Witness Wednesday…where have you seen a movement of grace?
In a #smallstone #mindful #FindingGod @umrethinkchurch @SophiaKris @charolem
Watching a stubborn, problematic detained young woman play basketball, I heard these words, “I don’t know how to do that coach, but I can learn.” My heart and head were filled with the enormity of the simple words, “I can learn.”
Amen and amen.
Filed under Grace, Spirituality
Pastor David Weekley reminded me of the following scripture:
Jeremiah 8: 21-23: “The wounds of my people wound me too. Is there no balm in Gilead? Who will turn my head into a fountain and my eyes into a spring of tears so that I may weep all day, all night for the wounded out of my people?”
Is there a balm in Gilead?
Is there a balm here? Something to soothe your soul? Have we so wounded ourselves in our “he said-she said” “I’m right-you’re wrong” society that there is no balm that will heal us?
I was hoping that with the election gone, there would be quiet for a while. However, I am hearing accusations flying placing the blame of the elections failure or success at the feet of everybody but the person in the mirror. It is time to put divisive voices aside and focus on healing. This is true for the United States and it is true for the UMC. In no way do we have to all agree. Nowhere does it say that. In fact, in the Book of Discipline of the UMC, it lists two Articles of Religion. Well, one Article of Religion (from the Methodist Church) and one Confession of Faith (from the Evangelical United Brethren Church). This is extraordinary! They are not quite the same. So from the beginning of the UMC, we have agreed to disagree. What matters, is the more excellent way of love. (1 Corinthians 12:28-13:1-13). The way of love is above arguments about interpretation of scripture. First love. First patience. First kindness.
There’s where you will find your balm.
Filed under Christianity, Grace, Lament, Politics, Religion, Scripture, Spirituality, Theology, United Methodist Church
August 7, 2011
Romans 5:5-15
How Beautiful!
Sometimes following the rules is very difficult. A few years ago, I was a volunteer on a Neighborhood Reentry Team. Neighborhood Reentry Teams meet with folks who have been recently incarcerated and assist them in transitioning back into “real life.” This particular team met with offenders once a week to help them keep on track. It was during this experience that I realized that I am not sure I could do what they are expected to do. Every minute of every day was accounted for. They would wake up, get ready for work, take a bus across town to work, at lunch they’d go meet with the parole office and get drug testing. That involved another couple bus trips. Then back to work on the bus. Then meeting with Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Squeeze in a meeting with our team, etc. Some of the complicating factors are that most of the guys we met with were impoverished, uneducated, and lived in group homes. If they didn’t have a job, they had to prove that they were looking for a job. Missing one of the court mandated appointments with employment, parole officers, my team, or with Alcoholics Anonymous could result in a parole violation that would return them to prison. Even if they were following the rules perfectly, a missed bus could land them back in prison. And let’s face it. Being able to follow the rules is not the reason they were incarcerated! And sometimes, all these rules lose sight of the real point. The real point is to integrate these guys back into society so that they can be healthy and functional and crime-free. There is a tension. What rules do we need to create to make sure people are safe and that the offenders are able to adjust to the outside world is in tension with the holistic vision of a healthy and safe environment for all? Unfortunately, rule following rarely leads to the holistic vision. This is reinforced by the 70 to 80 percent recidivism rate. Rule following is difficult.
Paul was caught squarely in the middle of the struggle between folks who wanted to follow established religious laws and those who wanted to be counted as children of God, but were a little terrified of the laws. To follow the religious laws meant that they would have to do things like being circumcised. This is not a happy prospect for a grown man. I was blessed to have a Jewish friend explain to me the religious laws. There is this concept of “building a fence around Torah.” What this means is that there are the religion and purity laws in Torah which are the first 5 books of the Old Testament. Then the rule building comes in. For example, the law may be, “You shall not make an idol.” The rules become, don’t make any representation of God because that might become an idol. And further, don’t write down the holy name, because we might begin to idolize the very name. See how the fence is built? The intent is life giving. The rules can be life giving unless we follow the rules simply because they are the rules.
In Romans 9:30-32, Paul tells us the problem he is trying to solve: Israel, who did strive for righteousness based on the law, did not succeed because they were striving based on works alone, not faith. There was no life. They were following the rules, staying outside the Torah fence, but losing sight of the life-giving aspects that Torah brings to the Jews. Paul then pushes back on the rule-following hard. He proclaims, “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”[1]
I have to admit that this verse, all by itself, gives me the heebie jeebies. When I was a teenager, I started going to church. I felt the pull of God even as an unchurched youth. Naturally, I went to my best friend’s church. Turns out that church was a Southern Baptist Church. This verse is one of the clobber verses they use when judging if someone is really a Christian or not. In essence, it became a rule. I know several youth who would parrot these words back without any thought. But that was enough for the leaders of that church. Their job was done. However, merely saying the words “Jesus is Lord” and proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead cannot secure salvation.[2] The book of James tells that even the demons believe. And Matthew tells us, in chapter 7 of his gospel that calling on God’s name will not secure a place in the Kingdom of God. So there is something more to this business of being saved than reciting an ancient confession.
This ancient confession, “confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord,” considered in Paul’s culture, carries some extra meaning. First, this confession uses the word Lord or κύριος in Greek. This word was reserved for three things: (1) the Roman Emperors, (2) Greek Gods, or (3) as a reference to God’s divine name. To associate κύριος with Jesus, meant that if you were Jewish, you trusted Christ as your messiah, if you were a gentile, you ceased worshiping the emperor as κύριος, Lord. It was an acknowledgment that Jesus Christ was uniquely superior to anyone else. It was a public declaration of belief in the martyred and resurrected Jesus Christ.[3] This was a big deal. It was against the law to worship anybody other than the Roman Emperor, the Greek Gods, or God as defined by ancient Judaism. Stepping outside of these bounds could be political and social catastrophe. At a time when the Roman Empire expected unquestioning loyalty, the early Christians were declaring allegiance to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. So first, this confession is an early declaration of identity.
Second, the questions that come to my mind when I read this confession and these verses are what is belief? What is being saved? And the final question…is confession all that is required of us?
So, what does it mean to “believe?” I had to ask myself if this is different than what it means to have “faith?” Or what does it mean to “know?” So of course, I googled it. And wouldn’t you know, there is a website, by Julie Redstone that has some pretty good answers to these questions![4]
First regarding knowing, Julie Redstone tells us:
To experience something is to know it. …Here is a common example of our knowing something: When the sun shines on our skin we feel warmth. We don’t need anyone else to tell us what we feel. We know that we feel something we call ‘warmth’. In relation to the sun, we have an ease with our knowing since others share our experience and can understand it.
Regarding belief, she tells us:
We believe things with our minds. Beliefs are ideas. They are concepts. They give us a picture of reality that others can agree with or disagree with. Beliefs are thoughts that can be put into words and these words can be communicated to others. Beliefs, however, are not absolute truths. They are opinions about reality, not reality itself.
And regarding faith, she says:
Having faith in something is different than [belief]. Faith, in a spiritual sense, does not have to do with relative truths but with absolute truths – truths that exist for all time…Unlike beliefs which are of the mind, faith is not just of the mind but of the heart as well…Faith combines our heart’s wish and our mind’s belief into an inner affirmation that the possible is real. Faith is the affirmation of this reality.
I think that our biblical translation fails us just a bit here. I looked up the Greek dictionary definition for the word, πιστεύω which is translated belief and it says: “to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance…to have faith in.”[5] I think Paul might be happier if we chose the word faith rather than belief here. After all, in verse 10, Paul says, “for you believe with the heart.” Belief here is the exact same word used earlier, πιστεύω. Faith. We are to have complete trust and reliance that Jesus is the messiah and that he was raised from the dead. That is what it means to believe. Please note that there is nothing that we can do to create faith. Faith is a complete gift from God; all we have to do is open ourselves.
Having faith, complete trust and reliance, leads to a discussion of what trusting and relying upon Jesus means. For me, it means that I trust in Jesus to guide me. And when I choose a place to identify with, it is Matthew 25:
Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’[6]
This is solid ground for me. Reliable. Trustworthy. It touches my heart and my head and speaks to me of who Jesus is and what I know of God.
Next, what does it mean to be confess and be saved? I find it infinitely fascinating that the same word for saved is related to the word healed. So there is this linking of salvation and healing. What does it mean to be healed? Paul tells us that through confessing that Jesus is Lord, we are saved. Is that really all there is to it? Not quite. When I think of confession, I generally think of a confidential confession to a pastor or priest. Is the only trick to be healed, to being restored to right relationship with God, saying this confession to a trusted pastor? I don’t think so.
I think, though, that the key to deciphering this confession comes in verses 14 and 15.
14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15 And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[7]
This is a reference to Isaiah 52:7, which reads:
7How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Confession is announcing peace to the world, bringing the good news to the world, announcing salvation to the world. This brings healing to us and to others. It is a confession that God reigns. It is so interesting that Isaiah and Paul reference the beautiful feet. Feet travel. Feet get around. Feet do. Paul and Isaiah emphasize the feet. Why? The feet are the ones sent out into the world and they are beautiful. And that is part of confessing. We don’t keep the good news of healing to ourselves. We share in the responsibility of healing the world and bringing the good news of right relationship with God through Christ.
There are a good many people who are of the opinion that all it takes for salvation is a confession of the creed. But that lacks bringing healing. Remember that church I went to as a teen? As soon as they were assured of my salvation, they offered nothing. I was a teenager (strike one), with no faith support in my home (strike two), and with no development of my faith at church other than attending choir (strike three). Throw in a little ministerial misconduct and I bet you can guess where I was going to church a couple years later! Nowhere. The people of the church did not help me understand what it meant to be in right relationship with Christ. They did not take time to bring healing to a teenage heart. And the worst thing, they threw in obstacles to faith development! In many ways they were good hearted people. I just think they were misguided. Confessing your faith should enable you to become the bearer of peace, good news, and healing. These are all “doing things.” It requires action on our part. First, we have to be in right-relationship with Christ as Lord of our lives and second, we have to work to bring healing to the world. And I think we know that there is a lot of healing that needs to happen.
Paul stresses the importance of going out into the world and bringing healing in the name of Christ Jesus, sharing the message of Christ. Sometimes, people need healing before they can see the beauty of God and other times, seeing the beauty of God leads them to see a healing path. It would be awfully convenient if there was one simple formula, but there isn’t. We must do both…bring healing and share our own faith stories. Sometimes in that order and sometimes, we will be called to share our faith story first. I know that can be scary. But our boots are made for walking.
I wonder what it would be like if our shoes kept a diary? What would that say about us? Would a quick peak into that diary reveal a journey that includes spiritual activities and beautiful feet? Or would our shoe diary reveal feet that were muddy and looking a bit worse-for-the-wear?
March 5
Dear Diary,
Today I passed by a homeless man on the street. I felt so sorry for him, but I didn’t have time to do anything but rush by.
Love, Terri
or what if it read…
March 5,
Dear Diary,
Today I passed by a homeless man on the street. I felt so sorry for him, but I didn’t have time to do anything but rush by. Today, though, I turned around and went back and gave him my lunch. And tonight, I’m going to make a donation to Peace for the Streets.[8] I know I can’t stop every day, but perhaps I made a difference today.
Love, Terri
Or…
Dear Diary,
Today I don’t know how I resisted the urge to gossip about Elaine even though I have heard some appalling news. I don’t know where the strength came from! It must be a God thing. Actually, I should send an encouraging note to Elaine. She must be feeling awful. Maybe I will tell her about the time I felt really lonely and God made a difference in my life.
Love, Terri
Perhaps, this week, you will think about keeping a shoe diary. Where are your feet going? Are they looking muddy? Or are they beautiful feet bringing healing and good news to a hurting world.
Shalom and Amen.
[1] Romans 10:9
[2] Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (1695). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Kwasi Kena, Evangelistic Preaching Helps for August 7, 2011 — Eighth Sunday Sunday After Pentecost, Year A, http://www.gbod.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=nhLRJ2PMKsG&b=5913121&ct=8155477
[4] Julie Redstone, “Belief, Faith, and Knowing.” http://lightomega.org/Ind/Pure/Belief_Faith_and_Knowing.html
[5] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (375). New York: United Bible societies.
[6] Matthew 25:34–36
[7] Romans 10:14-15
Filed under Christianity, Grace, Religion, Sermon, Spirituality, Theology
Often we think of Sabbath as Sunday. In fact, traditionally, Sunday is the Day of the Lord and sundown Friday to sundown Saturday remains the Sabbath time. Recently I went to Shabbat service at Kol Ami to experience the beginning of Sabbath, a dedicated time of reflecting on giving our lives and all there is to God. Going to a Jewish service is a little unnerving as it is generally in Hebrew, however, the Siddur (what would be like a hymnal) is written in Hebrew and English. It also has the transliteration so you can follow along. Whew! That allowed me to sort of keep up.
When I entered the Narthex to join Kol Ami during Shabbat, I was a little nervous. After all, I know what we think when new people come and visit us! Often it is “Hooray!” How odd would it be to become the new person again? And how odd is it to become the new person within a building that I know so well? When I entered, Rabbi Glickman almost recognized me. I said hello and put myself into context for him. He introduced me to a lovely couple in the congregation. I got there just in time to hear their tales of recent loss to Rabbi Glickman. My heart tugged because I know those tales of loss. It has been an entire year devoted to loss for me and to the dangerous work of going through this liminal time in my life. Late last summer we had to put down Sarah, our dog of 14 years. In October I finally did some very heavy grief work for my mother. In February, a good friend at school died. And not only did he die, but I was the one who had to break the news to my school community. I presided over his memorial service. And then, the capper for me was the loss of my brother in May. Oy vey! And then there have been smaller losses since then. But these were the big boulders for me. The interesting thing that I learned was that each time a smaller loss, it taps into that bigger well of grief that has built up. So even a smaller thing like the ROTC soldier at Seattle U who was killed in Iraq recently, brings up the bigger grief and you have to deal with it again. Then I met Maria and her husband.
Maria shared with me at the Shabbos service recent news they have had of a close friend dying. And this was layered on top of huge challenges they have had over the last year. They are an older couple and have had to face challenging health situations that seem to be coming at them in waves. On top of that, they lost their grandson seven years ago. So these smaller challenges and griefs are tapping into that huge loss in their life. I was so very aware that even though there were many differences between us (religion, culture, age), that coming together in our grief to share the loss together on Shabbat as we recite the Kaddish together was an amazing experiment. Kaddish is recited for all who grieve and is an amazing response of faith. In the deepest grief, the responsive prayer is one of praise to God. It is:
Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.
May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen. He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
I am also reminded of all the hurts that can come to us during this upcoming Advent and Christmas season. For children of alcoholic parents, for recovering addicts, for people undergoing the birth of a new way of having family, for those suddenly without family, for those who are alone, even for those of us who very much need to watch our food intake—it can be challenging at best and a minefield at worst. I think my wish for advent, for this time of growth, is that we all can embrace change and loss where we need to knowing that it is gestating into something new that may bring forth a beautiful new life. And in this time of gestation, that we may claim together, the magnificence and glory of our creator who creates peace for us all.
Love,
Terri
pigtails and freckles
playing in the rain
creating a world beyond
in the world
gathering flowers
for soup and pine cones
for bread and
planning nothing
present to the threshold
of water and light
of darkness and breath
of alone and communion
seeing
really seeing the boy
who lives across
the way in a ramshackle home
noticing beautiful skin
a smooth cocoa
noticing all the colors
are across the way
not here or there
but in the disheveled
and disturbed and
distressed across the way
dropping the soup
and bread and
screaming unfair
flailing fists at ghosts
picking up a rod
and a staff and
striding into
the blaze
Filed under Discernment, Grace, Hope, Love, Religion, Scripture, Spirituality
amazing grace
i was blind, but now i see
the message of amazing
grace
that calls to me from
where?
that building on the corner
with the pretty windows?
that one with the
sign board outside?
that edifice over there
with the golden columns?
no.
closer.
(c) 2010 T. Stewart
Lenten Reflection
I will make with them a covenant of peace;
it shall be an everlasting covenant with them,
and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
My dwelling shall be with them;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD,
who make Israel holy,
when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
-Ezekiel 37:26-28
Thoughts
I will put my sanctuary among them forever.
It is I, the Lord, who makes Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
I am having a profoundly disturbing morning. Finding that peaceful sanctuary within or without is very difficult. My mind keeps wanting to push it away to protect my heart. As an ENFJ, a feeler, it isn’t truly learned until I have felt it. Intellectual pursuit only takes me so far, there is no integration without my feelings involved. My mind is protecting my heart by finding ways of being busy in my own head and with my own hands. But when I truly look at my heart, I know that I am profoundly tired. And that is where I need to let God and my loved ones in to build a sanctuary.
It is like each part of me has a little mini-sanctuary. The student sanctuary, the mother sanctuary, the wife sanctuary, but seeing the unified whole and seeing that the sanctuary is there where my heart and soul and mind coexist is to recognize that in this spot, I am tired. And this is where the sanctuary is. Crap. In my tiredness. In my pain. In my struggles. In my searches.
I was playing this video game which was the simulation of building a town. As I created “housing lots,” random people would come in and build a house on the empty lot. Then I would build all the things that a town needs…schools, parks, business lots for groceries, farms for food, etc. As I did this, the house on the lot would begin to glow, looking freshly painted. Sometimes it would even grow adding on another story and becoming bigger. The little tiny unkempt house can become a grand mansion if it is taken care of properly.
It seems to me, that this is the way it is with our inner sanctuary. With that place we let God in. With that place we let God’s agents in. When we finally recognize that it is there in our core, it looks like that unkempt house. It has been a little neglected and seems sad. But it is happy that we are finally seeing it. Now we have choices: move into that house and live in it as is, move into that house and take care of it, or simply decide that we are not going to live in the house and live elsewhere. Each of these choices has consequences and we probably move amongst these three states of being throughout our lives.
Right now, my house seems a little neglected. Like I forgot it was there. I have been so busy building schools and parks and other people’s houses that I forgot to take care of my own house. It is time for spring cleaning. But, the kicker is, I am too tired to spring clean. That means I have to let people into my sanctuary so they can help me. I don’t like that very much. If I let people in, then they can see that it isn’t all shiny brightness. There are some dark dingy spots. Even a cobweb or two (or ten). Fooey. Fooey. Fooey. I don’t like that at all. I might even have to admit that I need help.
But inside that sanctuary, with all its flaws, is something beautiful. Maybe I need to remember what is at the center of the sanctuary. God’s golden, flowing, everlasting, effervescent, enervating, peaceful, shalom. It really is ok. God is there, now I just need to let some of my loved ones* in to help me get ready for Easter.
*Loved ones are God’s action in the world. Interwoven in this entire conversation is the realization that God is not separable from each one of us or any part of creation. That I am only whole when we are whole. Right relationship with self and others. And that each part of creation transmits God’s grace. Perhaps, then, the real truth is not “letting them in,” but just opening my eyes and seeing that they are already there. Oy.
Filed under Christianity, Discernment, Grace, Lenten Journey Participants, Love, Religion, Scripture, Spirituality, Theology
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