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Archive for the ‘Time Up to Pentecost’ Category

Love or Knowledge?

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

If you had to choose, which would you rather have, love or knowledge? Should be a no-brainer. But I’ve been choosing knowledge more often than not. I can control knowledge. I cannot control love.

I Corinthians 8:1b-2
We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.

Intellectually, I understand why love would be the best choice. This is what God has been teaching me over the last year. I know that. But, today, I see it with a clarity I’ve never seen before. Love tempers knowledge. Love takes knowledge into wisdom. Love takes me out of myself and into “other.”

In the realm of spiritual gifts, let’s say, there is the “word of knowledge,” but this word must be given in love or it becomes a weapon and a place of pride.

Love is universal. Knowledge is not.

Knowledge can grow in a field of love, but love is not a natural outgrowth of knowledge.

God is love [I John 4:8]. And it’s not that God isn’t knowledge, but that is not what drives the Holy Spirit.

I’m pretty smart. I have been given a a strong IQ and all that. I like to study. I love to read and learn. I enjoy building my knowledge base. I am intrigued by others who are smart. I can do knowledge all by myself.

But love cannot be practiced alone. Love is the essential ingredient to family, to koinonia, to community, to church, to peace.

May the mindfulness of the Holy Spirit keep me in a spirit of love this day.

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Divided Devotion — A Reality

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I think most people want to be married, to be in a committed relationship and to build a family. This is the norm of our culture. But in that light, Paul says there will be divided devotion; it comes with the territory. I think it’s time to stop beating myself up on this issue of a divided heart.

I Corinthians 7:33-34a, 35
But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. . . . I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you [single people] may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

Additional references to the idea of a “divided heart” might be Matthew 6:24 (two masters), James 4:8 (double-mindedness), Psalm 86:11 or Hosea 10:2. Bad, bad, bad, that’s all I read and the condemnation rains down upon me. Enough.

The undivided heart state is an amazing ideal, but I need to be more realistic about attaining single mindedness in this time of my life. If I only focus on the undivided heart scriptures, I lose sight of the other tasks God has placed before me: namely, my family.

Actually, my devotional practices are better than ever, single or married. My sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, my desire to please God, my trust in a sovereign God, all have grown in the past few years and continue to grow. I am studying the scriptures systematically and I am praying daily. I am seeking God’s will.

But much of my prayer time is on behalf of my husband and and particularly, my children, whose spiritual lives are quite unformed still. There have been so many missteps, so many truths I have not managed to share convincingly, so many outright failures. Our marriage, although laced with kindness and cooperation, is not particularly trusting or intimate. I need to reach a much deeper place of humility there.

And what of my other relationships? These too are an intrinsic part of loving God, that is, loving others. But don’t these relationships also take a piece of the heart? They take energy and time and thought. They require concern and devotion. They, too, divide the heart.

I wonder if it’s not a huge paradox. Maybe divided devotion for love actually comes together as ultimate devotion to God. After all, what is given (time, energy, love) to the “least of these” is given unto God [Matthew 25:40].

What if it’s not divided love that is a problem but mis-directed love: idol worship, loving without God, loving carnally, loving selfishly, or loving for gain.

Like a shady bookkeeper keeping double books, two complete sets–one the truth and one a complete fabrication–this divided devotion will fail. This double heart cannot live. Unfortunately, the black heart of deceit is strong and will prevail unless there is help, confession, and truth.

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This Current Crisis

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Other translations of this phrase are “this present distress” or “this present trouble.” The entire discussion on not marrying or marrying is about that moment in time. Paul believed the time was short. But we’re still here. And what is the application for us?

I Corinthians 7:26, 29a, 30b
Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. . . .What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. . . . For this world in its present form is passing away.

The commentaries are numerous on these passages and the emphasis is almost entirely on the attachments to worldly comforts and the responsibilities of a mate and/or children (I presume). And certainly, much can be said for being unattached to any of these things. But alas, I am neither. I am a wife, a mother, and culturally, I confess, I’m tethered to the conveniences of my world.

But for me, it’s the phrase about timing that intrigues me the most. Paul was pretty sure that Christ would return within his generation, if not within his lifetime. This, in itself, does reflect on the human-ness of Paul. He was wrong on this point, and in a big way. For him, the times were bad. Later, they got worse for that part of the world when the Romans besieged Jerusalem and destroyed it. That was certainly the end of the “their world in its present form.”

And what about our own crisis? What about our culture’s troubles? What would help? Only one thing, single or married, could make a difference. The practice of the presence of Christ. Nothing else. It is this presence within that has the power to change our responses to the world. It is the Christ spirit that is perceived as light. It is the love of God that transforms situations. When that is present, then the attachment to the world becomes less by default. Marriages remain whole. Singles remain trusting.

We cannot take on the outer trappings of Paul’s recommendations and expect change. For me, it must begin within.

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Our Place in Life

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2010| 2 Comments »

In many ways, this phrase just rubs me the wrong way. I want to put my hands on my hips and say, “MY place?” Who are you to say what my place is? But then, I take a breath, and think: isn’t it true . . . isn’t htere a moment in time in which we are touched by God? That’s the place we start.


I Corinthians 7:17a
Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him.

Whether I like it or not, I started out in a place in life: daughter of immigrants, relatively poor, gifted with some wit and bits of talent. When I recognized the Christ spirit within me, I was on quite a downhill spiral. I was actually losing place. I was falling into a different place, casting away my God-given talents.

So, my place in life is not just my class and race, it’s the entire package of who I am in a moment. It’s not that my place may not change, but it’s not for me to destroy what has been given.

Paul writes that it’s the commands of God that must be followed, that being more essential than place. (For me, these are the two great commands of loving God and others.) When doing this, THEN, place may change.

Today, I am in a new “physical” space, in a workshop for writers. Today, I sense my place in time and Christ is about to take a turn.

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Faith of One

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost on May 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In a family, it only takes one adult to engage a spiritual covering of love, hope, and protection over everyone else in the household. There’s comfort in that but there is also responsibility. And fortitude. And trust. And courage. That one still needs community.

I Corinthians 7:14
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

I am fortunate that my husband is also a believer and we share the spiritual responsibility for covering our children, soon to be adults, soon to be out on their own. I can only pray they will carry with them the memories of that sweet shadow of love that comes from the umbrella of Christ. That a desire for their own covering will be born the day they step out.

A couple of commercials are out there now with umbrella people following after individuals. I believe one is for an insurance company and the other is for sunscreen. Both ads are showing a picture of protection. This is the picture I have in my own mind over our kids as they go to school, go to jobs, go out on dates or party with friends. Mike and I have sent the umbrellas with them.

For the lone believer in a family, Paul’s words should come as a great hope. The umbrellas are still available and in place through the faith of just one. A single parent or a single believer in a family is enough.

The Spirit of God is gracious and expansive.

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Celibacy, Fasting and Self-denial

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2010| 1 Comment »

Who wants to give up anything the body wants or needs? I’ve been investigating the importance of the body as the “Temple of the Holy Spirit” and yet, here is old Paul recommending celibacy as a way of walking out “self-control.” Harumph.

I Corinthians 7:1b
It is well [and by that I mean advantageous, expedient, profitable, and wholesome] for a man not to touch a woman [to cohabit with her] but to remain unmarried. [Amplified]

This Pauline letter must be one of the main sources for the Catholic tradition of celibate priests. A few verses later, Paul even spells it out, “I wish that all men were like I myself am [in this matter of self-control]. But each has his own special gift from God, one of this kind and one of another.” [vs 7:7]

Is this a good thing? I know that fasting, another form of body denial has its place in devotion. It seems that as we deny the body sustenance, there is more time to look inward to the things of spirit. But this conversation is for those who choose these things, for those who choose to be celibate or choose to fast, or choose to deny themselves in other specific ways.

What about those who have no choice? What about the lonely men and women of this world who desperately want relationship and intimacy with another person? What of the couple who no longer have intimacy due to illness or boredom. What of the poor?

God promises a grace to those who are not in a position to choose. These promises can be seen readily in the beatitudes. They are promises of hope in the midst of great loss and deprivation. These were the people he chose to teach first, to reach first.

What happens for the rest of us who much choose seasons of deprivation? We get a taste, a glimpse of both poverty and grace in this arena.

But I want to remember that Paul also says that each person has his/her special gift from God. The key here is knowing what God wants of me. The point is hearing God’s voice, God’s plan for today, for now. Once, God called me to a long fast and I was so deaf, He made bread taste like garbage before I got the message.

Choosing self-denial for the mere sake of it does nothing special. These times must be part of the true call.

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Temple of the Holy Spirit

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 7, 2010| 1 Comment »

The temple in Jerusalem was built with very detailed specifications. There was an outer court, an inner court, and then the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant, a dwelling place for God, was hidden and visited only once a year. Who lives in your holy of holies?

I Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, . . . [Amplified]

When I became a believer, I invited the Christ to come and dwell within my holiest place. I received the Holy Spirit as a gift from God and that transaction was possible because of the sacrifice God made of His Son to repair the breach between human souls and God. Paul confirms this.

I think we have all become too cavalier about the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are the “host” of this presence; it is a symbiotic relationship. Symbiosis is defined as “the living together of unlike organisms.” What’s interesting to me is that there are different types of symbiosis. In some cases, it’s mutualistic where the relationship benefits both organisms. In other cases, the relationship is essential to the survival of one of the organisms (called obligate) but not the other. There are organisms that are symbiotic and only one organism benefits while the other one is simply not affected at all. And finally, others are parasitic, where one organism benefits while the other one suffers.

Now, I ask myself, which one of these types of symbiosis describes my relationship with the Holy Spirit within? Am I taking advantage of the Spirit’s presence without doing my part of keeping my body’s environment healthy and nurturing? Am I a parasite?

Clearly, the best relationship with the Holy Spirit is mutualistic, but there are grave responsibilities that go with that symbiosis. Fresh air and light (windows and doors open), communication (prayer), peace, love, joy, honesty, hope, laughter, and kindness are just a few of the nutrients that allow the Holy Spirit to thrive within.

Now, it’s not like the Holy Spirit is passive. In fact, when I screw up, I see the Holy Spirit as my personal Joan of Arc doing battle on my behalf. She is my white blood cells. She is my conscience. She has my back.

According to Paul, one of the greatest attacks on the symbiotic relationship between human body and Holy Spirit is sexual immorality. I find that fascinating. Apparently, there is some kind of osmosis that happens in sex, seeds are planted with thoughts about sex, and so forth, which directly affects the Holy Spirit’s environment. I don’t begin to understand this, but if it’s true, then our culture itself is quite toxic.

In the end, our personal Holy of Holies is not unlike the inner sanctuary of the Temple. When we invite the Holy Spirit into that secret place, we are sharing space from that point forward. But, some people have lost their way and don’t even know how to find their own Holy place within. The space is dark, closed off, and empty. In these cases, the Holy Spirit is a guide, leading the lost soul back to the center of being.

Oh Lord, keep me mindful of your Holy Spirit within this day.

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