For and Against

"...no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against you is for you..."      Jesus to his disciples in Mark 9


"Whoever is not against you is for you" is a lot different from the inverse of the statement which seems to be more commonly used: "If you are not for me you are against me."  The main difference is in pure numbers.  There are a whole lot of people, probably most people in the world, who are "not against you", while those who actually know you and are "for" you are probably few in number.  

Jesus' way of seeing "for and against" immediately assumes inclusion and acceptance of others.  The other way assumes exclusion and rejection.

The 8th Chapter of Romans eloquently articulates the world view available to us when we discover the Eternal Presence of God, the Spirit of Christ, in our lives and the lives of others, the summation of which is:  "If God is for us who can be against us?"   And even though it is a rhetorical question, the answer is provided: nothing can "separate us from the  love of God."

A juxtaposition of Mark and Romans gives us a pretty good way to see the world:
Whoever is not against you is for you.  If God is for you who can be against you?
     

Words

…those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it…Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed…

Mark 8:35,38

-today's message is from my sermon Playful, Powerful Words, September 16, 2012:

Jesus uses the words that he nearly always uses to describe himself:  “Son of Man.”  This is a title with which the disciples would be familiar. It appears in numerous places in the Hebrew Scriptures and has a wide range of meaning that encompasses the fullness of the human/divine relationship.

By calling himself Son of Man instead of Messiah, Jesus places himself among not above humanity.  He offers his own life as the example and says follow me. And in doing so he shows us how to be truly and fully human - which also means claiming the divine spark within ourselves.

This is the “life” we discover when we loose the “life” we perceive as separate from God, and thus separate from one another, and all of Creation.

In other words, how can we be fully human, how can we live as we were created in the Divine Image, if we are ashamed of being human?

The life we give up and the life we gain can be put this way: We can see ourselves as fallen creatures unworthy of Divine love, or we can claim life as God infused humanity by following Jesus and living his words.

Ultimately, I think Jesus ends up saying, whoever we say he is, whatever words we use to describe him, will determine who we say we are.

And the words we use to describe ourselves, determine the words we use with others, which ultimately determine the life we live.

Listen to the entire sermon here.

Learn more about how to join the "Evolving Christian Faith" conversation taking place now at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church and beyond.

September 10 and 12

If we really knew it was "goodbye", would we leave?
- Unknown

The Good News of the Gospel is that the worst thing is never the last thing!    
- Rick Wilson

For eleven years people around the world and in the The United States especially have paused on and around September 11 to remember and reflect.

We remember the surprise, the shock, the horror, and the deep sorrow.  We remember the unfathomable and senseless loss of life.  We also remember how for a brief moment the majority of the world was united by all of these things and joined together in condemnation of violence perpetrated in the name of militant religion.

As I remember and reflect I can't help but think of the before and after of that day.  I reflect on how the problems and worries of September 10, 2001 suddenly became far less so, and how the routine yet final meals, conversations, and embraces of so many people suddenly had lasting significance.  And then the sun came up on September 12.   The world, changed as it was, carried on.  We carried on in healthy, loving, constructive ways, as well as dis-eased, fearful and destructive ways.   And the world we live in today is significantly so because of the choices we made then and continue to make today in response to those and other shocks, horrors, and sorrows.

It may sound simple and perhaps even glib, yet profoundly true:  we have choices and make decisions every moment of every day that contribute to and create what tomorrow will be and how we look back and remember the "last" opportunities of our lives.

Everyday of our life is another chance, another September 10 or 12.


  

Meaningful Work?

"The opposite of vacation would be occupation, a word we commonly use to describe that which we do with most of our lives - our work."    -Sermon, Capitol Hill Presbyterian, Sept. 2, 2012.

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."   Frederick Buechner on Vocation

As we leave the season of vacation and re-enter lives of occupation some people may again be entertaining questions like:  "Why am I doing what I do?", "Is my work meaningful?", or "Am I personally fulfilled by my work?"  And there are many people for whom the the question may be, "When will I work again?"   

Whatever our work may be or whatever work we may seek, answers to questions like those above are best found from within.  Work itself has no inherent value, meaning, or purpose.  Value, meaning, and purpose come from our own perspectives and can range all the way from "saving the world" to "paying the bills", "to meeting customers' or clients' needs", or simply because "we enjoy it."

Tradition has it that the Buddha said when someone asks, "Who am I?"  the answer is, "Who is asking the question?"

Is our work meaningful?  A lot depends on how we see it.  And then on how we go about doing it.

Here's a great "On Being" podcast on "..work, education, and civic imagination..." 




   

Vacation

“Thus, when you wake up in the morning, called by God to be a self again, if you want to know who you are, watch your feet. Because where your feet take you, that is who you are.”
― Frederick Buechner, The Alphabet of Grace

I looked at my feet this morning to see where I am.

Then I looked up!

I'm enjoying a few days of vacation with my family and will be back to the blog in earnest next week.

Curiosity

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out

- Proverbs 25:2

But seek first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well

- Matthew 6:33

At the center of two events in our collective lives this week are stories of two young men, both musicians in bands.  One young man looked into darkness, became lost in fear and ignorance, bought an automatic weapon and killed peaceful, innocent people.  The other young man looked into a dark sky and saw stars, became lost in curiosity, enrolled in a community college physic course and placed a dream on the surface of Mars.

We can either fear the unknown, or be curious of it.  The evidence of our choices surround us.   

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

- Albert Einstein

the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.   

- Matthew 13: 45-46

Perspective

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”      - Jesus, Matt 6:22-23

You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto;
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!
Let's call the whole thing off!
But oh! If we call the whole thing off,
Then we must part.
And oh! If we ever part,
Then that might break my heart!
So, if you like pajamas and I like pajahmas,
I'll wear pajamas and give up pajahmas.
For we know we need each other,
So we better call the calling off off.
Let's call the whole thing off!
- George and Ira Gershwin

We each see the world differently.  It is truly amazing and often a confounding reality that of all the people who ever lived, are living and will live, no two people ever see the same thing in the same way.  The physical process of sight itself is one of perspective and perception as light is filtered, reflected, transformed into electrical impulses, and interpreted through individual experiences and past conditioning.   And even for people who do not have physical sight there is still the “mind’s eye” that perceives and interprets.

It really does matter how we “see” the world.  Our perspective can lead to separation and division (“calling the whole thing off”) or unity and cooperation (“calling the calling off off”) – light or darkness.

If you say “tomato”, try saying “tomahto” and see if the world is any different.   If the world seems dark, let in some light and experience it throughout your body and beyond, just as Jesus teaches us. 

Another Perspective

(please follow the links)


When will we ever learn? 
- Pete Seager, "Where Have All The Flowers Gone"


Aurora:  morning's first light, Goddess of Dawn, Dance of the Spirits, charged particles illuminating the atmosphere, a city in north central Colorado.

It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes many terrible mistakes: yet, with all that, God Himself gloried in becoming a member of the human race. A member of the human race! To think that such a commonplace realization should suddenly seem like news that one holds the winning ticket in a cosmic sweepstake.

I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.         
 -Thomas Merton,  "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander"

When will we ever learn?

"Yes!"

“…God created humankind in God’s image …God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.”     Genesis 1:27,31   

“Yes is the answer and you know that for sure.  Yes is surrender you got to let it go.”     John Lennon, “Mind Games.” 

Our spiritual stories tell us humans are created in God’s image and proclaimed along with all of Creation as “very good.”  The discoveries and stories of science tell us we are literally connected to one another and interconnected with all creation in chemical and molecular ways.  Our imaginations lead us to dream, create, and accomplish wonderful and amazing things.   And human consciousness allows us to be aware of all this wonder, as well as the choice to embrace it or not.

Human experience shows us that when we embrace God’s goodness within us, recognize ourselves in the other, and nurture imagination and creativity the results are abundance, compassion, empathy, cooperation, provision and peace.  When we say “yes” to our true humanity one might even call it “heaven on earth” to use traditional religious language.

On the other hand when we say “no” to our created goodness, interconnectedness, and creativity the human story is one of scarcity, greed, isolation, protection, fear and violence.

I recently heard it said that because of human consciousness people are the only participants in Creation who have the ability to say “no” to our created purpose.  A dog can’t say no to it’s nature, nor can an elephant, or tree, or stone – only humans have this ability.

Each and every moment of every day we live with what we call free will, which basically comes down to a simple “yes” or “no” response to our created purpose as human beings.

Why not give it a try?   Say “yes!” to Life and see what happens.

God Particle(S!)

“I will be what I will be.”     

       --God to Moses at the Burning Bush

The announcement recently that the Higgs Boson particle, the building block of reality, has been empirically verified seems to have come and gone with a giant “ho-hum”.   I wonder if not for some people labeling it the “God Particle” would we have even cared or noticed that much.

Instead of pursuing the wonder and awe that the entire universe is literally connected and interconnected by a common particle, and then exploring the implications and possibilities for reconciliation between people and nature, we choose to remain embroiled in our self-created illusions of division and strife.

Even the naming of the particle the “God Particle” seems to be just another human attempt to single out and define in religious terms what cannot be defined or explained.  Instead of engaging and listening to science as a means of experiencing the reality we call God, some folks are using science to say, “We told you so.”

Personally I can’t help but wonder if still again a major revelation is occurring from unexpected places opening up new understandings of our place, meaning, and purpose in Creation, and we immediately begin to put it into our various boxes.  In a way I even do so as I write these words. 

To resist defining further I ask a simple question, “Are not all particles “God Particles?” 

      

Divesting or Invest?

I went to sleep last night troubled and confused over the PCUSA General Assembly voting by the narrowest of margins to reject divesting from companies profiting from the oppression of the Palestinian people.  Instead a substitute motion to invest in Palestine was approved. It was difficult to take.  Upon awakening this morning I began to see some light in this decision and a glimmer of hope appeared as I remembered Jeremiah's purchase of the field at Anathoth. 

Of course, we should invest in Palestine.  How else, except by putting our money where our passion, compassion, hope and rhetoric are, will we truly know the pain and horror the Palestinian people experience?  When their stories become our stories, when we and our investments are kept under constant surveillance, when we are denied free passage to and from our investments, when our investments are bulldozed before our eyes, then and only then will we truly know the need for the roll and flow of justice and righteousness.

Invest in Palestine?   By all means!  And while we're at it we need to take a look at a few fields in Kabul, Mogadishu, Port a Prince, and Al-Fashir.

So, let's begin investing, and if we do so with peace and not profit as our goal the divesting will take care of itself.

In(ter)dependence

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, A time of confidences...
-Simon and Garfunkle



When I was a kid in small town Georgia the most anticipated day of the year (behind Christmas, of course) was the 4th of July. Our little town, Douglasville, pulled out all the stops with a parade on Broad Street, then barbeque, Brunswick stew and Little League baseball games all at the City Park. This was before the park was named "Hunter Park" in honor of the town's most famous Viet Nam War casuality. It was truly a time of innocence that I'm wondering was perhaps a genuine embodiment of the spirit of independence and freedom we celebrated. It was also a time of confidences as there was, at least in my memory, little if any patriotic posturing, but rather partriotic participation in a community celebration. There was confidence in freedom that need not be proclaimed and pronounced, but rather lived and shared.

Here in Washington, DC on Capitol Hill I experienced a similar innocence and confidence this morning as my wife, Peg, and I stood on the curb and watched friends and neighbors parade up 8th St. SE. Kids of all ages were everywhere both in and watching the parade which had way more bicycles, wagons, strollers, pickup trucks, and walking groups than floats. The parade was led by The Marine Corp Band, just another neighborhood group, because the 8th and I Street Barracks is where they live.

All over our country today similar activities are taking place, parades, picnics, ballgames, fireworks, concerts, boating...from mountains to beaches, from cities to villages we join together as families, communities, and nation not to proclaim liberty and freedom, but to confidently live them in community, interconnected, and interdependent.

Happy 4th of July!

Connected

...then the Lord God formed humanity from the dust of the ground, and breathed into human nostrils the breath of life; and humans became living beings...out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air...
Genesis 2

The universe is a single multiform event. There is no such thing as a disconnected thing. Each thing emerged from the primeval fireball, and nothing can remove the primordial link this establishes with every other thing in the universe, no matter how distant. You and everything you do and become are further articulations of the primal fireball.
Brian Swimme, The Universe Is A Green Dragon


Pick an object, any object in your immediate sight and think about from where it comes. Trace its existence back as far as you can. Follow in reverse its process of being created, and if human-made make sure you remember all the different hands and imaginations involved in the process. Trace it all back to the earth, the earth to the stars, the stars to swirling gases and particles, and gases and particles to the eventual Mystery.

How does that tomato get to my table? How can I twitter the location of my favorite food truck, then go to the corner and have lunch?

Now start all over and do the same thing with yourself and the next person you see. From where do you come? What chemicals, minerals, processes, experiences and influences have made and continue to make you who you are?

Take a deep breath. Connected!

Summer Solstice

"...God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good..."  Matthew 5:45 


"Summertime and the livin' is easy..."   George Gershwin,  "Porgy and Bess"




Today at 7:09 p.m. EDT the sun will be at it farthest point north on earth - the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and the start of winter for our southern neighbors.  Today we have more time of sun and daylight than on any other.  It is a day to observe and celebrate the abundance of creation as the earth brings forth all manner of vegetation and fruit.  It is a day to remember and contemplate the potential and possibility within our lives, and that the same sun shines on us all. 


So, get outside and feel the sun's warmth, bite into a fresh vegetable or fruit, find a quiet shade and listen to the sounds of summer, remember all earth neighbors under the same sun, slow down a little and enjoy the longest day of the year.   Happy Summer Solstice! 


    

Convergence

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."   

-Revelation 22:13 

Where does one thing begin and another end?

From the center of the earth through crevices at the bottom of the ocean a mixture of heat and matter as old as the universe seeps into the sea. Cells become atoms, become chemicals, become vegetation and animals creating a web of sustenance and nourishment.  The air we breathe comes from oceans and forests, the food we eat from the ground.  All the objects around us were once but ideas in someone's mind, individually and collectively.  Inspiration, imagination, knowledge, and skill conspire and take form in tools, shelter, clothing, and creature comforts all drawn from the earth.  Shelters become villages, become cities, become countries.  People become families, become tribes, become races, become nations.  Ideas become ideology, become structure, become religion, become...?

Where does one thing begin and another end?

"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, God, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, …so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."    

-John 17:21-23

Extending the Inning

"It ain't over 'til it's over."    Yogi Berra


It was inevitable that I would eventually post a baseball blog.   Last night at 11:20 p.m.  I was among the mere shadow of what had been 20-plus thousand fans at Nationals Park in the bottom of the 12th inning to see the two out-two strike-bases loaded hit by Bryce Harper to win the game for the Nationals.

My friend Byron Buck and I had adhered to one of the basic rules of baseball so eloquently stated above by Yogi Berra - we stayed until the end (a lesson I've learned the hard way numerous times).  Fortunately, and our wives will attest to this, we were at the game without them or we would have probably left after bottom of the 10th-two out, full count- bases loaded strike out by the Nats, or the leadoff homerun by the Mets in the top of the 12th.

It all reminds me of something one of my daughters said several years ago while watching a game together - "Papa, one reason I like baseball is because there is no time limit.  In theory the game could go on forever."  Every pitch has the potential of extending the game.  And, of course, as was the case last night,  during "Free baseball!" (which is what the late Skip Carey, Atlanta Braves announcer, called extra innings) one pitch can also end it.

Just as every pitch of a baseball game has the potential to extend the inning, the thoughts, decisions, and choices we make in our lives are the stepping stones of our life journey and each and every one of them has the potential for something fresh and new, even when it's the bottom of the 12th and we're down to our last strike.

So, with all due respect to Yogi I suggest that when it comes to life, "It ain't over..."   Extend the Inning!

God of No Gaps

"...how wrong it is to use God as a stop-gap for the incompleteness of our knowledge. If in fact the frontiers of knowledge are being pushed further and further back (and that is bound to be the case), then God is being pushed back with them, and is therefore continually in retreat. We are to find God in what we know, not in what we don't know. 
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison


I recently received the above quotation from a friend who sends out a "Thought for Today" email.  My suspicion is that much of the time many of us think of God as a "stop-gap" God.  Hence proverbs like, "God helps those who help themselves."  Which by the way is probably the most quoted  "the Bible says..." quote that is not in the Bible.  It's old Ben Franklin again.  But I digress.


Actually the Bible is an account of exactly the opposite.   Time and again God is revealed and discovered as present in surprisingly common places, events, and people.  God is present in the wind, the rain, the mountains, the desert, in dreams, in meals, in encounters with people, and even in silence.  Far from being "stop gap", with God there are no gaps.   


So what if we made a small yet significant shift in our thinking and begin to understand God as not incomprehensible but rather totally accessible in, around, and through everything we can see, touch, smell, hear, taste, and imagine?   What if, as the Joan Osborne song says, "...God were one of us...just a stranger on a bus?"


"...Earth's crammed with heaven,  And every common bush afire with God..."   
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh

Pentecost

Still                                                     Breathe

     Quiet                                      Listen

            Listen                      Quiet

                   Breathe       Still

                             Spirit

                   Breathe        Still

             Listen                      Quiet

      Quiet                                      Listen

Still                                                       Breathe

"X" is the Greek letter "Chi" the first letter in Christ.

Quiet

Be still and know that I am God.   The Psalmist


Earth is a solar-powered jukebox.  Gordon Hempton


Let anyone with ears to hear listen.   Jesus


As I sit writing this blog in early morning quiet I begin to hear sounds of which I am usually unaware:  the sounds of my fingers pressing the keys on my computer, I hear a hair dryer in another part of the house, an airplane takes off in the distance, doves that regularly visit our backyard are cooing, various birdsongs come and go, a car passes by, my arm brushes the arm of a sofa as I reach for a cup of coffee.  I hear the coffee go down my throat, the hair dryer stops, the computer hums, the dog sighs, my own breath goes in and out... What's that - a train's horn?  All of this from the same place in my living room.


It's only when we are quiet that we can hear what's around us - and within us.  It is in such quiet that we begin to discern what is noise and what is music in our lives.  And, who knows, we may even hear the "voice" of God?


Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said...      
                                                                                  1 Kings 19:11-13


Find a quiet place today and discover how noisy and music filled your life really is.  I invite you to share with me and others in the comment section of the blog what you hear. 


Also, when you can spare and hour,  I suggest you listen to this "On Being" program.


Last Sunday's sermon. 

Say "You're Welcome" And Really Mean It

Last week's blog got me to wondering about the other side of "Thank you" - that is "You're Welcome."  If the way to receive a gift or compliment is the say "thank you" and shut up, then what is our reaction with someone says "thank you" to us?

So I tried to pay attention.  My observation has been that I, and others, often deflect someone's word of thanks with something like, "Don't mention it." or "No problem." or "It was nothing."

Why is it so hard for some of us to simply say "You're welcome." without qualifying or deflecting?  It seems to me to do otherwise not only disregards the expression of thanks, but also dismisses the value of   the gift we have to offer.

"Thank you" and "You're welcome" are among the first phrases we learn in polite, respectful discourse in any language.  It's how we teach children to give and receive.  Graciously giving and receiving are at the core of all human relationships.  

So, in addition to saying, "Thank you" and shutting up; also try saying "You're welcome." and really meaning it.   We may be surprised as how genuine and rewarding these simple exchanges in our relationships with others can be.

Say, "Thank You" Then Shut Up

  "...you have made humans a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor."
Psalm 8:5

"We are stardust.  We are Golden.  And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden."
Joni Mitchell


One day years ago when I worked in the theater I bumped into a friend who had the previous night seen a show I had directed.  She had retired as a teacher of theater and drama in public high school, and I valued her opinions and criticism.   She was quite complimentary of the show to the point of being effusive.  My response was to begin a litany of all the things I thought were wrong with the production.   After a moment my friend put up her hand to stop me and said, "Andy, when someone gives you a compliment, just say 'Thank you.' then shut up."

What is it about us that won't let us receive from others?  What's behind insistence on deflecting gratitude, kindness, generosity and compassion from someone else?  Is it pride?   Or inferiority? More importantly, how can we learn to let go of resistance to seeing ourselves as capable, worthy, and appreciated?

Things like pride, inferiority, and self-pity are sometimes so deeply ingrained in our lives that we don't realize we aren't accepting the gifts others give us.  We may have even been taught and led by religion to believe we are unworthy of love and grace.

Whatever the source of our defenses, the reality is that each and everyone of us is a magnificent, wonderful creature, as the Bible says, created "in God's image,"  living in an abundant world that continually gives.    

It may not be as easy as my friend suggested, but at least it is a beginning.   When someone gives you a compliment today simply say "Thank you" then shut up.   Take a walk in the sunshine, or rain, or wind - take a deep breath of life and say "Thank you." then be quiet. Rest in the grace of a moment and enjoy where you are and who you are.

Reimagining "Remembering"

 The past is not dead.  It's not even past.  
William Faulkner   (Requiem for a Nun)

You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.     
 Meredith Wilson  (Harold Hill in The Music Man)

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The Psalmist (Psalm 118:24)

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus (Matthew 6:34)


Birthdays and Anniversaries are times to remember and re-imagine.  This week I seem to be doing a lot of both since last Sunday was my birthday and next Sunday will be Anniversary Sunday at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church.  And it has gotten me to thinking about how much our past informs who we are today and how we look toward the future.

We all have people, events, and stories in our lives that shape who we are and even how we remember our lives.  We also have stories that others have told us that we accept as truth.  Some of these we cherish and honor while others we had just as soon forget.  Either way,  who we are today is the result of all our yesterdays.

In a way this all sounds rather fatalistic.  However, in reality, it is quite dynamic because each time we remember something we have the opportunity to turn that memory around and look at it from different perspectives and in doing so re-imagine it with the context of the present moment.  And in doing so we actually create a new memory that shapes our future.

The past is always with us. We can't change that.  But we can control how we react to it.  We can release the grip that tragedies, mistakes, and regrets have on us by grieving losses, learning from missteps, and letting go of blame.  At the same time we can also embrace times of success, joy, and satisfaction.  One thing is for sure, whichever we choose is who we are now as well as the beginning of tomorrow.

So, give it a try - re-imagine how you remember and see what happens. 

 

Wonder

"Have a wonderful day."   How many times have your heard or said this? Did you really mean it or actually hear it?

Wonder seems to be missing in much of daily life.  When did you last take time to think or speculate curiously about the world around us, to be filled with amazement and awe, or to marvel at things normally taken for granted like trees, leaves and flowers, or how the car you're driving, or train you're riding works?

There is much wonder around us and within us.   So much so that it can quickly become overwhelming to imagine the thoughts, systems, skills, emotions, imagination, and myriad processes going on about us at any moment.  Yet, to stop and immerse oneself in that moment is the beginning of not only wondering but actually feeling wonder.

Yesterday I stood on the National Mall with thousands of others and witnessed the flyover of the Space Shuttle Discovery sitting atop a Boeing 747 aircraft.  It was truly an amazing and wonderful event.  And one of the most beautiful things about it was all the people not only on the Mall, but those all around the city and surrounding area on lawns, rooftops, sidewalks and roadsides, not to mention perhaps millions watching on television, stopping for a moment in a busy day to wonder.

Like the old movie title says, it really is "A Wonderful Life."   Take a few minutes today to stop and wonder about something.  When you do, I would love to hear about it. 

I hope you really do have a wonderful day!

Resurrection!

 “Most folks tiptoe through life only to make it safely to death.”

            – Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Earl Nightingale, Tony Campolo among others.

“…and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

            -the Gospel of Mark 16:8

In a profound way the version of Jesus’ resurrection as told in the Gospel of Mark is a wonderful gift to us because it doesn’t give us a nice neat ending with all our questions answered and explained. 

Whether we believe this story as an actual physical coming back from the dead, or as an allegorical, metaphorical truth is up to each of us.  Regardless of our hermeneutic the story at is core is one of life and death.  If we are afraid of death then fear rules our lives.

Mark's story is an open invitation to us to examine and imagine how the story doesn’t end but rather continues; an opportunity to imagine what resurrection means in our own lives, in our place and time. 

Where has resurrection taken place in your life?   What are the possibilities for it now? 

Most of today’s message comes from my Easter sermon, “Easter-The Punch-line of the Gospel”

Holy Week?

Holy Week is the time we Christians commemorate the "Passion of Jesus", and if Passion refers to the suffering and death of Jesus, then what is so holy about suffering and death?

There are many responses to this question, ranging from “nothing” to “everything.”  Some people recoil at the suffering and death of Jesus, while others embrace it.  The events of the week, as recorded in the Bible, are interpreted on a scale ranging from violent torture of an innocent man by imperial powers, to the death of God for the salvation of humankind.   And there is some truth in most of the interpretations along this scale. 

One of the beautiful things about the Bible is that even though there are traditional interpretations and teachings on which to draw, the ultimate meaning of its stories is eventually revealed in our own lives. 

But however we engage and interpret the story, one thing is pretty clear:  there is movement from life to death to life. The story becomes the ultimate allegory of a central teaching of Jesus: One must lose life in order to gain it.  Whether the "loss" is physical, material, emotional, psychological, real, or metaphorical, and whether "life" is temporal or eternal is eventually determined by how we engage the story.

So, my suggestion for this Holy Week is to engage the story.   Find a quiet time and read one or all of the Holy Week stories from the four biblical gospel accounts. (Mark 11-16; Matthew 21-28; Luke 19:28-24; John 13-21)  Read from the perspective of your own life and see where the story takes you.

Warning: It may not be easy, but it will be rewarding.  And this just may be the ultimate "holy" of Holy Week.

Light, Life, Love

Doesn’t the world have enough fearful dictators, gated communities, neighborhood watches, laws protecting vigilantes, check points, security gates, body scans and metal detectors?     sermon, “When The Teacher Disappears”, 03-25-12

The litany above is of serious issues in today's world, none of which has an easy fix.  Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by all that is going on around us when what is really weighing us down are not the things themselves but rather our perception of them and reaction to them.

Jesus never said living the Gospel is easy, quite the contrary - it involves soul searching and sacrifice, and in the end action.  It is not easy, but it is simple: light overcomes darkness, life overcomes death, love overcomes fear.  Jesus also tells us that we are the light, life and love of the world. 

Recently the daily blog Inward/Outward quoted Lawrence Kushner saying,  “When you see something that is broken, fix it. When you find something that is lost, return it. When you see something that needs to be done, do it. In that way, you will take care of your world and repair creation.”

Perhaps the best thing to do when we feel the weight of the world is to refocus on something closer to home that we perceive as fearful and ask how can I bring light, life, and love into the situation.

If you do have such an opportunity we would love to hear about.   Or, maybe you already have such a story to share.  In any case, your thoughts and comments are encouraged.

Spring

The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises.  -Ecclesiastes 1:5

Here comes the sun...and I say, "It's all right."  - George Harrison

Yesterday at 1:14 am EDT was the Vernal Equinox when the center of the Sun crossed the Earth's equator from southern to northern hemisphere.  In other words, the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere.

Here in Washington D.C. the famous cherry blossoms are at peak.  A phone call from a friend visiting Savannah, GA confirmed azaleas in full bloom there.  Shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops are coming out of closets.  Gardens are being weeded and planted.  Baseball's opening day is only two weeks away.  And all manner of Spring festivals are and will be celebrated. 

Spring is a time of life and light that reminds us of the eternal regenerative energy of the universe.  Things gone dormant during winter come to life again, even and especially the human Spirit.  

The story is George Harrison of the Beatles wrote the song “Here Comes the Sun” in Eric Clapton's garden using one of Clapton's acoustic guitars.   Since the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein had died in 1967, the band had to handle more of their accounting and business affairs, which Harrison hated. He wrote the song after attending a round of "business" meetings. 

Wherever you are today, at work, school, home or somewhere else, and whatever you doing, take a break from "business" to spend time outside soaking in the regenerative energy of Spring.

"Spring" - say it out loud.  Even the word sounds refreshing.

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;

for now the winter is past, 

the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtledove 
is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,

and the vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.    -Song of Solomon 2:10-13

If you're interested here's a link to a prayer I gave yesterday to open a session of Congress

Rumors and Patterns

We end up believing the rumor we spread about ourselves.    

So, why not make it a good one?        - John Bell

In crisis one does not rise to the occasion but defaults to the pattern.    –Roger Nishioka

March Madness is upon us.  Of course I’m talking about the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Basketball like most other sports is a combination of physical and mental preparation, repeatedly drilled and trained.  Any successful athlete will tell you that the lack of either one will become evident when the game or match is on the line. 

Too many years ago when I played high school basketball our coach would end some practices with free throw shooting and on those days you couldn’t go to the locker room until you hit ten consecutive shots.   Sometimes were a breeze, and others were tortuous.  But when games were on the line, we made our free throws.

Most other practices ended with running sprints until we were exhausted.  The results were we rarely ran out of steam at the end of a game.  By the way, our team had an undefeated season.

The same principles of practice and preparation are true in all aspects of our lives especially our spiritual lives.  This is why prayer, meditation, reading, generosity, compassion, et al, are called spiritual “disciplines” and “practices”.    

Being intentional about regularly nurturing ourselves spiritually, or not, prepares us for daily living.  If you don't already have a regular spiritual practice, why not start with something simple like five minutes of daily silence and prayer.  Sign up for and online "thought of the day" to carry with you, one I like and use is HeartQuotes (they also have an app for mobiles).  Or if you already have a regular practice, extend or deepen it a little.

Whatever you do, remember we literally become our own rumors and default to our patterns.  The good news is we have the God given imagination and ability to create these rumors and patterns.

 Share below how your spiritual practices have and continue to shaped your life. 

 

Practice makes perfect!  –Countless parents, teachers, and coaches

"Speaking Our Imagination" -  last Sunday's sermon.