How I See It: Reflections on spirituality, technology, and the art of everyday life

The Guard was Asleep.(A Good Friday Story) It had been a long day; he was up with the sun, and then when he thought he would have a night of enjoyment, he and his unit were ordered to stand by for a special assignment. After waiting for what seemed like forever, they were marched to a nearby park. There, with the help of a trader, they arrested a radical and took him away to meet his fate. They took him to the jail and told the guard to make sure he did not escape. Now the guard was asleep. In any army in the world that would have meant death! But on this one night, the guard was safe — no harm would come to him, because the prisoner would not escape and would wake him before anyone found him asleep. Yes, the guard was asleep, but was quite safe, because the prisoner loved him and everyone. For the radical was the Son of God, who came into this world to save sinners — even the man who would nail him to the cross later that day. Previous: Prayer for Maundy Thursday ...

A Prayer for Maundy Thursday Dear God On this day when you were turned over to face death on the cross, let us remember that only you are God and only you can say what is bad or good. Help us to remember that the evil done this night led to the greatest good that mankind could ever have wished for. It is only our ignorance that makes us condemn those who killed you instead of praising them as the heroes who made Easter possible. Only you know how you perceive them, and us. So help us to know that we are here to love you and one another — not to condemn, but to love. The love that Jesus showed us every day of his life and death. Amen Next: Guard Was Asleep (Good Friday Story) Previous: Grace (Prayer for Meal Times)

Grace My God, My Love, My Gift! I humbly ask you, the most wonderful of all beings, who by being sacrificed for me made sacrifice the most wonderful thing to be. Please bless the sacrifice that this meal truly is. Bless the sacrifice of those who gave time, love, and sweat to plant it, harvest it, ship it, sell it, and prepare it. Bless those of us who by partaking of it, make it a sacrifice and those who are sacrificing by going hungry. But most of all bless those who like you died to become this sacrifice. Amen Next: Prayer for Maundy Thursday Previous: Even if there is a God, why do we worship?

Even if there is a God why do we Worship? A friend told me about a question their child asked them, and I was so moved that I wrote the following answer. Your mother told me of a question you asked her recently, and it has made me think and want to give you an answer. She said you asked, “Even if there is a God, why should we worship Him?” That is a truly great question, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. The first thing that comes to mind is what is meant by worship. I know that church worship is normally what people think of — and for many, it is what’s important — but for others it’s too limiting and can sometimes try to trap God rather than worship Him. It’s like saying to God, “We’ll do all this for You, but You must be the way we say.” I’m not saying there’s nothing to be gained in church worship, but one has to be careful and stay connected to something deeper. To me, worship has a very simple meaning — Love . The two words are interchangeable. I worship my wife; I l...

The Stupid Little Moon Copyright © 1997, By Odell Sneeden Hathaway III Most fairy tales start “once upon a time.” But before I can say that, I need to explain something to you—something about merry-go-rounds. Something about them that everyone should know. When you’re riding a merry-go-round and you want to look at someone not on the ride, you have to turn your head, or they’ll flash by before you can see them. Like when you want to look at your mom or dad—you have to turn and look at them. If you stare straight ahead and don’t move your head, you can only see them for a second, and then they’re gone. All you’ll see next is the back of your dumb sister. If you know this, you’re smarter than the moon. And now I can tell you my story. Once upon a time, there lived the moon, the earth, the sun, and a merry-go-round. The moon and the earth lived on the merry-go-round. They spun around and around, and while the merry-go-round turned, they spun too—so they could see t...

The Symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea Copyright © 1988 By Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III What is symbolized by the encounter of the old man and the Fish? In Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea" MATTHEW 4:18–19 Now Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I saw in the old man a picture of what God must be like: an old man, full of life—one who loves everything, even the fish whom he must kill. “Everything about him was old except his eyes; they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” If I had to paint a picture of God, I do not know what shape I would make Him, or what color His eyes would be. I do know that He would be old and that His eyes would be young—and most of all, no matter how much He calls us and we refuse His love, He would never l...

He was beautiful He was beautiful—that above all else is what is important! He was not just cute, he was beautiful! He was not just a hunk, he was beautiful! He was not just sexy, he was beautiful! A blind man could have seen it—and yes, many did. When they asked to see more, he would show them, and they would run in terror. The only thing wrong with him was his beauty. His mother had hoped that he would outgrow it. When he was young, she hid him from the world—not as one hides a great treasure, but as one would hide the fact that a family member had AIDS. What he had was far worse: he was beautiful. She would have made him wear a mask if that could have concealed his beauty, but nothing could. As he got older, he had to show the world how beautiful he was—not out of pride (that would not have been beautiful at all), but because he had to show the world the way the rain has to show us that it is wet, and makes us wet in the process. Yes, he was ...

Disciple or lover of God? Who am I Copyright © 1995 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway III Who am I? I am the prince turned into the spider—or maybe I am just the spider who thinks he could one day be a prince. I am sitting on the edge of the sink watching the young woman washing her hair. All I can do is stare up at that glorious sight, intoxicated by it. And when she tries to chase me away, because she knows that I could be hurt by the water she is using, I just sit there staring up until a drop of water flies off her hand and lands on me—burns me and crushes me. And as I lie there dying, I can see her concern for me, and as I die I hope that my death will bring me closer to her and turn me into her prince. Who am I? I am a baby lying in my crib crying, wanting, and needing. My mother gives me a rattle. I play with it and soon find that it is not what I want—it is not what I need. I quickly become bored and start to cry again. This time my mother gives me a pacifier, and...

How do I view myself as a priest? Copyright © 2008 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway III This is a paper I wrote and submitted to the Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles when I was trying to join the priesthood. The title of this paper asks a monumental question—like asking a man here on Earth to step outside of the Milky Way and say what the galaxies look like. One can never really know what one looks like; one can only look around and try to see things in the universe that act like oneself, and see what they look like and what they are. For me, the decision to try to become a priest is one that I have tried to avoid for over ten years. I have many reasons not to be a priest—I am shy, I am introverted, I am … —but I have only one real reason for being a priest, and that reason is that something inside of me has been telling me to be a priest since I was in high school. For me, being a priest is not a choice of occupation or job—it is what I feel I am supposed to be. A dog is ...

Should we have compassion for Judas, or can we tell bad from good? Copyright © 2008 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III When I speak about Judas, I am not talking about Judas who begat Phares and Zara, nor am I talking about Judas of Galilee, but Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, who betrayed Jesus Christ. It is he whom I feel is the most misunderstood person in the Bible. Even the writers of the Bible seem to miss the point of Christ’s life when they speak of Judas! It is understandable: they loved Jesus not as you and I do—not as a mystical Savior who died 2,000 years ago—but as a friend they lived with every day, and whose absence hurt them. They needed to put the blame for this hurt on someone; why not Judas? After all, Judas could not defend himself—first, because he did cause Jesus to be killed; and second, because Judas was dead! To begin, let us try to look at the life of Judas from the only source on it that I have found: the New Testament of the Bible. Juda...

From the Michael-Light Connections (the news letter of the Order of Agape and Reconciliation (O.A.R)) Volume 6 October 1991 I received the message that Sister left on my answering machine when I returned home from a retreat that Weaver was leading down here. It was a wonderful chance to spend some time with him. I know that I still owe you a story and so I hope to give that to you during this letter, but before I begin I want to thank you for the magnificent time I had while I was in Canada; it meant a great deal to me, and I look forward to the time when I will be able to be with you again. It goes without saying that at a point in the past (in my case nearly 30 years ago) I was born. There is very little distinction in this and only slightly more in the fact that I was born in California, where I was raised and still live. I would like to say that I have led a happy life, but that would not be true. When I was in second grade, I finally received a distinction (one I did not wan...

Do we have the right not to play with and bend each other? Copyright © 1984 By Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III (Comments on the poem  "Birches"  by Robert Frost) The boy who bends down the tree did not set out to conquer it. The idea of hurting it would never occur to him. It was not a job or a task — each tree was new and different. No rules. Just feeling. There was something in the boy that, when he passed a tree, made him reach out and touch it. This is the true meaning of play: acting without thought — not like playing chess. Most people do not even “play” music; they merely recreate notes. Few allow themselves to flow into their instrument, not knowing what will come out until the moment of playing. But this little boy, passing a tree, goes with the flow of life — which, through him, plays with the tree. In the same way, each of us should play with one another! We live in a world where we are afraid to play. Each of us becomes rigid and stiff. When the ice builds u...

The Man Without A Heart "A man without a heart"—that is what they called me. If only they knew. But how could they know? To them, I am the monster that destroyed their Lord, the hideous heathen who tossed their God into the flames of hell. Seldom, when they think of me, do they remember that he came out of them—which is fine. When I did it, I did not know that he would be resurrected. Some pardon me for saying that, at some deep spiritual level, I was asked to take on this task—to collect the burdens of mankind to be tossed into that flame as well. But now that I have died, I can see my whole soul, and never till I met Christ did I have any idea what was before me. That moment was one of the most glorious of all time. As soon as I saw him, I was in love—a love only shared by two beings as close as we were in spirit. The other eleven did not know of it. They could not feel the closeness. They were at a lower level than Christ and I. I knew I loved Christ more than any ...