Fried Chicken Agape

Agape, translated as "love: the highest form of love, especially brotherly love, charity; the love of God for man and of man for God." The noun form first occurs in the Septuagint, but the verb form goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in "greet with affection" and "show affection for the dead."

There is a fellowship of which I belong. It is called The Walk to Emmaus. It like Church and AA is a big part of my Spiritual program. In the Walk to Emmaus movement Agape plays a big role.  It is through acts of agape that I have experienced the most recognizable manifestation of God's wondrous Grace.

I remember my late mother Jeanne trying to fry chicken for us one time. Being that she was from the north- Pittsburgh, Pa. to be exact- and of direct German decent, she did not have much of a foundation in chicken frying. I remember enjoying the chicken but not that my mother had burns from grease splatter.  I don't remember her cooking fried chicken again. She could however make a mean leg o lamb!


It was during my years in high school and college in the deep south that I learned what an art it was to be able to make good authentic southern fried chicken.  I've been at the table with families when the matriarch has fried chicken for dinner and it was a near religious experience for this younger man. It is through Walk to Emmaus that I learned these were experiences of God's "Prevenient" Grace.

There is this authentic "Southern" lady I know who, reputation has it, makes awesome fried chicken.  As her kids have grown and moved away from the stove, so to speak, she will make fried chicken on special occasions and that is when I know her Agape is flowing mightily!

Amen Sister

Bradford Bosworth
August 2015

My Father's Keys

Somewhere around 2006 I became interested in antique keys. Skeleton keys first attracted me and I am not sure how I was drawn except that now I believe it was my divine nature’s calling. If you ever hold one of these keys in your hand, it has a mystic quality and raises questions. How old, how many hands touched, how far has it come? These are the questions that flow and each key stands alone unique in its own character.

 

One day I decided to google St. Peter’s Keys because I always had this concept of him standing by the Pearly Gates with keys. I was lead to some great insights and understandings about Rome (Italy) and the how the design of St. Peter’s Basilica came to be shaped like a key. But most of all I was captured by the scripture that is the root of all connection between the apostle Peter and keys. The words are spoken by Jesus to Peter as told in the Gospel of Mathew.

 

Mathew 16:19.

 

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.”

 

It was not long until I was making ceiling & lamp fan pulls with keys I bought through auction on Ebay. I had them for sale in a local gift store in Smyrna, Ga. (The Nest), where I live and also in my Ebay store (The Jazzman’s Joint). But mostly I gave them as gifts. Each would come with a card that contained the Gospel scripture.

 

 

 

Now my youngest daughter Jeanne is about to travel to Rome in a study abroad program. She is taking eight of these Lamp/Fan pulls with her. Every two weeks while she is in Italy she will use a piece of scripture from the Holy Bible picked by her earthly father and ask for guidance from her Heavenly Father as how to and who to give it away.  Jeanne will then write a letter to “Dad” about her experiences giving the “Kingdom Key” away.

 

I will write about this experience as well as my challenge to quell fears about my daughter being so far away and out of my control and about how it is testing my faith.

No Greater Guilt or Shame

Origin of name for Peter's Promise Ministry

When reading the Gospels with a focus on the Apostle Peter we can learn a few things about ourselves. Peter whose name was really Simon was called Peter by Jesus.  Have we not had times in our lives when people - usually those close to us or ones to whom we’ve looked up to - have dubbed us by a different “nickname”?  The moniker comes from love as a term of endearment and it sticks. Perhaps this was the case with Jesus and Simon, who Jesus called Peter. (Mark 3:16)

Do we not all yearn to be chosen, or even better to be the first chosen?  Peter was of the first disciples to be invited by Jesus.  This young fisherman was so impressed by the carpenter calling that he just dropped his nets and followed Jesus right along. Into our lives some have come and we have felt that person is our “ticket”, or the key to our success and we have latched on with hope and anticipation. So Jesus was with Peter.  (Mathew 4:18-20 &10:2)

And even as we have experienced God’s prevenient Grace and witnessed small miracles with these people who may be parents, siblings or teachers, our worldly flaws cause us to miss our mark, to lose our trust and falter as friends, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters.  We see this with Peter as he begins moving toward Jesus on the water, winds of doubt take over and Peter starts sinking until he reaches out his hand. (Mathew 14:27-32).

Peter had a back stage pass, so to speak, for the greatest show ever on earth. He was hand picked by Jesus to go on a hike where he would meet God, Moses and Elijah! Peter was so excited after this trip he wanted to build shelters for them and stay on that mountain forever. (Luke 9:28-36).

Jesus knew the day would come when this disciple of whom he was so fond would falter in a way that would cause Peter a level of shame and guilt that would be hard to comprehend. And Jesus told Peter so. In spite of all Peter had experienced he could not believe Jesus (John 13:36-38).

And Peter with his best intentions to stand by Jesus and be close to help after Jesus was arrested was so paralyzed by fear that he lied about knowing Jesus and soon thereafter his Lord was beaten unmercifully and spat upon. Jesus made eye contact with Peter and the rooster crowed three times.  Peter wept bitterly. (Luke 22:54-65).

A stronger message to Peter comes from his Lord in the account of resurrection morning as told in Mark’s Gospel chapter 16.  In this account the three women are surprised when they get to the tomb and the huge boulder has already been rolled away. As they enter there is a man in a white robe sitting to the right side of where Jesus’s body had been laid. And the man in a white robe we believe is an Angel of the Lord and he says to the ladies that they are to tell the disciples and Peter (especially Peter) Its Okay! The Lord is risen. He is alive. (Mark 16:1-8).

This is for us Peter’s Promise: “It’s Okay”.  No matter the transgression we are redeemed because Jesus Lives. Or to quote a passage from another divinely inspired book. “No matter how far down the scale we’ve gone we will see how our experience can benefit others. (The Big Book: Into Action, Pg 84.)

 

St. Peter became better and went into action and look what he accomplished: