Traveling with Ray Owens

I had a very good night’s sleep.   I only had to get up once to use the bathroom.  That was a plus.

I went down to breakfast with some of the gang.  I had coffee which was good. I did find out that one of our gang-of-eight members grew up in a major US city and that his or her grandfather was the head of a MOB family that ran illegal casino’s and was rather infamous.  He or she seems to have grown up to be an nice honest person.

Our gang left at 10:00 to take the very empty train to the church this morning.   This session was a ministry that Matt and Michelle run.   We learned about the Mamma and Me service they provide.   It is a place for immigrant mothers to bring their babies and toddlers to a well-equipped fun place for the kids and a place for the mothers to receive what they need.  Sometimes what mama needs is a nap on the couch while someone holds and cares for their baby.  Other times they need to talk with other mother going through similar issues or to find a safe place to practice their Spanish.  

The service (or Sunday school) was called mosaic and was held in a small room with a screen projector for the lyrics of the song they wrote and sang.  The 3 member that were present all spoke English (the pastor and his wife and their two kids, and another English speaker who spent time in Ecuador and New York City).  One of the cool things was that they took to heart Jesus teaching us about children. 

Matthew 19: “¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

The kids played in the floor and the older boy about 4 joined in singing while continuing to play with his truck.  They did not let them do anything they wanted but the kids had a good time and we adults did not get too terribly distracted.

The purpose of Mosaic is to teach us to listen to others without judgement.  Two of the adults Immigrated to Spain.  The pastor is from Africa and the other came from New York and Ecuador. The pastor’s wife grew up in Spain.  The pastor and his wife spent several years in England where he studied theology.  He is nearly finished with his doctorate.

We began by listening to the stories about trying to fit into the culture and to fit into the traditional churches.  The main themes of their stories were about the difficulty of race relations and the toxic theology in the traditional churches.   Race relations.   The pastor is a black man with dreadlocks. He described having the experience of being welcomed into the traditional Christian church and then coming to feel that he was being displayed (look, this our new Black Member of our church. 

Another feeling was feeling shamed or rejected by the traditional church if they had any characteristic or behavior that did not measure up to the rules.   I was reminded of

Matthew 9

New International Version

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ² Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ Then the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

The Calling of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

It seems to me that God is perfectly able to call and correct what HE wants to have changed.  His Command to US is clear.

Mark 12:

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”

It was a good morning.

The pastor and cute child who told us she was dos