did not have the strength. It seemed like the three little pigs had won. The wolf who had tormented them, could not survive many more days.
Late that afternoon the youngest pig asked his brothers, “Isn’t there anything we can do. I cannot just sit here and watch him suffer and slowly starve to death”. They answered angrily, “did you forget already a few days ago, he tried to trap us; to eat us”. Once more he tried to reason with them. “He was terribly hungry. Maybe he was never taught any other way”. They shouted him down. “He will never know another way. If we give him food to eat he will become strong again and attack and eat us”.
The little pig finally gave up. He could argue no longer. Rest was very difficult for the little pig. That evening, he tossed and turned. Every time he started to slip off to sleep the wolf would give out a groan and he would awake with a start. The night passed very slowly. When his two brothers awoke, the sun had already risen in the sky. They called out for their little brother. There was no answer. They called again; no answer. Where could he have gone? Could the wolf somehow have gotten better and found a way to catch him? They panicked, searching every room turning things upside down. They could not find him. They ran to the door. It had been opened. They slowly pulled the door ajar to see if the wolf was where they last saw him lying next to the tree. As they peered out, their faces took on a frightened look, their bodies began to tremble. “What have you done,” they shouted. What they saw was their little brother sitting on the ground, the wolf’s head held in his lap. In one hand he held a large bowl of soup they had made the night before. With his other hand he held the spoon. He was feeding the wolf. He yelled to his brothers to stay in the house. Then he continued to feed the wolf. “He will eat you when he gets stronger, Come back in the house”. He answered, “I do not believe he will, but to be safe you two stay in the house. If I am wrong, and he eats me, you will be safe. He cannot reach you in the safety of the house”. The wolf began to regain his strength and even though his brothers were still very frightened they kept supplying their brother with the food he needed for himself and the wolf.
The brothers waited and watched from the safety of their house. They were still frightened for their little brother. The wolf had now regained all his strength. They feared, any moment he would pounce on there little brother. The wolf held out his hands as if to pick him off the ground. He did not pick him up. He just held his hands. The little pig did not know what to expect. All he knew, he did not believe the wolf would eat him. The wolf finally said to him, “you have saved my life even though I chased you in the hope of catching you and eating you. I always believed this is what I was supposed to do. I was near death and you came to me and fed me your own food. The soup broth and the wheat meal helped me regain my strength. I have come to realize now I do not have to eat little pigs to stay alive and not go hungry. I need to learn more of your food.”.
The little pig jumped for joy and invited the wolf to eat dinner with him and his brothers. They would be happy to teach him how to cook for himself.
THAT EVENING:
They gathered around the table, hands clasped together. The three little pigs and the wolf prepared to give thanks before their meal. The youngest of the three pigs volunteered. “We give you thanks, Father”, he said “for this food you have given us and for our new friend, the wolf, who shares it with us”. With a little wink at his new found friend, the wolf, he added, ”WE THANK YOU ALSO, THAT WE ARE NO LONGER CONSIDERED THE MAIN COURSE”. They all laughed heartily as they shared their meal.
Taken from Isaiah (Yahweh’s Prophet). The wolf and the young lamb (in this case the young pigs) will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no hurt, no harm on all my holy mountain, says Yahweh.
By Joseph G. Furnari
Therefore everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against his house, it did not fall. It was founded on rock.
Every time I hear these words of Jesus from the gospel of Matthew, I am reminded of a story from my childhood. The Three Little Pigs, and the Big Bad Wolf . Over time many versions of this story have been told. I would like to share with you my interpretation of this lovely tale.
One morning Mama Pig gathered her three little pigs to her side. She was about to send them off into the world outside. She wanted to warn them of the difficulties and dangers. “You will need shelter, so each of you must decide how to build his house for protection”. They were very excited to begin their journey. All three wanted to show her they were grown up now and ready to venture out. “Before you leave let me remind you again about our enemy the bad wolf. Now that you are on your own and separated, he may seek you out and try to catch you unawares”. Even this warning could not dampen their excitement of beginning a new life. Out the door they ran searching out land to build their houses on. Heeding their mother’s warning they decided to build close to one another so that they would be able to help one another in case of trouble.
The youngest of the three came upon some straw. “This should not be difficult for me to build a house with”. He built a fence and began to fill it up with the straw and a wooden door to go in and out. He settled in. It was fairly comfortable, but it did not look very strong.
The second did not believe his younger brother’s house would be a safe place to live. “I will build my house of wood, he said, not straw. Not only will my frame be wood, I will close all the walls with wood. This will be much stronger than straw”.
The oldest brother was not happy to see his younger brothers’ houses. “ You have to take the time to build a strong house to protect yourself against the wolf, he said”, but they laughed at him. “What you are doing is too much hard work. We will have no time to play, they said”.
Seeing that they would not listen, he began the task of building his house. A trench had to be dug for the walls of his house. He spent the money he had saved and bought many bricks to build the walls. This was very hard work. Each brick had to be handled and prepared one by one. Slowly the walls rose up. Now that he had walls that were very strong, they could support the heavy wooden beams for the roof and a heavy wooden door to protect the entrance. His work complete he sat in the safety of his home to rest.
A short while later, the wolf who had been lurking around, heard about the three pigs leaving home. “Now is my chance,” he thought. “ I will find them and get them one by one”. He soon came upon the youngest of the pigs in his straw house. “Let me in” he cried out. The little pig was very frightened. His knees began to shake. His hands trembled. The wolf’s voice grew loud and angry. “Let me in or I will huff and puff and blow your house in”. The wolf took a deep breath and the fierce wind blew from his mouth. The straw in the roof began to fly in all directions. “Let me in he cried out”. Then he got ready to huff and puff again.
The little pig, knowing his house could not stand another big wind, sneaked out the back and began to run up the hill just as the wolf blew the rest of his house in.
The wolf seeing him run began to chase after him. Just in time he reached his brother’s house that was built stronger with wood.
The two pigs clutched each other in the hope of protecting one another. The wolf reached the outer door and slammed his fist on the door. Again he cried out, “I will huff and puff and blow your house in”. He drew in a deep breath preparing a large huff and puff. He saw this house of wood would take a stronger blow to bring down. His fierce wind blew at the house. The wood began to rattle loose. The two little pigs inside knew, after the first huff and puff their house could not stand many more blasts. They decided to run out the back while they had a chance. They quickly slipped out and ran as fast as they could to their brother’s house.
Their brother seeing them running up the path with the wolf in hot pursuit had opened his heavy front door wide so they could run directly into the house to safety. He slammed the door shut just as the wolf had gotten to the door.
Now the wolf’s eyes burned with rage. He yelled, “nothing will stop me from huffing and puffing until I blow your house down”. He was not thinking clearly. He was blinded with frustration and anger. He was not even aware of how weak he had become with his efforts to blow down the other houses. He did not care anymore. He had to get the three pigs at all costs. He was very hungry now. He drew back all his strength that he had left and blew a mighty gale. The house did not budge. The bricks held tightly together. Again and again he blew but could not shake one brick from the walls of the house. The three pigs cheered and danced. Now they were safe from the wolf at last. They had plenty of supplies in the house. They felt they could outlast the wolf who was getting weaker each time he tried to blow the house in. His anger prevented him from moving. As time passed he became very weak from hunger.
In the meantime their brother said, “come I will teach you how I built this brick house so that when the wolf leaves we will begin to build your houses”.
He had some bricks left over. While he gathered the things he needed, the one brother began to stack the bricks one upon the other to build a small wall. The younger brother leaned against the wall and they all came tumbling down. “No, no the older brother shouted. The bricks are strong only when they have been bonded together. Here, let me show you”. He took the bag of powder, poured some onto the floor. “This powder will hold the bricks together firm”. “ But how can this dry powder hold them together”, they asked. “Wouldn’t the bricks still topple over”. “Watch, he said. “The secret is in the water”. He began to pour the water into the powder, gently mixing them together. A paste began to form. He took a blade and began to spread the paste material around each brick. Then he placed each brick one upon the other and waited. The three pigs lay down to rest for the night. This had been a trying day. The wolf too, decided to rest; to build up his strength for another try at their house in the morning.
The three pigs awoke early. The first thing they did was to check on the whereabouts of the wolf. They saw him lying out under the tree. He was still asleep. He looked very weak. The next thing they did was to run to see how the wall they had built was coming along. The two little pigs who had never before seen a wall built like this were amazed to see the wall was so strong they could not separate the bricks. The thin covering of paste had hardened between the bricks and bonded one to the other.
They were ready now to build their own houses. The wolf was still outside. He wasn’t about to go away. He was still huffing and puffing and getting weaker and weaker. His face was pale. His arms hung weakly at his side. His legs buckled and he fell down along side of the tree. Even if he wanted to leave to search for other food to survive, he did not have the strength. It seemed like the three little pigs had won. The wolf who had tormented them, could not survive many more days.
Late that afternoon the youngest pig asked his brothers, “Isn’t there anything we can do. I cannot just sit here and watch him suffer and slowly starve to death”. They answered angrily, “did you forget already a few days ago, he tried to trap us; to eat us”. Once more he tried to reason with them. “He was terribly hungry. Maybe he was never taught any other way”. They shouted him down. “He will never know another way. If we give him food to eat he will become strong again and attack and eat us”.
The little pig finally gave up. He could argue no longer. Rest was very difficult for the little pig. That evening, he tossed and turned. Every time he started to slip off to sleep the wolf would give out a groan and he would awake with a start. The night passed very slowly. When his two brothers awoke, the sun had already risen in the sky. They called out for their little brother. There was no answer. They called again; no answer. Where could he have gone? Could the wolf somehow have gotten better and found a way to catch him? They panicked, searching every room turning things upside down. They could not find him. They ran to the door. It had been opened. They slowly pulled the door ajar to see if the wolf was where they last saw him lying next to the tree. As they peered out, their faces took on a frightened look, their bodies began to tremble. “What have you done,” they shouted. What they saw was their little brother sitting on the ground, the wolf’s head held in his lap. In one hand he held a large bowl of soup they had made the night before. With his other hand he held the spoon. He was feeding the wolf. He yelled to his brothers to stay in the house. Then he continued to feed the wolf. “He will eat you when he gets stronger, Come back in the house”. He answered, “I do not believe he will, but to be safe you two stay in the house. If I am wrong, and he eats me, you will be safe. He cannot reach you in the safety of the house”. The wolf began to regain his strength and even though his brothers were still very frightened they kept supplying their brother with the food he needed for himself and the wolf.
The brothers waited and watched from the safety of their house. They were still frightened for their little brother. The wolf had now regained all his strength. They feared, any moment he would pounce on there little brother. The wolf held out his hands as if to pick him off the ground. He did not pick him up. He just held his hands. The little pig did not know what to expect. All he knew, he did not believe the wolf would eat him. The wolf finally said to him, “you have saved my life even though I chased you in the hope of catching you and eating you. I always believed this is what I was supposed to do. I was near death and you came to me and fed me your own food. The soup broth and the wheat meal helped me regain my strength. I have come to realize now I do not have to eat little pigs to stay alive and not go hungry. I need to learn more of your food.”.
The little pig jumped for joy and invited the wolf to eat dinner with him and his brothers. They would be happy to teach him how to cook for himself.
THAT EVENING:
They gathered around the table, hands clasped together. The three little pigs and the wolf prepared to give thanks before their meal. The youngest of the three pigs volunteered. “We give you thanks, Father”, he said “for this food you have given us and for our new friend, the wolf, who shares it with us”. With a little wink at his new found friend, the wolf, he added, ”WE THANK YOU ALSO, THAT WE ARE NO LONGER CONSIDERED THE MAIN COURSE”. They all laughed heartily as they shared their meal.
Taken from Isaiah (Yahweh’s Prophet). The wolf and the young lamb (in this case the young pigs) will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no hurt, no harm on all my holy mountain, says Yahweh.
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