Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Fast.
We all have been moving so fast! Missing the feast.
Our hearts are still famished and our eyes cannot see.
You call us to freedom. We are continually oppressed.
"Set the captives free," you say? How can we get away?
The pull is so strong, don't you understand?
Yes, I do, I felt it in my hand.
Remember, I lifted you up, fed and held you tight?
"Clothe the naked," you say? But what about our great plight?
Listen to my voice, is all I ask.
Remember, you will Seek and Feast with me when you finally fast.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
iMagiNation...the gift found in my head
A thought God gave me after dwelling on his creative and dynamic interaction in our lives:
Be courageous enough to embark on a new journey of living! Take steps into unknown places, like many saints from the past, and eventually the wind from the east will standstill. Stay clear of the barters and desert storms that may sway you back. Watch for the sun; respond to sweet breath from the north. Soon after sojourning un-reached places, you will notice the lands are simultaneously unknown and utterly familiar, and the sun beams evermore.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
It's Alter time!
If any of you have ever read the classic, socio, psycho and philo-work "Habits of the Heart" then you will most definitely feel and hopefully grasp my frustration when I say, "I hate specialization."
How in the world did we as human beings become so removed from walking freely from corner to corner of the earth long ago, with no agendas, anxieties, and especially no desire to OWN something? We westerners (those plagued by Enlightenment to the most appalling degree) cannot, no matter the belief system, remove ourselves completely from the struggle of propriety, and frankly, I despise this!
Confession...I mostly despise this about myself. I am a walking "fear bomb" waiting to go off as soon as I realize, my "specialty" means absolutely nothing! Therefore, I must keep busy to distract, to disorient and to manipulate myself. In some sick way, I feel compelled to sustain a pseudo-reality that was fed to me by those of limited understanding of Ultimate-Reality and who have also fallen into psychological and spiritual traps that believe this life is nothing but a journey of compartmentalization.
When I think of a remedy to this plague, I think of the word Repent. Now I know many of us have associations, memories and ideas concerning this term that make us cringe, for whatever reason. For me, the word has been used carelessly and irreverently. But over the past week, this word has been revived in my heart and mind. It no longer makes me cringe, rather inspirits my being.
Time to elaborate- in my bible class this past week, we discussed the True Gospel Jesus proclaimed. During this time of exploration through dialogue and language study, we got stuck on the word, Repent.
Did you know, in the original Greek, this word actually means to “alter your thinking”! My professor expanded on this idea more and more, and by the end of the session, I felt as though many of us in Christian circles have been fooled, thinking it all has to do with getting actions into check. At that point, I thought my actions are all good- but my thinking is destructive! My thinking hasn’t been altered (and I do believe this is a life process); I still feel captive to strange and wayward ideals. My thinking is involved in an existence where practicalities matter and specialization reigns.
However, here’s the kicker for me: When the last prophet before Christ preached, “repent for the Kingdom of God is near”, he was inaugurating a NEW way of thinking. To all walks of life, he [John the Baptist] says, “alter your thinking for the greatest reality exists! You must believe it to see it!! Let go of the old ways of thinking. You don’t have to hold on to what people want you to be, or what tradition and culture says is right about your identity. The Kingdom is near and it is outside of this world. Let go of the old and embrace the NEW!"
I'm all for it...Repent.
Monday, October 02, 2006
New CaTeGORies!
The epistemological categories we are all accustomed to are not helpful or even sensible to the Kingdom Living we have been talking about.
The Church of Christ is beyond (or at least should be) the categories that make most sense in today's understanding of "what works".
Look, I have been indoctrinated just as much as you have. I am not outside of culture, our current linguistic epidemic, nor institutional pedagogy and neither are you. However, if you are a step ahead of me and are aware of epistemological categories I need to know and impart to those I love, please inform me.
(Just a little rant about my current and unceasing frustrations about the Church and human existence).
Friday, September 29, 2006
Blessed Are You, My Friend
The Gospel (really good news for humans) Jesus preached, in Matthew 5:3-12, and the Kingdom He makes available, offers hope to the earthly down and outs.
(expanded by Dallas Willard and friends).
Blessed are the poor in spirit
["the spiritual zeros- the spiritually bankrupt,
deprived and deficient, the spiritual beggars,
those without a wisp of religion'"],
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn
["the weeping ones"],
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek
["the shy ones, the intimidated,
the mild, the unassertive"],
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
["who burn with desire for things to be made right...
in themselves" or in others],
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful
[those who are "taken advantage of"],
for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart
[those "for whom nothing is good enough,
not even for themselves"],
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers
[the ones "in the middle" where "neither side trusts you"],
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
[those who stand up "for what is right"],
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account
[you've "gone off your rocker and taken up with that Jesus"].
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
May you and I be blessed and encounter the blessed today.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
reflection
Nothing enriches my life more than when I see miracles in the ordinary life unfold in what appears to be mundane.
I love the mundane. We don't give Mundane enough credit. Now, I know I am personifying an adjective, but I think it is rather appropriate.
It is when we welcome Mundane that Extraordinary walks into the room. Mundane and Extraordinary catch each other's eyes and they begin the sweet dance that catches everyone's attention. As they glide across the dance floor and the music plays, people begin to wish they moved the same way. Moments later, the music stops and Mundane and Extraordinary gently let go of each others hands, they await the applause of their audience and notice the faces in awe. As tears roll down cheeks, and playful laughter resounds, Mundane and Extraordinary look once again at each other and say, "it was wonderful to share this dance. We must do it more often."
The Kingdom of God: as alternative ReAliTY
Jesus says in Matthew 16:19-16:19
"You have complete and free access to God's kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven." What does this have to do with what we have been talking about? Last week we focused on what a disciple to Christ is. This week our focus on discipleship is all about the why question. Why do we become a disciple to Christ? Simply put because there is no greater option. No other person or thing can offer the wondrous world Christ teaches and offers to us. We are blessed to be his disciples.
Today, many of us Christians just exist. Mediocrity, fear, anxiety, insecurity are still permeating the lives of those, who so-called responded to the life of Christ one day back in a church, camp, or in front of television screen. Why? Because the profession of faith has not been taken seriously. Today, the profession of faith has little to do with the whole of our lives, has little to do with discipleship, more specifically it fails to encourage the learning of Christ's rhythms. We fail to take upon us his yoke, his teaching, which is light and brings peace.
In our current situation majority of Christians fall in one of two groups: The Conservative group, being on the right side of the spectrum, and the liberal group being on the left side of the spectrum. On the right, being a Christian is a matter of having your sins forgiven. To the left, you are a Christian if you have a significant commitment to the elimination of social evils. Popular notions of Christianity in today’s society hold that, a Christian is either one who is ready to die and face the judgment of God or one who has an identifiable commitment to love and justice in society (according to Dallas Willard). That’s it!
Although these groups differ on many levels…they have something in common. They both are lacking in participating in the alternative reality known as the Kingdom of God. Neither group is acknowledging the abundance and miraculous hope in Christ in this present life! Being a disciple is about seeing and participating in this present life.
As disciples we can’t talk about discipleship without addressing the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God, the alternative reality, is what Christ preached. And we being his disciples must have this teaching ingrained into our hearts and minds.
The Kingdom of God is the good news that is set a part from all other ‘truths’, gimmicks and expectations of the world. No other person can break barriers between the heavenly and earthly realms except the God of the universe; The Christ incarnate, Jesus.
In the passage Matthew 11:1-6 we see Jesus declaring what the Kingdom of God is all about. It is relational, personally intertwined with normal, ordinary life and most importantly it is extremely unexpected- Jesus moving and acting unexpectedly and unconventionally in the normal world. This story, this narrative, is not only an example of Jesus’ ministry of healing, but it is also a proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
Some of you are asking what is the Kingdom of God. There are many kingdoms in this world. Just to name a few...there is the kingdom of competition, the kingdom of prejudice, the kingdom of sexism, materialism...the list can go on and on. But ONLY one has the true power and that One is Ruled by Christ. Some call this the upside down kingdom, which means, what takes place is extraordinary and incomprehensible. When we decide to participate in this kingdom, we are abandoning the realm of death and stepping into the realm of LIFE. All is possible HERE. We are finally free and great things happen. People’s lives are changed and we become the people God desires us to be.
Speaking of the unexpected nature of the Kingdom of God... In this passage, these healings and exorcisms (those that we read about throughout the rest of this gospel) do not set Jesus apart merely as a miracle worker of extraordinary power, but are primary indications of the kind of messiah that He is. The question in verse 3 by John the Baptist, “"Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?" Jesus’ answer consists of pointing to his IDENTITY- The KIND of Leader, Ruler, Savior, Shepherd he is. His He says, "Go back and tell John what's going on: 5 The blind see, The lame walk, Lepers are cleansed, The deaf hear, The dead are raised, The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side. This is HIS ANSWER.
This shouldn’t have been a surprise to John, but for some reason it is. Perhaps tradition, in all practical purposes, was greater in the eyes of the people, rather than truth. I’ll explain. The manifestation of the KOG did not conform to the national/ political aspirations, or to the traditions of religion, but it did conform to the words of Old. The word God Spoke through Isaiah 42, 49, 50 and 53, Reveal and set the stage for this leader, the true Leader of all, Christ. The messiah, the one who welcomes and brings forth the Kingdom of God who bears the infirmities and weaknesses of the people speaks through his healings as signs that the Kingdom of God has arrived in person.
No one had seen anything like it. Those even committed to the Jewish faith, like John Baptist were expecting something different.
Today we are a people struggling with the same issue. Many times we fail to recognize and realize what the Kingdom of God is all about. Perhaps we are too indoctrinated with tradition, rather than the teachings of Christ. For this reason we become disciples.
I don’t think there is any reason not to follow. Show me gimmick that can transform all reality for you or me, like Jesus can. Show me something miraculous that breaks barriers between heaven and earth. You can’t. We are called to be Christ’s disciples to learn the ways of his Kingdom and experience the unforeseen and joyfulness in and outside of this world: Where God is relational, intimate, personal, living, compassionate and his WORLD IS MIRACULOUS!
PICTURE THE KINGDOM
Isaiah 49:7-12
7 God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel, says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations, slave labor to the ruling class: "Kings will see, get to their feet - the princes, too - and then fall on their faces in homage Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word, The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you." 8 God also says: "When the time's ripe, I answer you. When victory's due, I help you. I form you and use you to reconnect the people with me, To put the land in order, to resettle families on the ruined properties. 9 I tell prisoners, 'Come on out. You're free!' and those huddled in fear, 'It's all right. It's safe now.' There'll be foodstands along all the roads, picnics on all the hills - 10 Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty, shade from the sun, shelter from the wind, For the Compassionate One guides them, takes them to the best springs. 11 I'll make all my mountains into roads, turn them into a superhighway.
Monday, September 18, 2006
The Invitation To Discipleship and New World
AfterMeditations in response to sermon on 9.17.06....
Matthew 11:28-30
28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
We become disciples of Jesus only because we are desperate to abandon the forced rhythms of life AND eager to see something new and out of this world manifested in all reality. Jesus' disciples finally rest. They finally are free. And they finally give true hope to the world.
blog-on.
I am a part of community who loves me and I love them. We desire to see the depths of our souls take shape into something beautiful and touched by the divine. We can only hope to be a reflection of the true shepherd as we journey genuinely and honestly together in this thing called "body-life".
We need to pray and support one another. We need to listen to the Greatest teacher and see to it that we always remember his work in our lives.
The Teacher we love is calling our names. He calls us with tenderness and joy. May our ears be attentive to his whispers and sometimes loud cries.
...our hope and prayer as we journey the path together.
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