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Archive for the ‘Lent’ Category

Lookin’ in All the Wrong Places

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

There are two insights here: one, the implication here is that mediums and such have power otherwise, it wouldn’t matter and two, looking for direction from them is a type of spiritual adultery.

Leviticus 19:31
‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

I have always held a healthy respect for people who are gifted with other-worldly capabilities and communications. Of course, there are charlatans as well, but I do believe there are legitimate seers and mediums. To throw the baby out with the bathwater and say they don’t exist is foolish. There is a spirit realm and it’s not just populated with angels and cupids. There are forces outside our 3-D world and they are referenced in the Bible a great deal [See Ephesians 6:12].

The point is that we are discouraged from using these people to communicate with that world. I don’t know why, really. This is a trust issue. I think of it as the same warnings that parents give to children, to stay away from the burners of the stove. It’s a force we may not understand fully and it’s better to stay away.

I was thinking that part of the problem might be the limitations of the message. Perhaps a medium would give direction based on circumstances in that moment and the listener takes it to heart and makes decisions and plans based on that advice. We may move in this one direction based on the revelations of a spiritist, but then miss out on a more creative plan that God may have.

It’s a matter of settling in and trusting the Holy Spirit to direct our lives. That is rarely on our time schedule. And so often, we become discouraged or impatient (like Saul and the witch of Endor – see I Samuel 28) and look for the easy answers, the quick result.

Lastly, is the issue of spiritual adultery. God promises to take care of us. It’s a covenant relationship just like marriage. If we seek direction from other sources, we are showing our distrust and we are breaking our vow to remain faithful to the One God.

I’m not so rigid to believe that reading books about fantasy or fairy tales are dangerous. I think that’s going overboard. I also don’t believe lighthearted play with a ouija board or tarot cards is going to mar a person for life. The danger is in the authority we give to these people and practices. As soon as we seriously engage in them, we are, indeed, playing with fire.

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Because I Said So

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Clearly, if we must be told, as a people, to “not” hold grudges or seek revenge, it must be a norm or tendency. My kids call it “paybacks.” Instead, we are to love our neighbor and why? Because the Lord God says so.

Leviticus 19:18
‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Of all the things I struggle with, I don’t believe seeking revenge is that high on my list. Grudge-keeping on the hand, is pretty good sport in my head. It’s just one more list. I keep lots of lists and the grudge list, whether I want to admit it or not, is hanging out there waiting for additions at a moment’s notice. It’s amazing how quickly I can drag up the list once I’m wronged again. Not good.

The solution, based on this scripture, is to love that neighbor. And not just love them in general, but with the same care that we love ourselves.

There’s a trend out there to turn this command into a kind of self-serving mandate: I must learn to love myself first. I think that’s self-help myth. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all love ourselves enough to keep eating, sleeping, and entertaining ourselves. That’s not to say we don’t abuse our bodies, use terrible self-talk, and procrastinate. My guess is that the best way to stop self-bashing is to stop bashing others. In the meantime, if I could just give the courtesy of basic acceptance, like food, shelter, clothing, and remember that everyone is working the human thing. We all make mistakes.

I think it’s time to erase the grudge lists. Delete, delete.

Anyway, there’s good reason to do so. God says so.

There is no grudge, no revenge, no mistake, no betrayal that is bigger than God. If I can’t figure it out, if I can’t muster up the reasons to let these things go, then I may have to drop back to the common denominator: God says so.

As a parent, how many times have I finally used this reason. Sometimes, it’s just too complicated, too time-consuming, too frustrating to explain the ins and outs of why a particular decision must be made. Kids don’t get it. And so, I drop back and punt: Because I said so. Apparently, in this case, God feels the same way. Stop with the lists and planning for evil and love instead. It doesn’t have to be Valentines Day with hearts and flowers and chocolates, just the basics, just simple courtesy and respect for the core of the other person, the sacred core created by God.

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Seeking God’s Will

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , on February 22, 2012| 1 Comment »

To whom do you go seeking God’s will? The “right” answer is that we go to God, but honestly, how many of us are very good at “hearing” God’s answers to the burning questions of our lives, our hopes, our futures, our decisions?

Exodus 18:15
Moses answered him [Jethro], “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. . . . “

When Moses led the people out of Egypt, it was understood that he had communion with God, heard God’s voice, and was directed by God. The people believed in Moses and trusted him. Of course, this was before he disappeared up Mt. Sinai for forty days and forty nights. Nonetheless, at that point, they came to him for “judgments” in the midst of their disagreements. It was Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, who observed the morning to evening ritual of “holding court” that Moses did for the people and it was Jethro who suggested Moses divide these responsibilities to other trusted leaders that Moses could appoint over “thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens,” saving the more difficult cases for himself.

Here’s the point: As long as we give authority to someone to make a judgment on our behalf, we are accepting that judgment as God’s will.

This is the basis for our modern court system in which we have, as a culture, determined that controversies should be submitted to a judge (and sometimes a jury), to pronounce an answer, a judgment. Of course, in our world, we have now developed a complex appeal system. In essence, saying, “that’s not God’s will, that’s not the answer I wanted or needed or expected; that judgment wasn’t fairly determined, let’s try again, etc.”

To whom do you give the authority to make judgments in your life?

Is God sovereign or not? As a believer, can I make a judgment or take a path that is outside God’s ultimate will? OK, I’ll grant that my road could be shorter/smarter/leaner if my decisions were more in tune with the Holy Spirit. If I could slow down and ask God more often for direction, I’d probably stop wasting so much time and energy on detours. And yet, God does make the Way.

I have no Moses. Instead, I have the presence of the Holy Spirit within, given by God through the Christ. God’s will is not some floating pronouncement out of reach that requires intense prayer and fasting and study. It’s in the little things, the little daily judgments, the little decisions. And then, it’s on me to accept “what is” in order to move on to what can come next.

Today, I am in God’s will. I have given authority to Christ Jesus who dwells within as Spirit.

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Fat Tuesday 2012

Posted in Lent on February 21, 2012| 1 Comment »

Photograph by Frederick Glazier, circa 1900

As noted earlier, tomorrow begins a new series of meditations for Lent. But today is Fat Tuesday or the last day of Mardi Gras and Carnivale; some cultures call it Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday.

I was curious how the pancake thing got started and apparently (according to Wikipedia) pancakes have all the ingredients (sugar, fat, flour and eggs) that are normally curtailed during Lent. Now, to be honest, I’m not planning on excluding these things from my diet during Lent. Instead, I’ll be dropping Lattes and Sodas (OK, some sugar there, but mostly Aspertame and other chemicals) as well as my current addiction for Scrabble, Words with Friends, online Sudoku, and Angry Birds. No long-standing traditions there for the Tuesday before Lent except play as many of those games I can in a day and have two lattes today instead of my requisite one. I should probably put $3.17 in a jar every day too.

I’m being a little frivolous here but truthfully, the whole point of Lent is to set aside some time, to reset the mind (and body) to a different circadian rhythm. We all have habits that drive us. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve missed a highway entrance or exit because it was different from my routine.

Lent is God time. As I consider this challenge, I’m thinking I will try to do a lot of things differently, like take a different route to work and modify my morning and evening routines. I want to look with new eyes and hear with refreshed ears. I want to visit places I have never seen before. I want to give myself permission to expect God in all of these new places and new experiences.

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
on top of the wall[d] she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech.

I want to hear wisdom calling.

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Preparing for Lent

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , on February 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

To my faithful readers and subscribers as well as those who are new to my writing, I wanted to give you a heads up that I will be taking a break from my systematic walk through the New Testament in order to do a Lenten series.

As I considered where to begin, I imagined Jesus’s 40 days in the desert. Although it is often called his time of temptation, I believe he was seeking confirmation and enlightenment, communion with the Father, and focus for the days beyond. Beginning with Ash Wednesday, I will be doing the same, based on a series of scriptures taken from the Old Testament and the New.

Please join me on this daily journey, a type of discipline, a quest for understanding.

Some years ago, a dear priest friend of mine always said that Lent should be a time of letting go, a fasting, if you will, from some of the life’s luxuries but it is also a time for adding things of the spirit, time devoted to the things of God.

This is my Lenten offering to God and to you.

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Foolish Controversies

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 24, 2011| 1 Comment »

Batik by Hanna Cheriyan Varghese, Malaysia

Sometimes it’s not worth engaging in discussions that will go nowhere, particularly if people are getting upset and defensive. No one gains. If anything, more is said than should have been said and the controversy escalates. I have seen this happen a hundred times. I’m done.

Titus 3:9
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.

We had a controversy in our local community that was extremely divisive. Conversations were misrepresented; newspapers reported incomplete information and often, with only one side of the story or pure hearsay; while social networks were used to accuse and inflame an already unstable situation. And to what end? The people in the center of it all felt no better, just wrenched apart emotionally. The only thing that lessened the impact was the wisdom of a few who said: don’t engage, don’t add, don’t comment. And eventually, this proved the best choice; the furor abated and people moved on with their lives.

When Jesus stood before the different “authorities” on those fateful days before his crucifixion, he, too was silent. What would have been the point? No one would have believed him more that day than any other day. There was nothing more to be said. His great controversy had to be endured and he knew the meaning from the beginning. He may not have known how the whole thing would play out, the passing from one dignitary to another (think about it: he saw three “leaders” in the course of 24 hours who could have changed the world), but he knew the outcome would be the same: torture and death to the body.

But Jesus also knew about the third day. He knew about the results. He trusted God, despite the pain, the desolation, the anger, and the very air of evil that encircled him. Words were nothing.

And so, Jesus, as foretold throughout the histories and prophecies, rose from the dead. That event put all controversies into perspective.

When all is said and done, most stories have an opportunity for resurrection and transformation. With God, there is always hope. There is no irredeemable act. Even in the face of evil, we must hold fast to our belief that “love wins” — God wins!

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Holy Spirit Soap

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 23, 2011| 2 Comments »

Starting over. That’s what rebirth and renewal are all about. Starting over. The trick is getting the right stuff, the right soap, for washing away the crap. Despite all good intentions, there’s only One soap that works: the suds and bubbles of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:4-5
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, . . .

I can’t make myself new or clean. I can even take a bath in all the good things of life, but the inner life is cleansed by Spirit and nothing else.

I have always recoiled at the standard Christian phrase, “Have you been born again?” I know it’s in scripture, the phrase was used by Jesus himself to Nicodemus [John 3:6-7]. But, at that time, the phrase wasn’t used to separate the good ones from the really good ones, the saved ones from the really saved ones, and so on.

And yet, I wonder, how different would it be to ask, “Have you Started Over?” Isn’t this what most people really want and need? People who are enmeshed in habits and addictions, abusive relationships, cyclical poverty, dead-end jobs, bottomless grief, or numbing isolation, wouldn’t the offer of starting over and beginning anew, or turning a corner where the past no longer drove actions or decisions, where the weight of mistakes no longer caused slow shuffling steps, wouldn’t that be a cause for hope?

In actuality, with the presence of the Holy Spirit, every day is a new day and a new start. Every day is a beginning. Every day is filled with possibilities.

Wash me today, Lord. Wash me today.

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