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"Today I tell you you will be with me in Paradise"
Who is there in the kingdom?
The kingdom of those who have no other possession.
The kingdom that we enter (only) as we know we are dispossessed - leave behind the safety of possessions, leave behind the gratification of success, leave behind the conviction of health, security, 'okayness' - then and only then do we enter his kingdom - naked, solitary, ashamed - and honored.
Who will be there?
Bandits and thieves and failed revolutionaries, criminals who have been caught and humiliated, teenage prostitutes who cling to their pimps, the battered mother who loves and coddles her son, the fellow who bet it all on a great stock tip, the half-dead long-haired ex-con who can't get a job. And the banker and the lawyer and the priest and the lucky one who won the lottery.
When does this moment of the cross happen?
the cross moment happens every day - every day that life ends, or life begins.
Every day that joy is born and every day that joy is extinguished.
the cross moment is when we learn who we really are before the cosmos.
When we are small, or very big, or disappear - which is all the same.
Then we glimpse Paradise - not as a completed version of what we desire, but as the time we are fully known and will know fully.
Flannery O'Connor had it right. The Revelation is that all the Turpins - like me - who think they have it right, will only be on the way to Paradise when all is burned away. Entering the kingdom, on our way to Paradise, isn't anything like exaltation - it's life, burning through us, taking away, taking away, taking away.
I don't know how to preach this.
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Showing posts with label musing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musing. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
things that drive me . . .
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fill in the blank
I can't rest when . . .
I've lost my planner.
I have an overdue library book.
It's the second. I have an overdue library book and I can't for the life of me figure out where it has gone.
Boy, am I a goody-two-shoes!
it was there a month ago. and then it wasn't. I renewed it figuring it would show up. But it has not. There are only so many places that a book can hide. But there must be more places.
Just a tad obsessive, no?
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Saturday, March 6, 2010
spiritual reality
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I’ve been talking a lot about ‘spiritual reality’ these days. I find it necessary to remind myself and others that we believe there is a reality to our spiritual lives, our spiritual needs and our spiritual existence. And understanding that that reality is real is in danger these days. You see, I believe that our cultural world really doesn’t know that we are spiritual being. We are physical being, fashionable beings, sport-fan beings. We are economic agents, consumer agents, and controllers of our health through exercise, diet and habits. We are acknowledge to have lives of the mind, to learn, to study and even to contemplate the universe, but not too seriously, please. We can be philosophers, but not spiritual.
But do we have spirit? Can there we any way we speak about spirit as a real dimension of our total being any more?
(We might ask - what is spirit? I am thinking about the connection with the divine being - in a good Lutheran framework - the part of me that relates to the law (is convicted of sin) and the part of me that embraces the good, great gift of grace (knowing I am loved in a profound way by the divine). So being a spiritual being recognizes that conscience is connected with something beyond or more than societal standards. So being a spiritual being recognizes that ‘self-esteem’ at the deepest level has more to do with the divine acceptance than familial, societal or cultural dynamics.)
The usual “I’m spiritual, but not religious” stance becomes pretty pale and anemic against the Biblical and churchly spirituality of the past. For myself, I know that I’m not just referring to the ‘spiritual’ values of peacefulness or serenity (or acceptance or ‘love’) when discussing Paul’s letter to the Corinthians with bible study. Paul is thinking and pressing for transformation, real changed behavior and hard choices to be made by that church. He sees the issues as ‘spiritual’ - important for salvation.
And for him, the only important arena is ‘spiritual’ - the arena of the right divine-connectedness. All those other dimension of life - sexual, economic, liturgical, judicial that he comments on are relativized by this concern for the ‘divine-connectedness.’
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I’ve been talking a lot about ‘spiritual reality’ these days. I find it necessary to remind myself and others that we believe there is a reality to our spiritual lives, our spiritual needs and our spiritual existence. And understanding that that reality is real is in danger these days. You see, I believe that our cultural world really doesn’t know that we are spiritual being. We are physical being, fashionable beings, sport-fan beings. We are economic agents, consumer agents, and controllers of our health through exercise, diet and habits. We are acknowledge to have lives of the mind, to learn, to study and even to contemplate the universe, but not too seriously, please. We can be philosophers, but not spiritual.
But do we have spirit? Can there we any way we speak about spirit as a real dimension of our total being any more?
(We might ask - what is spirit? I am thinking about the connection with the divine being - in a good Lutheran framework - the part of me that relates to the law (is convicted of sin) and the part of me that embraces the good, great gift of grace (knowing I am loved in a profound way by the divine). So being a spiritual being recognizes that conscience is connected with something beyond or more than societal standards. So being a spiritual being recognizes that ‘self-esteem’ at the deepest level has more to do with the divine acceptance than familial, societal or cultural dynamics.)
The usual “I’m spiritual, but not religious” stance becomes pretty pale and anemic against the Biblical and churchly spirituality of the past. For myself, I know that I’m not just referring to the ‘spiritual’ values of peacefulness or serenity (or acceptance or ‘love’) when discussing Paul’s letter to the Corinthians with bible study. Paul is thinking and pressing for transformation, real changed behavior and hard choices to be made by that church. He sees the issues as ‘spiritual’ - important for salvation.
And for him, the only important arena is ‘spiritual’ - the arena of the right divine-connectedness. All those other dimension of life - sexual, economic, liturgical, judicial that he comments on are relativized by this concern for the ‘divine-connectedness.’
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Friday, January 15, 2010
that thing
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You know the classic thing - write a letter and then put it away and do not send it?
It works.
Was up restless last night with the memory of being discounted in my head. Wrote it all down and saved it on the computer.
This morning - well, I really was whining. Not worth losing sleep over, really. And not the way I want to appear to anyone, not only the person to whom I directed the missive.
So it will stay between God and me.
God knows why I was so disturbed. And God certainly helped me not make a public fool of myself. I do that often enough.
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You know the classic thing - write a letter and then put it away and do not send it?
It works.
Was up restless last night with the memory of being discounted in my head. Wrote it all down and saved it on the computer.
This morning - well, I really was whining. Not worth losing sleep over, really. And not the way I want to appear to anyone, not only the person to whom I directed the missive.
So it will stay between God and me.
God knows why I was so disturbed. And God certainly helped me not make a public fool of myself. I do that often enough.
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Saturday, January 9, 2010
toward Sunday
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I was struck by this part of the Working Preacher Blog by Roy Harrisville
John first replies to the expectations of the people by telling them that someone greater than he is coming. This message is shared by all three synoptic Gospels, but the reply concerning the threshing floor occurs only in Matthew and Luke. The Baptist mentions the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. Perhaps this is a reference to Pentecost in Acts 2. Perhaps it is a reference to Jesus' powerful life and teachings. The preacher may want to make the point that every baptism in the Lutheran church is a baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is why it is taken so seriously. It is a miracle each time it occurs.
The seriousness of baptism is made clear by the metaphor of the threshing floor. It is a discriminating rite. It is not an act that one may undergo lightly, but is linked to salvation in opposition to judgment. The Holy Spirit is not inclusive but excludes all unrighteousness and sin. Baptism is not a mere welcoming rite but a rite that signifies one's separation from evil. Any theology of judgment has fallen on hard times recently in favor of a softer and gentler message of peace and justice. But with justice comes judgment. It cannot be otherwise.
To ignore judgment leaves the preacher with no reason for preaching the gospel. It is not a matter of scaring people into heaven. It is a matter of revealing the need for salvation and why Jesus is so important. If he is only a common messiah who does what the people expect, then he is no use to us. But if, on the other hand, he is the Messiah who lays bare the pretenses and false expectations of the people and reveals their deep seated need for personal and inner transformation, then he is someone surprising and filled with ultimate and eternal meaning. For preachers to leave out the fire is to let go of the reason for the gospel and thereby cheapen the good news.
End of quote.
Now to get into the sermon in an accessible and coherent matter.
Cat in the Hat, here I come!
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I was struck by this part of the Working Preacher Blog by Roy Harrisville
John first replies to the expectations of the people by telling them that someone greater than he is coming. This message is shared by all three synoptic Gospels, but the reply concerning the threshing floor occurs only in Matthew and Luke. The Baptist mentions the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. Perhaps this is a reference to Pentecost in Acts 2. Perhaps it is a reference to Jesus' powerful life and teachings. The preacher may want to make the point that every baptism in the Lutheran church is a baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is why it is taken so seriously. It is a miracle each time it occurs.
The seriousness of baptism is made clear by the metaphor of the threshing floor. It is a discriminating rite. It is not an act that one may undergo lightly, but is linked to salvation in opposition to judgment. The Holy Spirit is not inclusive but excludes all unrighteousness and sin. Baptism is not a mere welcoming rite but a rite that signifies one's separation from evil. Any theology of judgment has fallen on hard times recently in favor of a softer and gentler message of peace and justice. But with justice comes judgment. It cannot be otherwise.
To ignore judgment leaves the preacher with no reason for preaching the gospel. It is not a matter of scaring people into heaven. It is a matter of revealing the need for salvation and why Jesus is so important. If he is only a common messiah who does what the people expect, then he is no use to us. But if, on the other hand, he is the Messiah who lays bare the pretenses and false expectations of the people and reveals their deep seated need for personal and inner transformation, then he is someone surprising and filled with ultimate and eternal meaning. For preachers to leave out the fire is to let go of the reason for the gospel and thereby cheapen the good news.
End of quote.
Now to get into the sermon in an accessible and coherent matter.
Cat in the Hat, here I come!
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Friday, January 8, 2010
food for thought
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Just finished a thought provoking book, The Nurture Assumption, by Judith Harris. It proposes that parents are less influential on the personality and behavior of older children and adolescents than we tend to think (the 'assumption' of the title), and peer groups have more influence. Not that parents and adults have no influence on personality, but they have less power than the culture that children and adolescents share. And that culture is often coherent with the parent's culture, so kids turn out rather like their parents. But at times the culture of children and especially adolescents can be 'contrary' to parent's values - then we have the generational war.
She wrote this more than 10 years ago, and I certainly can see the generation gap growing in the last 10 years. This concept speaks to me on so many levels.
On the personal level, our son's choice of friends, which we didn't control, didn't intervene about, does seem to have done more to shape his current malaise than our values. He just didn't accept what we were showing/speaking/living out. He admits we weren't bad parents (at least when he's calm) and that we have shown him what it means to work hard, be brave during tough times and have a good relationship/marriage. He even says he wants those things for himself, but none of his friends or their families really are strong in those elements.
Harris suggests that the culture of the peers parents/'the neighborhood' has a lot to do with shifting values over generations. I think it is one of the pieces for DS's issues. Parents who act to control their children's friends, through careful attention to their schools, etc., are fighting a hard battle, but one that may pay off.
As an occasional teacher of adolescents, I found her analysis of 'groupness' very interesting. 'Groupness' is her term for the sense that individual have when they identify themselves as a group against some other group. For teens, the major overarching definition that they are not adults. Being 'not adult' means, even when they fall into smaller groups when they get together, they first recognize (sub-consciously, probably) a pressure to remain as a 'group' against the visible adults.
Ah - confirmation class. It IS us vs. them! People in the group that see themselves as the majority, but without power (confirmation students) will always desire to resist (as a group, not as individuals) the control of the group by the minority, more-powerful adults (confirmation teachers). Even learning, and accepting the values put forth by those adults (the curriculum and the behavorial standards) is resisted by the pressure of 'groupness.'
This is what I fear I have learned. In America, we no longer use adolescence as a period for 'training' to be an adult in any real sense - there is no real life connection/valid skills/importance for real life (to the kids) for much of what we teach (especially in the church) - we have lost them before we start. Basically, we've had a 'liberal arts' approach to religious learning (it's good for you, it's fun (it was for me!), it just has to be done, and this is nothing you'll need to apply in real life), when maybe we should have a tech school approach (you will need this skill, focus on productivity, go out and do). We aren't doing anything that matters for the group.
All this doesn't mean that individual cases may be different. Yes, some kids love this learning, find it significant, find Jesus, live spiritually, etc. But look around, for each one that sticks, how many others are lost?
I don't know if I have any answers, just more questions. This raises so many issues for me, in the church, in the larger culture, in so many of the stories I heard.
Continuing to ponder.
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Just finished a thought provoking book, The Nurture Assumption, by Judith Harris. It proposes that parents are less influential on the personality and behavior of older children and adolescents than we tend to think (the 'assumption' of the title), and peer groups have more influence. Not that parents and adults have no influence on personality, but they have less power than the culture that children and adolescents share. And that culture is often coherent with the parent's culture, so kids turn out rather like their parents. But at times the culture of children and especially adolescents can be 'contrary' to parent's values - then we have the generational war.
She wrote this more than 10 years ago, and I certainly can see the generation gap growing in the last 10 years. This concept speaks to me on so many levels.
On the personal level, our son's choice of friends, which we didn't control, didn't intervene about, does seem to have done more to shape his current malaise than our values. He just didn't accept what we were showing/speaking/living out. He admits we weren't bad parents (at least when he's calm) and that we have shown him what it means to work hard, be brave during tough times and have a good relationship/marriage. He even says he wants those things for himself, but none of his friends or their families really are strong in those elements.
Harris suggests that the culture of the peers parents/'the neighborhood' has a lot to do with shifting values over generations. I think it is one of the pieces for DS's issues. Parents who act to control their children's friends, through careful attention to their schools, etc., are fighting a hard battle, but one that may pay off.
As an occasional teacher of adolescents, I found her analysis of 'groupness' very interesting. 'Groupness' is her term for the sense that individual have when they identify themselves as a group against some other group. For teens, the major overarching definition that they are not adults. Being 'not adult' means, even when they fall into smaller groups when they get together, they first recognize (sub-consciously, probably) a pressure to remain as a 'group' against the visible adults.
Ah - confirmation class. It IS us vs. them! People in the group that see themselves as the majority, but without power (confirmation students) will always desire to resist (as a group, not as individuals) the control of the group by the minority, more-powerful adults (confirmation teachers). Even learning, and accepting the values put forth by those adults (the curriculum and the behavorial standards) is resisted by the pressure of 'groupness.'
This is what I fear I have learned. In America, we no longer use adolescence as a period for 'training' to be an adult in any real sense - there is no real life connection/valid skills/importance for real life (to the kids) for much of what we teach (especially in the church) - we have lost them before we start. Basically, we've had a 'liberal arts' approach to religious learning (it's good for you, it's fun (it was for me!), it just has to be done, and this is nothing you'll need to apply in real life), when maybe we should have a tech school approach (you will need this skill, focus on productivity, go out and do). We aren't doing anything that matters for the group.
All this doesn't mean that individual cases may be different. Yes, some kids love this learning, find it significant, find Jesus, live spiritually, etc. But look around, for each one that sticks, how many others are lost?
I don't know if I have any answers, just more questions. This raises so many issues for me, in the church, in the larger culture, in so many of the stories I heard.
Continuing to ponder.
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Saturday, December 19, 2009
saturday before Christmas
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Okay - Tree #2 - is up and decorated in the simplest way possible - just lights and selected glass ornaments - no brass or gold or glass or theme or special colors - just the first ones we laid our hands on. And then I said - well, there, that's pretty and closed up the bins with the unused ornaments. And it is pretty. It's okay that the glass ornaments (which represent at least one a year since we've been married) aren't used this year. There will be other years, other trees. This year needs to be simple.
Still no card -writing and presents to the east coast not sent. Pro-Flowers is a great thing, but I need to get on it.
It's Saturday afternoon and I must polish the sermon - and be ready to go to John's concert at 4:00, have dinner, then will have some time after that.
Still need to get readers for the 7 p.m. service, maybe ushers. I think the other two are set.
But, as thing go, it seems managable.
Peace, Peace, Peace.
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Friday, December 18, 2009
musings for advent
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I'm back to preaching again, after taking it easier the last two weeks - thanks Dan~!
At the same time Christmas is drawing near, with all its joy, the pastoral staff is walking with an extended family through the end stages of a tragedy, and I hear about others whose loved ones are moving into the end stages of life. Or moving into the place of needing more care. Or just moving out of the house, out of marriages. Or moving away from the church - my churches, because we just don't seem to give them what they want/need.
So the sermon title, picked on Monday is 'blessed' and I am pondering what it means to be blessed. In our common current use it means a little more than lucky - everything is going okay, good, excellent. We can be proud of our children, we have good jobs and trust we'll have them tomorrow, we have good health. So we are blessed.
And then, are the tragedy-ridden, the parents of disappointing kids, the unemployed, the sick - not blessed. Well, in common usage, yes, they are the 'unblessed.' It's very OT - deuteronomic system stuff we live with every day. So much so we don't even realize what we're saying, often. So much so that we don't realize the hurt the comes from this assumption - we hint that God has withdrawn his favor from those who suffer.
The expression 'to bless' must mean to pass judgment - really, it is to contextualize a situation and claim meaning for it - positive meaning. And once that sense has been accepted the opposite situation - to suffer - takes on the opposite meaning - to lack blessing (cursed).
Elizabeth saw it differently. She 'blesses' - says good about Mary - for she perceives that Mary has been touched by God. And she proclaims Mary 'blessed' - happy, for Mary has believed what was said to her. Elizabeth knows that God is acting here. That is cause for proclamation, for identifying that God does the blessing.
Blessed. So we are to remember, and be compassionate - that blessing isn't about removal from suffering, about good luck, or happy outcome. It's about proclamation that here - in this life, in this place, God is acting, God is. . .
God is in a pregnant teen and in a poor city in hills of a poor territory. God is with a little old pregnant lady and her temporarily mute husband (that must have been a long nine months). God is with a struggling oppressed community, a minority in the great empire. God is hanging out on the road, in the prisons, in the sick rooms, in the hospital beds. God is doing his blessing thing where his people see that he is acting . . . where compassion comes out, where tenderness is expressed, when violence is stopped, when forgiveness is real.
God blesses. We may judge for 'blessing' - but in eyes of faith - God's blesses. The maker of meaning is the source of any blessing - any good and gracious understanding of our lives.
For those who walk in tragedy - the judgment of blessing seems far, far away - impossible to compute, to realize, to utter. But here is the core of faith - the determination of 'blessed' isn't ours, it is God's. God is in that sickroom, with that wayward child, in the painful awareness of sin and grief and loss - and God determines the 'blessing.'
The hope of the lesson - walk with God, hang in there, trust - and you will find God. Blessing comes. He looks with favor upon the lowly - and blesses.
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I'm back to preaching again, after taking it easier the last two weeks - thanks Dan~!
At the same time Christmas is drawing near, with all its joy, the pastoral staff is walking with an extended family through the end stages of a tragedy, and I hear about others whose loved ones are moving into the end stages of life. Or moving into the place of needing more care. Or just moving out of the house, out of marriages. Or moving away from the church - my churches, because we just don't seem to give them what they want/need.
So the sermon title, picked on Monday is 'blessed' and I am pondering what it means to be blessed. In our common current use it means a little more than lucky - everything is going okay, good, excellent. We can be proud of our children, we have good jobs and trust we'll have them tomorrow, we have good health. So we are blessed.
And then, are the tragedy-ridden, the parents of disappointing kids, the unemployed, the sick - not blessed. Well, in common usage, yes, they are the 'unblessed.' It's very OT - deuteronomic system stuff we live with every day. So much so we don't even realize what we're saying, often. So much so that we don't realize the hurt the comes from this assumption - we hint that God has withdrawn his favor from those who suffer.
The expression 'to bless' must mean to pass judgment - really, it is to contextualize a situation and claim meaning for it - positive meaning. And once that sense has been accepted the opposite situation - to suffer - takes on the opposite meaning - to lack blessing (cursed).
Elizabeth saw it differently. She 'blesses' - says good about Mary - for she perceives that Mary has been touched by God. And she proclaims Mary 'blessed' - happy, for Mary has believed what was said to her. Elizabeth knows that God is acting here. That is cause for proclamation, for identifying that God does the blessing.
Blessed. So we are to remember, and be compassionate - that blessing isn't about removal from suffering, about good luck, or happy outcome. It's about proclamation that here - in this life, in this place, God is acting, God is. . .
God is in a pregnant teen and in a poor city in hills of a poor territory. God is with a little old pregnant lady and her temporarily mute husband (that must have been a long nine months). God is with a struggling oppressed community, a minority in the great empire. God is hanging out on the road, in the prisons, in the sick rooms, in the hospital beds. God is doing his blessing thing where his people see that he is acting . . . where compassion comes out, where tenderness is expressed, when violence is stopped, when forgiveness is real.
God blesses. We may judge for 'blessing' - but in eyes of faith - God's blesses. The maker of meaning is the source of any blessing - any good and gracious understanding of our lives.
For those who walk in tragedy - the judgment of blessing seems far, far away - impossible to compute, to realize, to utter. But here is the core of faith - the determination of 'blessed' isn't ours, it is God's. God is in that sickroom, with that wayward child, in the painful awareness of sin and grief and loss - and God determines the 'blessing.'
The hope of the lesson - walk with God, hang in there, trust - and you will find God. Blessing comes. He looks with favor upon the lowly - and blesses.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009
cozy tonight
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It's my birthday and a blizzard at the same time. So the Eagle and I are squestered at home - I hope he is not called out to the hospitals. It is supposed to be getting quite nasty in the wee hours.
I'd love to 'watch' the blizzard - the blowing falling snow, but it's going to be the middle of night, not the time for visible weather. This will be a secret storm, hidden by darkness. We will wake to the changed world - drifted snow and heavy branches.
We will not fully understand or experience it, cozy as we are, in the house with limited windows and excellent insulation. Our comfort - perhaps it makes us shallow.
December afternoon a day after the first snowfall.
In all cities,
there is a moment, in December,
when the sun is low
and the light is slanting, soft.
When melt and cars and concrete
create a universal smell.
This is not beauty.
But it is real.
That we, humans, ride this tide of our own making
our permanently frozen ground,
our marred landscape
our padded feet not feeling
our swaddled bodies not aware
that the soft sun is crying:
breathe.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
a few extra days
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A lovely couple of extra days. The Eagle had a test today so I ran him around.
Went out to get a new journal in order to have a space to explore the questions about shall I go or shall I stay? And if I stay, what shall I explore?
If I am having a three-year restlessness - I want to be delibrate about developing the next step, the next project, the next chapter. I've drifted before, and I've allowed others to determine how I spend my time. That's real common in the parish, I think.
Now I have the opportunity to write my own calendar - it's time to spend some time with myself and ask those questions.
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A lovely couple of extra days. The Eagle had a test today so I ran him around.
Went out to get a new journal in order to have a space to explore the questions about shall I go or shall I stay? And if I stay, what shall I explore?
If I am having a three-year restlessness - I want to be delibrate about developing the next step, the next project, the next chapter. I've drifted before, and I've allowed others to determine how I spend my time. That's real common in the parish, I think.
Now I have the opportunity to write my own calendar - it's time to spend some time with myself and ask those questions.
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Friday, May 15, 2009
opening the door
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I've always had some reservations about having friends from our churches. A few times, it's worked, but never lasted. Other times, the friends turned out to be folks who wanted something - wanted some level of influence, or an inside track to complain, or something like that.
Rarely have I found folks who just wanted to get to know me, or us as a couple.
We may have found that. We accepted an invite about two months ago. And returned the invite for folks to come here - and they did. And we had a great time, played games, spoke some about our son, and were honest, and did not feel shamed. It felt really good.
We did not speak of church at all. Like real people, we acknowledged our faith, we prayed over the meal, and mentioned faith now and then, but not the institution, not the issues, the stress, etc.
A lot of things felt right. They were willing to come by us - often these couple relationships fall apart because it's one-sided - we may invite, but they never invite back, or we have been invited, but they won't come to where we live.
Being honest about our son - yes, he was in treatment for AODA, & in the 'place up north' that people from this state know about - and there was no silence, or even 'oh, so sorry.' It just was accepted. That was huge.
So, a good evening. Yes. Praise God.
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I've always had some reservations about having friends from our churches. A few times, it's worked, but never lasted. Other times, the friends turned out to be folks who wanted something - wanted some level of influence, or an inside track to complain, or something like that.
Rarely have I found folks who just wanted to get to know me, or us as a couple.
We may have found that. We accepted an invite about two months ago. And returned the invite for folks to come here - and they did. And we had a great time, played games, spoke some about our son, and were honest, and did not feel shamed. It felt really good.
We did not speak of church at all. Like real people, we acknowledged our faith, we prayed over the meal, and mentioned faith now and then, but not the institution, not the issues, the stress, etc.
A lot of things felt right. They were willing to come by us - often these couple relationships fall apart because it's one-sided - we may invite, but they never invite back, or we have been invited, but they won't come to where we live.
Being honest about our son - yes, he was in treatment for AODA, & in the 'place up north' that people from this state know about - and there was no silence, or even 'oh, so sorry.' It just was accepted. That was huge.
So, a good evening. Yes. Praise God.
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sermon - Good shepherd & deep magic
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A shorter than usual sermon, since the Gideons were speaking. (and our Gideon was - Excellent! Great stories, great delivery, passionate!) The sermon inspiration was "Tough Love" by Richard Moore, on-line at the Winderemere Centre in England)
Easter 4B, May 3, 2009
Acts 4:5–12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16–24, John 10:11–18
What a gift these lessons are! On this Sunday we think about our Great Shepherd. We are far from shepherds, and most of us far from sheep. The reality of this occupation in the time of Jesus was much different from our Sunday School story or the religious art we see. It wasn’t an image with clean feet and robes and a nicely trimmed beard. Shepherds were rough, mostly solitary, and fierce.
Fierce and tough. Look at what Jesus says. The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Not that the shepherd just takes care of the sheep, not the shepherd just gets them fed and watered – this Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. This is how we know we are out of the realm of pretty pictures – out of the realm of typical occupational behavior. Most shepherds would NOT die for the flock – they would let that wolf take one or two.
No, this is more. This is a prediction of the Passion – pointing to the cross. This is pointing to the extraordinary events that would follow in the life of the disciples – Jesus would go to the cross, and he would be glorified. In the gospel of John glorification does not mean what we might think – It does not mean beams of light and power and angels bringing good news. In the gospel of John ‘glorification’ looks a lot like defeat. Glorification – the goal of Jesus life and ministry – looks a lot like death by execution. Death on the cross. 17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
Now the cross was not loved, not seen as a symbol of anything but pain. For centuries the cross was not part of Christian Art, was not painted or depicted, did not become part of jewelry. It was too painful. It was there, it was known about – but it was part of the mystery of what God has done – for us.
Because Jesus was a volunteer. He chose this path, and demonstrated God’s fierce love for his people. God acted – decisively – in love and power. That is what Jesus is pointing at. That is love.
"We know love when we see it" – and we see in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, doing more than providing, although he does that, doing more than comforting, although he does that – he saves – he gives away his life. He lays down his life.
And in the Gospel, this kind of love is transferred to those who believe. We are not just recipients of this love, we are to embody it ourselves. Love one another, as I have loved you. This fierce love, this powerful gift, is for you and me.
Love is tough. It is the sort of love that is embodied (literally) in the shepherd who provides for the sheep and protects them with his life against wild beasts. We know love, says the apostle John, when we see it - and we see it in Jesus laying down his life for us (v16). But that means that those of us who live because of that love ought to live by it.
In the same family of writers we hear: 16We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
In truth and action – think of the ways, the many ways we can love in truth and action – you heard about the work of the Gideons, still necessary – maybe even more necessary these days.
The first Sunday of the month is food ingathering day – but any day, every day, there are hungry people in our community. We are worried about the flu – but shouldn’t we be even more concerned about the children who are malnourished and needy? Should we not be thinking about ways to help families get health care coverage, to improve and correct the inequities in our rich society?
I have other sheep, says Jesus. Yes, he does, and we have been given a responsibility to learn fierce love, to extend the blessings we have received to them.
To be “in Jesus” and to have Jesus abiding “in us” means that we will be those who, having experienced God’s love in Christ, live it out
in world-transforming, community-shaping actions
that are the work of the same Spirit that was “abiding” in Jesus.
If we follow the Good Shepherd, we will be shepherds to others and to the world.
++++
I wonder how much of the power of the passage from the Gospel of John as been de-fanged by our seeing it relationship to Psalm 23. Look at what Jesus is saying - that's way beyond the shepherd of Psalm 23 - this is about more than safety and reward and comfort. This is about life and death and fighting off the wolves and letting the wolves kill the shepherd for the sake of the sheep.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" - The Good Shepherd will die for the sheep.
"he leads me, comforts me etc." - The Good's Shepherd's blood will save the sheep.
This is deep stuff.
Deep magic.
+
A shorter than usual sermon, since the Gideons were speaking. (and our Gideon was - Excellent! Great stories, great delivery, passionate!) The sermon inspiration was "Tough Love" by Richard Moore, on-line at the Winderemere Centre in England)
Easter 4B, May 3, 2009
Acts 4:5–12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16–24, John 10:11–18
What a gift these lessons are! On this Sunday we think about our Great Shepherd. We are far from shepherds, and most of us far from sheep. The reality of this occupation in the time of Jesus was much different from our Sunday School story or the religious art we see. It wasn’t an image with clean feet and robes and a nicely trimmed beard. Shepherds were rough, mostly solitary, and fierce.
Fierce and tough. Look at what Jesus says. The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Not that the shepherd just takes care of the sheep, not the shepherd just gets them fed and watered – this Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. This is how we know we are out of the realm of pretty pictures – out of the realm of typical occupational behavior. Most shepherds would NOT die for the flock – they would let that wolf take one or two.
No, this is more. This is a prediction of the Passion – pointing to the cross. This is pointing to the extraordinary events that would follow in the life of the disciples – Jesus would go to the cross, and he would be glorified. In the gospel of John glorification does not mean what we might think – It does not mean beams of light and power and angels bringing good news. In the gospel of John ‘glorification’ looks a lot like defeat. Glorification – the goal of Jesus life and ministry – looks a lot like death by execution. Death on the cross. 17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
Now the cross was not loved, not seen as a symbol of anything but pain. For centuries the cross was not part of Christian Art, was not painted or depicted, did not become part of jewelry. It was too painful. It was there, it was known about – but it was part of the mystery of what God has done – for us.
Because Jesus was a volunteer. He chose this path, and demonstrated God’s fierce love for his people. God acted – decisively – in love and power. That is what Jesus is pointing at. That is love.
"We know love when we see it" – and we see in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, doing more than providing, although he does that, doing more than comforting, although he does that – he saves – he gives away his life. He lays down his life.
And in the Gospel, this kind of love is transferred to those who believe. We are not just recipients of this love, we are to embody it ourselves. Love one another, as I have loved you. This fierce love, this powerful gift, is for you and me.
Love is tough. It is the sort of love that is embodied (literally) in the shepherd who provides for the sheep and protects them with his life against wild beasts. We know love, says the apostle John, when we see it - and we see it in Jesus laying down his life for us (v16). But that means that those of us who live because of that love ought to live by it.
In the same family of writers we hear: 16We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
In truth and action – think of the ways, the many ways we can love in truth and action – you heard about the work of the Gideons, still necessary – maybe even more necessary these days.
The first Sunday of the month is food ingathering day – but any day, every day, there are hungry people in our community. We are worried about the flu – but shouldn’t we be even more concerned about the children who are malnourished and needy? Should we not be thinking about ways to help families get health care coverage, to improve and correct the inequities in our rich society?
I have other sheep, says Jesus. Yes, he does, and we have been given a responsibility to learn fierce love, to extend the blessings we have received to them.
To be “in Jesus” and to have Jesus abiding “in us” means that we will be those who, having experienced God’s love in Christ, live it out
in world-transforming, community-shaping actions
that are the work of the same Spirit that was “abiding” in Jesus.
If we follow the Good Shepherd, we will be shepherds to others and to the world.
++++
I wonder how much of the power of the passage from the Gospel of John as been de-fanged by our seeing it relationship to Psalm 23. Look at what Jesus is saying - that's way beyond the shepherd of Psalm 23 - this is about more than safety and reward and comfort. This is about life and death and fighting off the wolves and letting the wolves kill the shepherd for the sake of the sheep.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" - The Good Shepherd will die for the sheep.
"he leads me, comforts me etc." - The Good's Shepherd's blood will save the sheep.
This is deep stuff.
Deep magic.
+
Sunday afternoon
+
Beautiful day weatherwise. After church went walking with the Eagle and saw gardens with tulips, great watercolors and then rested. Grilled out. Talked to lil sis back from the land of magic.
At church a number of 'issues' came and went. Most concern other people. My mantra is - 'I guess I'm out of the loop.' I don't fix things. Someone didn't cover his/her tracks very well. I knew I could a) defend that person, b) step in and do the job, c) say hmmm. I chose c. I hope is a sign of self-differentiation and not just conflict-avoidance.
And I'm not going to get exercised over someone else's need to be everywhere and do everything. That's the other side of our system - gotta be here, gotta do that.
Just be.
It would be a good time to read me some Friedman, i think.
+
Beautiful day weatherwise. After church went walking with the Eagle and saw gardens with tulips, great watercolors and then rested. Grilled out. Talked to lil sis back from the land of magic.
At church a number of 'issues' came and went. Most concern other people. My mantra is - 'I guess I'm out of the loop.' I don't fix things. Someone didn't cover his/her tracks very well. I knew I could a) defend that person, b) step in and do the job, c) say hmmm. I chose c. I hope is a sign of self-differentiation and not just conflict-avoidance.
And I'm not going to get exercised over someone else's need to be everywhere and do everything. That's the other side of our system - gotta be here, gotta do that.
Just be.
It would be a good time to read me some Friedman, i think.
+
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Random Thoughts on Holy Wednesday
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Random Thoughts
+
Random Thoughts
- If I went to the StoryCore booth, what story would I tell? How would I tell it?
- My husband and I have been struggling with the issue of clutter (my definition) and heirlooms that just need work (his definition) since we have been married. Will there ever be a resolution, or do we just buy a bigger house?
- A new haircut, by a new stylist, is always hard to get used to. But the last one was just not right, and I always get fussy about my hair before the holidays.
- Almost three years into full-time ministry in this place, what does commitment mean? The Benedictines take a vow of stability. What does such a notion mean for my ministry? When decisions are made that I don't agree with, how do they impact my sense of being pastor here?
- I'm second banana, sometimes 3rd banana. That will not change. How do I thrive?
- Am I at a place where this ministry may not be the focal and center point of my life? What would that feel like? What would be healthy about that? What might rise up? What doors might open?
- As spring comes slowly, what do I want to be different this year?
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Friday, March 27, 2009
Ways to start the sermon?
+
John 12:23-33 - Title "If it dies, it bears much fruit"
I worked for a narcissist once.
Did you see the finale of Battlestar Galatica?
You are seeds. Die.
The genetics of seed corn requires strict control on the pollination.
Although I've never been in Africa, I can tell you a story about African farmers.
Ouch, that hurts.
+
John 12:23-33 - Title "If it dies, it bears much fruit"
I worked for a narcissist once.
Did you see the finale of Battlestar Galatica?
You are seeds. Die.
The genetics of seed corn requires strict control on the pollination.
Although I've never been in Africa, I can tell you a story about African farmers.
Ouch, that hurts.
+
Monday, March 23, 2009
a little
+
A little rejoicing.
Today I made dinner on a Monday for the first time in I don't know how long. 5 weeks? more? I'm actually home for two nights Monday-Thursday this week. (by the way, we had baked lemon chicken and veggie risotto. And I may make cookies after the Eagle finishes dishes.) Several things to be grateful for - a husband who does dishes, a home to cook in, a job that takes too many hours, but does keep us in the home and pays the bills.
A little complaining.
You know, I've been leading worship for over 12 years. I don't need to be told how to do it. Especially when it's minor things - matters of no importance. Every time that happens the thought runs through my mind - is this the place I really need to be? But there is no perfect church.
A little self-realization.
I'm a nerd. An artistic nerd, but a nerd non-the-less. I like looking for artwork to create powerpoint and slide shows and wish I had a movie editing program. Mostly, I find myself content to work by myself. That is not a good thing - it's a kick-back to the introversion, too shy thing of long ago. Maybe it's a response to stress.
+
A little rejoicing.
Today I made dinner on a Monday for the first time in I don't know how long. 5 weeks? more? I'm actually home for two nights Monday-Thursday this week. (by the way, we had baked lemon chicken and veggie risotto. And I may make cookies after the Eagle finishes dishes.) Several things to be grateful for - a husband who does dishes, a home to cook in, a job that takes too many hours, but does keep us in the home and pays the bills.
A little complaining.
You know, I've been leading worship for over 12 years. I don't need to be told how to do it. Especially when it's minor things - matters of no importance. Every time that happens the thought runs through my mind - is this the place I really need to be? But there is no perfect church.
A little self-realization.
I'm a nerd. An artistic nerd, but a nerd non-the-less. I like looking for artwork to create powerpoint and slide shows and wish I had a movie editing program. Mostly, I find myself content to work by myself. That is not a good thing - it's a kick-back to the introversion, too shy thing of long ago. Maybe it's a response to stress.
+
Saturday, March 7, 2009
carry the cross
+
I'm ashamed to say this text and it's fellows in the other cycles is one of my least favorites. It is so hard for me to communicate anew.
This week I won't post the sermon - it's adapted from an older one, and I'm not sure where I found the older one.
I start with the name question - God gives a name. Jesus has called us 'cross-bearers' Christians.
So how do we do that? That is the theme of the sermon.
I adapted the story of Clarence Jordan's Koinonia Farm. I wanted a story about sacrifice that was not about martyrdom. I find martyrdom stories very moving myself, but I don't know how many people really identify themselves that way.
I have been working many hours just doing the things I do - liturgy, putting together our Lenten worship, following up on my pastoral calls and hospital visits, going to too many meetings. I haven't been doing a lot of thinking. I watch. I observe. I comment.
And that may be why I don't have a good grasp on what 'cross-bearing' means in this time and place - it is still to be revealed to me.
+
I'm ashamed to say this text and it's fellows in the other cycles is one of my least favorites. It is so hard for me to communicate anew.
This week I won't post the sermon - it's adapted from an older one, and I'm not sure where I found the older one.
I start with the name question - God gives a name. Jesus has called us 'cross-bearers' Christians.
So how do we do that? That is the theme of the sermon.
I adapted the story of Clarence Jordan's Koinonia Farm. I wanted a story about sacrifice that was not about martyrdom. I find martyrdom stories very moving myself, but I don't know how many people really identify themselves that way.
I have been working many hours just doing the things I do - liturgy, putting together our Lenten worship, following up on my pastoral calls and hospital visits, going to too many meetings. I haven't been doing a lot of thinking. I watch. I observe. I comment.
And that may be why I don't have a good grasp on what 'cross-bearing' means in this time and place - it is still to be revealed to me.
+
Saturday, February 21, 2009
in a better place
+
Yes, I'm in a better place now. Calling the health care advocate at the board of pensions got the prescription problem solved in 15 minutes. What my own conversation with the poor person at the pharmacy couldn't do, that magic of authority could do.
But they will review the mix-up with the account manager. This was about a little problem - what happens to people who have real problems and can't get mad or don't have someone helpful to call?
Since the bad news hit right after I paid big bucks to get my car back on the road (fuel pump failure), and right before two funerals, I could just feel my BP up high. It may be just my imagination, but I think I can tell if my BP is too high.
Some would think being alone all weekend is a bad thing - but, no reflection upon Aquila, it's nice to be all alone for the weekend. I can eat when I want and watch TV and play on the computer. And no sermon needs to be written this week.
+
Yes, I'm in a better place now. Calling the health care advocate at the board of pensions got the prescription problem solved in 15 minutes. What my own conversation with the poor person at the pharmacy couldn't do, that magic of authority could do.
But they will review the mix-up with the account manager. This was about a little problem - what happens to people who have real problems and can't get mad or don't have someone helpful to call?
Since the bad news hit right after I paid big bucks to get my car back on the road (fuel pump failure), and right before two funerals, I could just feel my BP up high. It may be just my imagination, but I think I can tell if my BP is too high.
Some would think being alone all weekend is a bad thing - but, no reflection upon Aquila, it's nice to be all alone for the weekend. I can eat when I want and watch TV and play on the computer. And no sermon needs to be written this week.
+
Sunday, February 8, 2009
heard on Saturday
+
"We used to have to come 20 minutes early to get a spot. Now we don't even fill up half the church."
(to the organist)
"Oh, I love when you choose all the old favorites."
Maybe those two things have something to do with each other.
It's not 1958 anymore.
I hope I don't get fired over alternative Lent.
+
"We used to have to come 20 minutes early to get a spot. Now we don't even fill up half the church."
(to the organist)
"Oh, I love when you choose all the old favorites."
Maybe those two things have something to do with each other.
It's not 1958 anymore.
I hope I don't get fired over alternative Lent.
+
Thursday, February 5, 2009
back here
+
We're back from the Spiritual Care Collaborative conference in Orlando. More about that later.
And thanks - I'm now on the Revgals blog ring.! And my one reader - hi to you. I walked on beaches.
Just the feelings about being back.
Rested - worried
Calm - upset
Peaceful - annoyed
The first is the 'getting on the plane' place and the second is now - 12 hours after I get home place.
How quickly we lose the aura. Some of that had to do with feeling I had to look at my work e-mail. Along with the usual is one from someone asking reconsideration of a decision made many months ago. And MP said - okay, let's take it back to committee.
Some with getting a message from my brother that he couldn't reach the telephone we took to Florida, so did not connect with us, so we did not see each other after how many years. But he called the home phone to leave that message. Even though I told him to let me know before I left.
Some of that has to do with DS and his attitude. More about that later.
But the cat was not too mad at us. He played and then sat on whoever he could find all night.
Now, about that aura. The peace outside fed the peace inside. - @Peace - is part of my sign-in name for that reason. Now I find I am called to go the other way. From finding my internal Peace and allowing it to soothe me slow my actions temper my feelings modify my speech.
Getting there bit by bit.
+
We're back from the Spiritual Care Collaborative conference in Orlando. More about that later.
And thanks - I'm now on the Revgals blog ring.! And my one reader - hi to you. I walked on beaches.
Just the feelings about being back.
Rested - worried
Calm - upset
Peaceful - annoyed
The first is the 'getting on the plane' place and the second is now - 12 hours after I get home place.
How quickly we lose the aura. Some of that had to do with feeling I had to look at my work e-mail. Along with the usual is one from someone asking reconsideration of a decision made many months ago. And MP said - okay, let's take it back to committee.
Some with getting a message from my brother that he couldn't reach the telephone we took to Florida, so did not connect with us, so we did not see each other after how many years. But he called the home phone to leave that message. Even though I told him to let me know before I left.
Some of that has to do with DS and his attitude. More about that later.
But the cat was not too mad at us. He played and then sat on whoever he could find all night.
Now, about that aura. The peace outside fed the peace inside. - @Peace - is part of my sign-in name for that reason. Now I find I am called to go the other way. From finding my internal Peace and allowing it to soothe me slow my actions temper my feelings modify my speech.
Getting there bit by bit.
+
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