If you are uncomfortable with talking about the human body or about things that relate to bodily functions you might want to stop here. But if you believe that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and that the incarnation is not simply a nice, although difficult to grasp, theological affirmation, but an awesome celebration of God having become flesh in Jesus and affirming our humanity, then you might want to read on.
In a recent issue of The Christian Century, Rodney Clapp, a writer on theology and culture penned a column entitled “Bodily Blessings”. In the article he shared how he was dealing with some health issues and that last winter he spent five weeks on a catheter. He talks about the impressions the experience made on him. He talks about the drama of getting older, of the humiliation, vulnerability and humility he felt as a result of this experience. He also relates the joy he experienced when the catheter was removed and he could go to the bathroom on his own. He writes: “What an earthly, elemental, taken-for-granted thing it is: to pee on your own. At the time it seemed perfectly meet and right to offer praise for this activity.”
He goes on to talk about the Christian affirmation of a bodily spirituality grounded in creation, the incarnation, and the ultimate resurrection of the body – all fundamental Christian orthodoxy. While there have been some that have despised the body and tended towards a Gnostic, Greek emphasis on the spirit and the undervaluing of the gift, the earthiness of the human body, this isn’t mainline Christian theology, especially when we take the Incarnation (God becoming flesh in Christ) seriously. He also points out that the rejection of the body is not a part of Jewish understanding of what it means to be human.. He even shares a Jewish morning prayer for saying after the use of the toilet (“The Blessing of Asher Yatzar”) that goes:
Blessed are you, HaShem, our God, King of the universe Who formed man with intelligence, and created within him many openings and many hollow spaces; it is revealed and known before the Seat of Your Honor, that if one of these would be opened or one of these would be sealed it would be impossible to survive and stand before You (even for one hour). Blessed are you, HaShem, Who heals all flesh and does wonders.
Clapp notes that this prayer is all the more amazing since it puts side by side “God’s throne and the lowly toilet seat.” When was the last time you gave thanks to God for being able to go to the bathroom?
As a pastor I have visited with many people in the hospital and at home who miss the small things – being able to scratch an itch but not able to because they are paralyzed or in a body cast; being able to go to the bathroom unaided; wanting to turn over in bed but not being able to because of severe burns. I remember being in Myanmar once with some people one of whom had severe constipation and how she prayed and prayed for relief. But there are other things, simple things that are easy to take for granted until they are taken away – being unable to taste a good meal because we have a severe head cold; being unable to see the beauty of a sunset or the face of one we love because of blindness or something else that interferes with our vision. I am sure that you can think of things that you have taken for granted and only after some event or accident have come to see how much they are missed.
My point is that we are called to thank God for the little things and the “hidden” things just as much for the great events in life for which we so often easily thank God.
What is it that you take for granted? It is the companionship of a friend? Is it a cold drink on a warm summer day? Is it a warm, dry place to rest on a rainy night? A shady spot on an extremely sunny day? Is it a healthy bowel movement? Whatever it is, there is nothing so small in life that we can’t appreciate it and thank God for it. We are fearfully and wonderfully made! Bless the Lord and do not forget all his blessings, even the small ones
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
God's Presence and Our Inattentiveness
The other night Connie and I were having one of those end-of-the-day conversations some couples have. I commented that I felt that I hadn’t accomplished much that day and had, in fact, wasted the day. It seemed that the day was pretty much a write off without anything significant being accomplished. Connie reminded me in her loving and realistic way that she didn’t think that spending time with her and with our daughter and granddaughter was nonproductive and insignificant. As usual, she was right. Trying to salvage some ground I corrected myself and said that I just felt that I hadn’t accomplished anything “productive.”
As I reflect on that conversation, I am reminded how wrong I was. I had a great time earlier in the day with our daughter and granddaughter as we sampled a new place to eat and talked and laughed together. I did find some time during the day to be quiet and to read and pray and get in some reflection. But the nagging question is what is “productive” anyway? And why is “productive” and “significant” only measured in terms of what useful, industrious work gets done; what can be pointed to and “valued” in the light of what is turned out.
Like many other people, I am the product/prisoner of my success-driven, results–oriented society and culture that evaluates one’s worth on the basis of what one does or produces or contributes rather than on “being”, being someone. And as a Christian, a Protestant Christian, there is always the pressure of the Protestant Work Ethic (ala Max Webber and the Puritans) lurking in the background. It is usually “doing” rather than “being” that really counts.
Now, I’m not discounting the importance of meaningful work or the proper stewardship of time, gifts and opportunities. But my fixation on needing to accomplish something, to see something tangible and concrete and point to something that I could check-off my “to do” list, did bother me.
It made me think again about the importance of such things as relationships, and the value there is in “wasting” time with others and God (to use a phrase from Klaus Issler’s Wasting Time with God: A Christian Spirituality of Friendship with God). The more I reflect on the Christian life, the more I realize that it is relationship. The relationship does bear fruit, it is productive, but the productivity is a result of the deepening of relationship. Focusing on the production as a sign of one’s worth or contribution is to miss the essential quality and value of life which is life lived in and with God. It is cultivating an attentiveness, an awareness, an openness to the giftedness and wonder of God and of life God gives. Or to use a term of the counselor and spiritual writer Robert Wicks, it is cultivating “Prayerfulness.” Wicks defines “Prayerfulness” as: “Being in the present with your eyes wide open to experiencing God and life in dynamic new ways.”
If the Apostle Paul was right, that God is the one in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28; cf. Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3) and the Psalmist is correct that God wants us to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 14:10) and Jesus wasn’t simply uttering pious niceties when he talked about abiding/remaining/resting in union with him, then learning to be attentive, aware to God’s presence in our life and world is really the first task of the follower of Jesus. In this “being” present to God and the wonder of life, we may appear to be “unproductive” or “wasting time”, but actually we are living out our true identity.
Instead of looking for God in the big, extraordinary, astonishing, sensational things of life, maybe the cultivation of our awareness, our prayerfulness, means learning to see how God reveals himself and his many gifts, especially grace, to us in the mundane and unexpected.
There is a story that goes:
The man whispered, “God, speak to me.”
And the meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me.”
And thunder and lightning rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said,” God, let me see you.”
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not see.
And the man shouted,” God, show me a miracle.”
And a life was born.
But the man did not notice.
So the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, and let me know that you are here.”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
This little story speaks volumes about the busyness and lack of attention that is present in most of our lives. God uses many ways and opportunities to reveal himself to us, but most of the time we are so focused on something else or locked into the ways that we think God will or ought to speak to us or show himself to us, that we miss the evidence of God’s grace that comes to us in the unexpected as well as the routines of life.
The hard truth is that the cultivation of awareness or prayerfulness requires refocusing and opening ourselves up to the presence of God. It requires some discipline. In some ways it requires making some lifestyle changes if we are going to know God more deeply. Marjorie Thompson (Soul Feast, p. 11) writes, “It would be nice if we could simply ‘practice the presence of God’ in all of life, without expending energy on particular exercises. But the capacity to remember and abide in God’s presence comes only through steady training.” But instead of being more work or toil or something that binds us, spiritual disciplines offer freedom to recognize God in the world. Henri Nouwen (Making All Things New, p. 68) writes, “Through a spiritual discipline we prevent the world from filling our lives to such an extent that there is no place left to listen. A spiritual discipline sets us free.” Worship, prayer, Bible study, silence, and service are just some of the spiritual disciplines that God has given to us to make us more attentive to those evidences of His grace that come to us on a daily basis. And if we allow them to shape our lives, then, like Brother Lawrence in Practicing the Presence of God, even while working we can be aware of the presence of God and the wonder of life.
Let me ask you a question that I continually ask myself: How often have we asked, begged God to reveal himself and missed it when it came? The lesson is to learn how to be sensitive to the many ways, large and small, that God reveals himself. And if we do, no day will be insignificant or wasted. Prepare to be surprised and blessed!
As I reflect on that conversation, I am reminded how wrong I was. I had a great time earlier in the day with our daughter and granddaughter as we sampled a new place to eat and talked and laughed together. I did find some time during the day to be quiet and to read and pray and get in some reflection. But the nagging question is what is “productive” anyway? And why is “productive” and “significant” only measured in terms of what useful, industrious work gets done; what can be pointed to and “valued” in the light of what is turned out.
Like many other people, I am the product/prisoner of my success-driven, results–oriented society and culture that evaluates one’s worth on the basis of what one does or produces or contributes rather than on “being”, being someone. And as a Christian, a Protestant Christian, there is always the pressure of the Protestant Work Ethic (ala Max Webber and the Puritans) lurking in the background. It is usually “doing” rather than “being” that really counts.
Now, I’m not discounting the importance of meaningful work or the proper stewardship of time, gifts and opportunities. But my fixation on needing to accomplish something, to see something tangible and concrete and point to something that I could check-off my “to do” list, did bother me.
It made me think again about the importance of such things as relationships, and the value there is in “wasting” time with others and God (to use a phrase from Klaus Issler’s Wasting Time with God: A Christian Spirituality of Friendship with God). The more I reflect on the Christian life, the more I realize that it is relationship. The relationship does bear fruit, it is productive, but the productivity is a result of the deepening of relationship. Focusing on the production as a sign of one’s worth or contribution is to miss the essential quality and value of life which is life lived in and with God. It is cultivating an attentiveness, an awareness, an openness to the giftedness and wonder of God and of life God gives. Or to use a term of the counselor and spiritual writer Robert Wicks, it is cultivating “Prayerfulness.” Wicks defines “Prayerfulness” as: “Being in the present with your eyes wide open to experiencing God and life in dynamic new ways.”
If the Apostle Paul was right, that God is the one in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28; cf. Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3) and the Psalmist is correct that God wants us to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 14:10) and Jesus wasn’t simply uttering pious niceties when he talked about abiding/remaining/resting in union with him, then learning to be attentive, aware to God’s presence in our life and world is really the first task of the follower of Jesus. In this “being” present to God and the wonder of life, we may appear to be “unproductive” or “wasting time”, but actually we are living out our true identity.
Instead of looking for God in the big, extraordinary, astonishing, sensational things of life, maybe the cultivation of our awareness, our prayerfulness, means learning to see how God reveals himself and his many gifts, especially grace, to us in the mundane and unexpected.
There is a story that goes:
The man whispered, “God, speak to me.”
And the meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me.”
And thunder and lightning rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said,” God, let me see you.”
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not see.
And the man shouted,” God, show me a miracle.”
And a life was born.
But the man did not notice.
So the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, and let me know that you are here.”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
This little story speaks volumes about the busyness and lack of attention that is present in most of our lives. God uses many ways and opportunities to reveal himself to us, but most of the time we are so focused on something else or locked into the ways that we think God will or ought to speak to us or show himself to us, that we miss the evidence of God’s grace that comes to us in the unexpected as well as the routines of life.
The hard truth is that the cultivation of awareness or prayerfulness requires refocusing and opening ourselves up to the presence of God. It requires some discipline. In some ways it requires making some lifestyle changes if we are going to know God more deeply. Marjorie Thompson (Soul Feast, p. 11) writes, “It would be nice if we could simply ‘practice the presence of God’ in all of life, without expending energy on particular exercises. But the capacity to remember and abide in God’s presence comes only through steady training.” But instead of being more work or toil or something that binds us, spiritual disciplines offer freedom to recognize God in the world. Henri Nouwen (Making All Things New, p. 68) writes, “Through a spiritual discipline we prevent the world from filling our lives to such an extent that there is no place left to listen. A spiritual discipline sets us free.” Worship, prayer, Bible study, silence, and service are just some of the spiritual disciplines that God has given to us to make us more attentive to those evidences of His grace that come to us on a daily basis. And if we allow them to shape our lives, then, like Brother Lawrence in Practicing the Presence of God, even while working we can be aware of the presence of God and the wonder of life.
Let me ask you a question that I continually ask myself: How often have we asked, begged God to reveal himself and missed it when it came? The lesson is to learn how to be sensitive to the many ways, large and small, that God reveals himself. And if we do, no day will be insignificant or wasted. Prepare to be surprised and blessed!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Finding My Deepest Longing
The French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and follower of Jesus, Blaise Pascal, once penned a prayer entitled “You Alone”:
Everything that is not you, God,
cannot fulfill my hopes.
God, I seek and desire you yourself.
To you alone, my God, I turn.
You alone could create my soul,
you alone can create it anew.
You alone could stamp it with your image,
you alone can stamp it anew
and impress your countenance on it again,
which is Jesus Christ, my Savior,
who is your image and the sign of your being.
As I reflect on this prayer I find that it challenges me to look at what I really want or desire in life. Amidst the noise, pressure, group compulsions, rivalry, competing “goods”, direct and indirect control by others, and multitudes of things that fill my days and life, I find it hard to really listen in freedom to the real desire of my heart. There are actually many things I desire – health, security, comfort, affection, etc. But as I look at each of those desires, I really find that there are desires beyond those desires. What is the genuine, deep longing in my life?
Now, as a follower of Jesus, I know what it SHOULD be. Jesus makes that very clear in Matthew 6:33 that the desire that is to be pre-eminent in my life is the Kingdom of God/the doing of the will of God. After all that was the focus and deep desire of Jesus’ life. But how do I get there?
Peter van Breemen writes that “The will of God isn’t something strange and terrible that gets laid down on top of us and to which we must blindly bow. On the contrary, it corresponds to our true deepest being.” He further writes: “If we could all realize our most authentic longings, then the kingdom of God would be here.” (The God of Our Deepest Longings, p. 11)
What I think he is trying to say is that if we keep pushing back beyond our stated desires, we find that ultimately they bring us back to the fundamental longing to live out our identity as people created for relationship with God. God wants to see the unfolding and true fulfillment of our person. This is what it means to live authentic lives. This is what it means to “delight” in the Lord. And the Psalmist reminds us: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Why? Because if our delight/joy, pleasure/contentment is in God, our desires align with God’s longings for us.
I find that often I am more delighted in the gifts that God gives rather than delighting in the Giver. My joy is often in what I receive from God more than finding my joy in God. I really would like to be able to say with the prophet Habakkuk (3:17-18):
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet will I rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
I have a long way to go, but I am on the journey. First comes joy in God – the gracious, loving God revealed in Jesus. And when I find my joy there, I am free enough to surrender everything. And when I do, I can experience the fulfillment of my deepest longing – a peace that the world cannot give or take away (John 14:27)
Everything that is not you, God,
cannot fulfill my hopes.
God, I seek and desire you yourself.
To you alone, my God, I turn.
You alone could create my soul,
you alone can create it anew.
You alone could stamp it with your image,
you alone can stamp it anew
and impress your countenance on it again,
which is Jesus Christ, my Savior,
who is your image and the sign of your being.
As I reflect on this prayer I find that it challenges me to look at what I really want or desire in life. Amidst the noise, pressure, group compulsions, rivalry, competing “goods”, direct and indirect control by others, and multitudes of things that fill my days and life, I find it hard to really listen in freedom to the real desire of my heart. There are actually many things I desire – health, security, comfort, affection, etc. But as I look at each of those desires, I really find that there are desires beyond those desires. What is the genuine, deep longing in my life?
Now, as a follower of Jesus, I know what it SHOULD be. Jesus makes that very clear in Matthew 6:33 that the desire that is to be pre-eminent in my life is the Kingdom of God/the doing of the will of God. After all that was the focus and deep desire of Jesus’ life. But how do I get there?
Peter van Breemen writes that “The will of God isn’t something strange and terrible that gets laid down on top of us and to which we must blindly bow. On the contrary, it corresponds to our true deepest being.” He further writes: “If we could all realize our most authentic longings, then the kingdom of God would be here.” (The God of Our Deepest Longings, p. 11)
What I think he is trying to say is that if we keep pushing back beyond our stated desires, we find that ultimately they bring us back to the fundamental longing to live out our identity as people created for relationship with God. God wants to see the unfolding and true fulfillment of our person. This is what it means to live authentic lives. This is what it means to “delight” in the Lord. And the Psalmist reminds us: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Why? Because if our delight/joy, pleasure/contentment is in God, our desires align with God’s longings for us.
I find that often I am more delighted in the gifts that God gives rather than delighting in the Giver. My joy is often in what I receive from God more than finding my joy in God. I really would like to be able to say with the prophet Habakkuk (3:17-18):
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet will I rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
I have a long way to go, but I am on the journey. First comes joy in God – the gracious, loving God revealed in Jesus. And when I find my joy there, I am free enough to surrender everything. And when I do, I can experience the fulfillment of my deepest longing – a peace that the world cannot give or take away (John 14:27)
Don't Give Up On The World Just Yet
The late Indian Jesuit teacher Rev. Anthony de Mello once told a story of a journalist who wanted to write a book about a certain spiritual leader. He visits the teacher and begins with a question: “People say you are a genius. Are you?” “You might say so,” the guru answered none too modestly. But the journalist—who was not particularly shy either—immediately fired back with another question, “And what makes one a genius?” The guru responded, “The ability to see.” With this response the journalist was at a loss and helplessly mumbled, “To see what?” The teacher quietly answered, “The butterfly in a caterpillar, the eagle in an egg, the saint in a selfish person.”
De Mello told this story to illustrate the nature of love, particularly God’s love. To love with a God-like/Christ-like love is to be able to pick up what is hidden in the other and is able through this loving way of looking to call it forth. And what is hidden in the other is the image of God in which that person was created.
Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities, once wrote that love is “to reveal to a person his or her inner beauty.” As we read the Gospels we see that Jesus had a special gift for this. Wherever he went he seemed to be able to create a climate in which people could see themselves, in which they discovered the value they carried in themselves. Whether it was a the leper, the “sinful” woman, the religious zealot, the up-tight super pious, righteous religious leader, they were able to see that, in the eyes of Jesus, they all had value and dignity. Unfortunately, not all accepted that picture of themselves.
Jesus’ way of looking at others is so different from our normal understanding of love and so different from the way that many Christians often look at the world around them. In recent months there has been a lot of talk about Rev. Harold Camping’s prediction that the beginning of the end of the world will take place on Saturday, May 21. While I think I’ll go with Jesus on this one – where in Matthew 24:36 Jesus makes it clear that he doesn’t even know the date of the end, that the time is known only to the Father. But I am concerned that many people who seem to be attracted to this sort of doomsday movement are Christians who have given up on the world. I just don’t see this in Jesus. The first century world had its wickedness and hatred and injustice – what is the Cross if not the height of cruelty and injustice – and yet Jesus never stopped loving. Admittedly, that love was not always returned, but that isn’t the purpose of real love. Inter-personal love, in the New Testament sense of agape love, is always focused on the object of the love and the hoped-for-transformation of the other rather than on how the person doing the loving feels or what he/she gets out of the relationship. One loves because the other needs the love and deserves the love based on who he or she is – one created in the image of God. This is why those end-of-world bumper stickers that say “In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned” rub me the wrong way. I envision driver-less cars running into people (“lost people” who seem to have been abandoned by God) without any regard for them. I just don’t see Jesus’ love in this.
What I think Jesus calls us to do as we come to have his heart and mind as his followers is to see beyond appearances and the superficial to what is hidden within the other, in particular the image of God that is in them. It is not easy – both because we fall so far short of aligning our hearts and minds and lives with the Jesus we profess to follow, and because the image of God is so often hidden beneath so much garbage that has accumulated in the other person’s life that it takes some deep excavation and patience. But if we are followers of Jesus we have no other option – “As I have loved you, so you are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). And if Jesus’ life is any indication, this love doesn’t begin and end with those who in the family of God.
This is why I can’t give up on the world – “For God so loved the world, …” (John 3:16). My goal should be to pick up on what is hidden in the other and through my love hopefully draw it out. Because when the other becomes alert to his/her dignity and honor as one created in the image of God and loved into existence by this God and shown the heights of this love in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, they become fully alive.
So don’t write off this world just yet. Instead, with the love that God’s Spirit has poured into your heart (Romans 5:5) show that love to each person you meet. It means looking beyond the external and picking up on what is hidden within, but when we do, we continue Jesus’ ministry in the world.
De Mello told this story to illustrate the nature of love, particularly God’s love. To love with a God-like/Christ-like love is to be able to pick up what is hidden in the other and is able through this loving way of looking to call it forth. And what is hidden in the other is the image of God in which that person was created.
Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities, once wrote that love is “to reveal to a person his or her inner beauty.” As we read the Gospels we see that Jesus had a special gift for this. Wherever he went he seemed to be able to create a climate in which people could see themselves, in which they discovered the value they carried in themselves. Whether it was a the leper, the “sinful” woman, the religious zealot, the up-tight super pious, righteous religious leader, they were able to see that, in the eyes of Jesus, they all had value and dignity. Unfortunately, not all accepted that picture of themselves.
Jesus’ way of looking at others is so different from our normal understanding of love and so different from the way that many Christians often look at the world around them. In recent months there has been a lot of talk about Rev. Harold Camping’s prediction that the beginning of the end of the world will take place on Saturday, May 21. While I think I’ll go with Jesus on this one – where in Matthew 24:36 Jesus makes it clear that he doesn’t even know the date of the end, that the time is known only to the Father. But I am concerned that many people who seem to be attracted to this sort of doomsday movement are Christians who have given up on the world. I just don’t see this in Jesus. The first century world had its wickedness and hatred and injustice – what is the Cross if not the height of cruelty and injustice – and yet Jesus never stopped loving. Admittedly, that love was not always returned, but that isn’t the purpose of real love. Inter-personal love, in the New Testament sense of agape love, is always focused on the object of the love and the hoped-for-transformation of the other rather than on how the person doing the loving feels or what he/she gets out of the relationship. One loves because the other needs the love and deserves the love based on who he or she is – one created in the image of God. This is why those end-of-world bumper stickers that say “In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned” rub me the wrong way. I envision driver-less cars running into people (“lost people” who seem to have been abandoned by God) without any regard for them. I just don’t see Jesus’ love in this.
What I think Jesus calls us to do as we come to have his heart and mind as his followers is to see beyond appearances and the superficial to what is hidden within the other, in particular the image of God that is in them. It is not easy – both because we fall so far short of aligning our hearts and minds and lives with the Jesus we profess to follow, and because the image of God is so often hidden beneath so much garbage that has accumulated in the other person’s life that it takes some deep excavation and patience. But if we are followers of Jesus we have no other option – “As I have loved you, so you are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). And if Jesus’ life is any indication, this love doesn’t begin and end with those who in the family of God.
This is why I can’t give up on the world – “For God so loved the world, …” (John 3:16). My goal should be to pick up on what is hidden in the other and through my love hopefully draw it out. Because when the other becomes alert to his/her dignity and honor as one created in the image of God and loved into existence by this God and shown the heights of this love in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, they become fully alive.
So don’t write off this world just yet. Instead, with the love that God’s Spirit has poured into your heart (Romans 5:5) show that love to each person you meet. It means looking beyond the external and picking up on what is hidden within, but when we do, we continue Jesus’ ministry in the world.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Giving to Help Another
Today is one of those days when I just want to close all the blinds, crawl back into bed and wait for the melancholy to pass.
It is a gray, wet, dismal day here in the Northwest. After the last couple of sunny and warm days, the rain seems especially gloomy and oppressive. But it isn’t just the rain. I had a phone call this afternoon from a pastor friend who told me he had just resigned reluctantly, painfully, from his church; the daily spectacle of the posturing of politicians holding to an ideological line while millions of people experience the pain and debilitating apprehension and fear of an uncertain economic future or face uncertain health challenges without medical insurance; the face of some senior citizens I visited this earlier week who sit in care facilities wondering about their children; international news of a cholera outbreak that continues to take its toll in Haiti and in other parts of the world; news of men, women and children cut down by evil elites bent on holding on to their power; etc. It is easy to feel low when we focus on these things.
But at the same time I am reminded of the strength and dignity and resolve and sacrifice of many of the same people and the people around them who are willing to give and share with them. Sometimes it is something tangible such as medicine or financial aid or a place to stay. Other times it is the gift of presence and encouraging words and prayers.
A while back I came across this story. Dr. Samuel Weinstein is the chief of pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery for the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. In May of 2006, he traveled to El Salvador with Heart Care International in order to provide life-saving operations for less-fortunate children. However, Dr. Weinstein discovered that it would take more than his expertise and advanced equipment to save the life of 8-year-old Francisco Calderon Anthony Fernandez.
Dr. Weinstein and his team began operating on Francisco's heart shortly before noon. Twelve hours later, the procedure took a deadly turn. "The surgery had been going well, everything was working great, but he was bleeding a lot and they didn't have a lot of the medicines we would use to stop the bleeding," Weinstein said. "After a while, they said they couldn't give him blood because they were running out and he had a rare type.'' Francisco's blood type was B-negative, which, according to the American Red Cross, is present in only 2 percent of the population.
As it turned out, the only other person in the room with a blood type of B-negative was Dr. Weinstein. Knowing what he had to do, he stepped away from the operating table. As his colleagues continued their precision work, Dr. Weinstein set aside his scalpel, took off his gloves, and began washing his hands and forearm. Then, in the corner of an unfamiliar operating room, this surgeon from one of the most advanced hospitals in the world sat down to give away his own blood.
When he had given his pint, Dr. Weinstein drank some bottled water and ate a Pop-Tart. Then, 20 minutes after stepping away from the table, he rejoined his colleagues. After watching his own blood begin circulating into the boy's small veins, Dr. Weinstein completed the operation that saved Francisco's heart and his life.
You and I may not be in the exact same situation as Dr. Weinstein, having to give our blood, but you do have something to share, especially if you are a follower of Jesus.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the circumstances or situations around us. It is easy to give up or shut down. But God has given us a message as well as a gift or many gifts to use in the service of the church and the world. There is not always an easy or immediate solution to some of the challenges and situations we face or that others face. But if we are followers of Jesus we have been told, and hopefully believe, that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus has changed everything. That because of Jesus it is possible to move from worry to trust, from unease to peace, from a sense of abandonment and isolation to the joy of acceptance and community. These are possible, not because of our own resources, although God expects us to use what has been entrusted to us to help others who have all been created in God’s image, but because of what the resurrected Christ wants to do in and through us in a hurt and bleeding world.
Are you sharing? You may have what is needed to help. What you have may save a person life. What you have may help another person in bringing them closer to God. Are you sharing?
It is a gray, wet, dismal day here in the Northwest. After the last couple of sunny and warm days, the rain seems especially gloomy and oppressive. But it isn’t just the rain. I had a phone call this afternoon from a pastor friend who told me he had just resigned reluctantly, painfully, from his church; the daily spectacle of the posturing of politicians holding to an ideological line while millions of people experience the pain and debilitating apprehension and fear of an uncertain economic future or face uncertain health challenges without medical insurance; the face of some senior citizens I visited this earlier week who sit in care facilities wondering about their children; international news of a cholera outbreak that continues to take its toll in Haiti and in other parts of the world; news of men, women and children cut down by evil elites bent on holding on to their power; etc. It is easy to feel low when we focus on these things.
But at the same time I am reminded of the strength and dignity and resolve and sacrifice of many of the same people and the people around them who are willing to give and share with them. Sometimes it is something tangible such as medicine or financial aid or a place to stay. Other times it is the gift of presence and encouraging words and prayers.
A while back I came across this story. Dr. Samuel Weinstein is the chief of pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery for the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. In May of 2006, he traveled to El Salvador with Heart Care International in order to provide life-saving operations for less-fortunate children. However, Dr. Weinstein discovered that it would take more than his expertise and advanced equipment to save the life of 8-year-old Francisco Calderon Anthony Fernandez.
Dr. Weinstein and his team began operating on Francisco's heart shortly before noon. Twelve hours later, the procedure took a deadly turn. "The surgery had been going well, everything was working great, but he was bleeding a lot and they didn't have a lot of the medicines we would use to stop the bleeding," Weinstein said. "After a while, they said they couldn't give him blood because they were running out and he had a rare type.'' Francisco's blood type was B-negative, which, according to the American Red Cross, is present in only 2 percent of the population.
As it turned out, the only other person in the room with a blood type of B-negative was Dr. Weinstein. Knowing what he had to do, he stepped away from the operating table. As his colleagues continued their precision work, Dr. Weinstein set aside his scalpel, took off his gloves, and began washing his hands and forearm. Then, in the corner of an unfamiliar operating room, this surgeon from one of the most advanced hospitals in the world sat down to give away his own blood.
When he had given his pint, Dr. Weinstein drank some bottled water and ate a Pop-Tart. Then, 20 minutes after stepping away from the table, he rejoined his colleagues. After watching his own blood begin circulating into the boy's small veins, Dr. Weinstein completed the operation that saved Francisco's heart and his life.
You and I may not be in the exact same situation as Dr. Weinstein, having to give our blood, but you do have something to share, especially if you are a follower of Jesus.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the circumstances or situations around us. It is easy to give up or shut down. But God has given us a message as well as a gift or many gifts to use in the service of the church and the world. There is not always an easy or immediate solution to some of the challenges and situations we face or that others face. But if we are followers of Jesus we have been told, and hopefully believe, that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus has changed everything. That because of Jesus it is possible to move from worry to trust, from unease to peace, from a sense of abandonment and isolation to the joy of acceptance and community. These are possible, not because of our own resources, although God expects us to use what has been entrusted to us to help others who have all been created in God’s image, but because of what the resurrected Christ wants to do in and through us in a hurt and bleeding world.
Are you sharing? You may have what is needed to help. What you have may save a person life. What you have may help another person in bringing them closer to God. Are you sharing?
Friday, May 6, 2011
Focusing
Recently I had a visit to the optometrist. The exam went well, but she suggested that I get a Visual Field Exam. This sounded serious, but she assured me that it wasn’t a big thing and that they just wanted to check my peripheral vision and to see if there were any signs of Glaucoma.
When the day came for the exam, it was pretty straight forward. You sit in front of a machine with your forehead pressed against it peering into a screen; one eye is covered and you are asked to stare straight ahead at a light. You are given a small handheld buzzer and told to click the buzzer whenever you see a light appear on the screen, all the while focusing on the light in the middle. So while focusing on the light in the middle I clicked the buzzer whenever another light appeared -- in the lower right hand corner, the upper left, to the left of the center, and so on. The test is then repeated with the other eye.
The exam turned out fine. No significant or notable issues. But I felt that as I was doing the test it was hard to stay focused on the light in the center of the screen. When I saw a light to the side or above or below, there was a real tendency to focus on that light and lose sight of the main light.
Since I was thinking pastorally and homiletically (as a pastor and preacher) I began to draw some parallels from that test to our walk as followers of Jesus. If the New Testament makes one thing clear it is that we are called to focus on Jesus. The writer of Hebrews states as much when he says to a struggling group of first century believers, that they should be: “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,…” (Hebrews 12:2. The word used by the author (aphorontes) for “looking” has the idea of “looking away from other things” and because of the tense in the original suggests constant attention (cf. Hebrews 2:1). The larger context with its imagery of a race adds to this. The believer is running a race and everything that would encumber him/her or divert ones attention must be put away and the athlete must keep his/her eyes fixed on the goal towards which they are pressing. The goal is to be like Jesus in faith and faithfulness.
Now, I know that this is really the goal and focus of the Christian life, but it is so easy to be sidetracked and diverted and drawn away by the other “lights”. Like crows attracted to bright shiny objects we lose our way and instead of focusing on Jesus and the life he calls us to and models before us, we find ourselves focusing on other things – a great academic career, a prestigious job, a great family, the allure of material things, the pull of being a part of the “in-group” – and we lose sight of Jesus, the one who is supposed to be the focus of life. Now some of these things that capture our attention are good. But if we have lost sight of Jesus, it is easy to make these other things into gods that capture and consume our souls.
In his book, The Silver Chair (chapter 2), C.S. Lewis has a scene where Aslan, a Christ-figure, is speaking to the children about what they have experienced in his presence and what he has said to them. Aslan says: “Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.”
“Remember” – that is the advice that Aslan gives to the children. It is also good advice for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus. It is easy to feel God’s presence and grace when we are gathered together in worship – praising God and hearing his word shared and being supported and encouraged by those around us who also share the same faith. It is easy to focus on Jesus when we are in that kind of setting. But down in the valley, in our day-to-day lives, it is easy to forget. It is easy to allow the appearances and the pressures and the voices and things of life to overwhelm us and we begin to question whether that time with God was real. We lose our focus. That is why not only in worship, but in our daily devotional time, small groups, and fellowship groups it is important to know “by heart” God’s word and to remember the grace and truth, the comfort and challenge of the Gospel. That is why Jesus seems to sum up the Christian life by saying it is all about seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).
What about us? What are you focusing on? What are you committing to memory? What is guiding your life – appearances or promise? Do you have your eyes fixed on Jesus or is your attention drawn away by the peripheral lights and attractions of life?
When the day came for the exam, it was pretty straight forward. You sit in front of a machine with your forehead pressed against it peering into a screen; one eye is covered and you are asked to stare straight ahead at a light. You are given a small handheld buzzer and told to click the buzzer whenever you see a light appear on the screen, all the while focusing on the light in the middle. So while focusing on the light in the middle I clicked the buzzer whenever another light appeared -- in the lower right hand corner, the upper left, to the left of the center, and so on. The test is then repeated with the other eye.
The exam turned out fine. No significant or notable issues. But I felt that as I was doing the test it was hard to stay focused on the light in the center of the screen. When I saw a light to the side or above or below, there was a real tendency to focus on that light and lose sight of the main light.
Since I was thinking pastorally and homiletically (as a pastor and preacher) I began to draw some parallels from that test to our walk as followers of Jesus. If the New Testament makes one thing clear it is that we are called to focus on Jesus. The writer of Hebrews states as much when he says to a struggling group of first century believers, that they should be: “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,…” (Hebrews 12:2. The word used by the author (aphorontes) for “looking” has the idea of “looking away from other things” and because of the tense in the original suggests constant attention (cf. Hebrews 2:1). The larger context with its imagery of a race adds to this. The believer is running a race and everything that would encumber him/her or divert ones attention must be put away and the athlete must keep his/her eyes fixed on the goal towards which they are pressing. The goal is to be like Jesus in faith and faithfulness.
Now, I know that this is really the goal and focus of the Christian life, but it is so easy to be sidetracked and diverted and drawn away by the other “lights”. Like crows attracted to bright shiny objects we lose our way and instead of focusing on Jesus and the life he calls us to and models before us, we find ourselves focusing on other things – a great academic career, a prestigious job, a great family, the allure of material things, the pull of being a part of the “in-group” – and we lose sight of Jesus, the one who is supposed to be the focus of life. Now some of these things that capture our attention are good. But if we have lost sight of Jesus, it is easy to make these other things into gods that capture and consume our souls.
In his book, The Silver Chair (chapter 2), C.S. Lewis has a scene where Aslan, a Christ-figure, is speaking to the children about what they have experienced in his presence and what he has said to them. Aslan says: “Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.”
“Remember” – that is the advice that Aslan gives to the children. It is also good advice for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus. It is easy to feel God’s presence and grace when we are gathered together in worship – praising God and hearing his word shared and being supported and encouraged by those around us who also share the same faith. It is easy to focus on Jesus when we are in that kind of setting. But down in the valley, in our day-to-day lives, it is easy to forget. It is easy to allow the appearances and the pressures and the voices and things of life to overwhelm us and we begin to question whether that time with God was real. We lose our focus. That is why not only in worship, but in our daily devotional time, small groups, and fellowship groups it is important to know “by heart” God’s word and to remember the grace and truth, the comfort and challenge of the Gospel. That is why Jesus seems to sum up the Christian life by saying it is all about seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).
What about us? What are you focusing on? What are you committing to memory? What is guiding your life – appearances or promise? Do you have your eyes fixed on Jesus or is your attention drawn away by the peripheral lights and attractions of life?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Moving Beyond the Walls of Fear
In the Gospel of John’s account of that first Easter day, we find a picture of the disciples hiding behind locked doors out of fear of the religious authorities (John 20:19). The Jewish authorities, working with the Romans, had arrested, condemned, and killed their teacher, Jesus, and the same could easily happen to them. Yes, there had been rumours that Jesus wasn’t dead, that he was alive, resurrected --at least, that is what Mary Magdalene had said. But Peter and another disciple had only found an open tomb and empty grave clothes. Interesting, but not convincing. So out fear, confusion, self-preservation the disciples sought safety in a locked room.
Fear hems us in; ties us in knots; makes us live cramped lives. Sometimes we feel that we have good reason to fear. But there are other times, probably most of the time, when our fears are faceless fears. Fears that come more from inside than from outside. The fear of trouble can often be more crushing than the trouble itself. The truth is that people seldom work themselves into a nervous breakdown. They worry themselves into it. The American humorist Mark Twain once wrote: “Over the years, I have worried about many things, most of which never happened.” The reality is that we often create and bring on many of our troubles. This is true in my life and experience. The educator William James once pointed out that 85 percent of all suffering is self-induced.
There is an interesting line in the holocaust novel The Diary of Anne Frank. Anne and eight other fellow Jews had been hiding out from the Nazis for many months, when suddenly the pressure of confinement and living so closely together caused a serious argument. Long-repressed resentments burst into the open in a very bitter exchange. Then Anne’s father says, “If we continue the way we are going, the Nazis will not need to destroy us. We will have destroyed ourselves.”
That is a warning we need to take seriously. The real issues of life, more often than not, are decided within us, deep down in our hearts and souls, not “out there” somewhere. It’s the trouble within us that often crushes us--those lurking fears and insecurities.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t real difficulties and challenges in life – the call from the doctor that they have discovered something they would like to discuss with you; the news that your job has been made redundant; the refusal letter that comes from that school or that job you applied for. And the list goes on of challenges and set-backs and disappointments.
And there are those faceless fears – will people like me? Can I do that job? Will I ever find love? Is my faith strong enough? How will I cope when he/she is gone? These fears challenge us to look deep within and find our strength and peace, otherwise they will crush us.
When Jesus comes to his disciples on that Easter evening, he knows that they are fearful. He knows that their fear can easily paralyze them. But he has called them to Life and to embrace the life that he gives; to accept that life, to follow him means to risk; to move beyond the walls that can easily hem us in and to live by faith. This isn’t an irrational leap in the dark, but a realization that Jesus unlocks the doors of our lives and invites us to step out with him. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in God (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). It is confidence in God’s love and power, the power that raises the dead. To follow Jesus is to be on a journey that expands our horizons and refuses to live cramped lives.
Nothing enables us to overcome fear as much as our awareness deep within that God is with us, that God loves us, that God will never desert us or forsake us; that God will see us through. This is what the Psalmist meant when he said, “I fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4). This is what the prophet meant when he wrote: “But thus says the Lord: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” (Isaiah 43:1). This is what the Apostle Paul was emphasizing when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who continues to strengthen me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Can you and I say that and mean it? Can we say, “I will not allow fear to win. I refuse to live my life hemmed in, cramped by fear and insecurity. I’m ready for anything, through Christ, who strengthens me?” When life is supported by that kind of faith, a resurrection faith, that kind of strong sense of God’s presence and watchful care, then we are released from cramped lives and faceless fears and are better able to face the challenges of life creatively and expectantly.
Here is another prayer by Terry Tassard (Stations of the Resurrection) that you might find helpful as you seek to break through the fears that hem you in:
Sometimes, Lord,
fear hems us in.
We fear the judgment of others,
of being put in the balance
and found wanting.
We fear being thought too unfashionable.
Too unconventional.
Too old. Too young.
Too religious,
or as not having enough faith.
Lord, help us to be ourselves.
Usher us out of the locked room of our fears,
so that we may take our place
in the world,
and do what we can do.
Peace and Easter Blessings.
Fear hems us in; ties us in knots; makes us live cramped lives. Sometimes we feel that we have good reason to fear. But there are other times, probably most of the time, when our fears are faceless fears. Fears that come more from inside than from outside. The fear of trouble can often be more crushing than the trouble itself. The truth is that people seldom work themselves into a nervous breakdown. They worry themselves into it. The American humorist Mark Twain once wrote: “Over the years, I have worried about many things, most of which never happened.” The reality is that we often create and bring on many of our troubles. This is true in my life and experience. The educator William James once pointed out that 85 percent of all suffering is self-induced.
There is an interesting line in the holocaust novel The Diary of Anne Frank. Anne and eight other fellow Jews had been hiding out from the Nazis for many months, when suddenly the pressure of confinement and living so closely together caused a serious argument. Long-repressed resentments burst into the open in a very bitter exchange. Then Anne’s father says, “If we continue the way we are going, the Nazis will not need to destroy us. We will have destroyed ourselves.”
That is a warning we need to take seriously. The real issues of life, more often than not, are decided within us, deep down in our hearts and souls, not “out there” somewhere. It’s the trouble within us that often crushes us--those lurking fears and insecurities.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t real difficulties and challenges in life – the call from the doctor that they have discovered something they would like to discuss with you; the news that your job has been made redundant; the refusal letter that comes from that school or that job you applied for. And the list goes on of challenges and set-backs and disappointments.
And there are those faceless fears – will people like me? Can I do that job? Will I ever find love? Is my faith strong enough? How will I cope when he/she is gone? These fears challenge us to look deep within and find our strength and peace, otherwise they will crush us.
When Jesus comes to his disciples on that Easter evening, he knows that they are fearful. He knows that their fear can easily paralyze them. But he has called them to Life and to embrace the life that he gives; to accept that life, to follow him means to risk; to move beyond the walls that can easily hem us in and to live by faith. This isn’t an irrational leap in the dark, but a realization that Jesus unlocks the doors of our lives and invites us to step out with him. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in God (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). It is confidence in God’s love and power, the power that raises the dead. To follow Jesus is to be on a journey that expands our horizons and refuses to live cramped lives.
Nothing enables us to overcome fear as much as our awareness deep within that God is with us, that God loves us, that God will never desert us or forsake us; that God will see us through. This is what the Psalmist meant when he said, “I fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4). This is what the prophet meant when he wrote: “But thus says the Lord: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” (Isaiah 43:1). This is what the Apostle Paul was emphasizing when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who continues to strengthen me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Can you and I say that and mean it? Can we say, “I will not allow fear to win. I refuse to live my life hemmed in, cramped by fear and insecurity. I’m ready for anything, through Christ, who strengthens me?” When life is supported by that kind of faith, a resurrection faith, that kind of strong sense of God’s presence and watchful care, then we are released from cramped lives and faceless fears and are better able to face the challenges of life creatively and expectantly.
Here is another prayer by Terry Tassard (Stations of the Resurrection) that you might find helpful as you seek to break through the fears that hem you in:
Sometimes, Lord,
fear hems us in.
We fear the judgment of others,
of being put in the balance
and found wanting.
We fear being thought too unfashionable.
Too unconventional.
Too old. Too young.
Too religious,
or as not having enough faith.
Lord, help us to be ourselves.
Usher us out of the locked room of our fears,
so that we may take our place
in the world,
and do what we can do.
Peace and Easter Blessings.
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