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Posts Tagged ‘God’

A Coronation Tale

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 31, 2012| 2 Comments »

If you thought the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was a extravagant affair, just wait until the next royal or papal coronation. I reviewed the YouTube footage of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953: thousands and thousands and tens of thousands . . .

Revelation 5:11, 13
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. . . . Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To [the one] who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

This is the picture I imagine as John describes his vision of the throne, the lamb, the living creatures, the elders, and the angels, all singing, all joining voices in adulation. For John to be able to describe this picture, he is somehow separate from it, like a television camera. He is not in the event nor part of the event. He is an observer, a witness of a unique sort, a reporter.

Here in the United States, it is outside our ken. We have well attended inaugurations and there is a type of pomp but nothing on the order of Great Britain’s royalty. And now, with modern television, the numbers who are watching have multiplied exponentially. It is as though the the entire earth can witness these events.

This “heavenly” coronation image is the only way John can wrap his mind around and give image or voice to the importance of the moment. The Christ, who entered human form and by God-given power, was able to propitiate (satisfy or atone) for a previously made agreement or covenant that Human made with God and then broke.

This is not the stuff of soccer and Facebook, football and Miss America. This has to do with the fabric of creation outside of our three-dimensional sensibilities.

John did the best he could with what he knew.

In today’s world, we have other visionaries and artists who try to imagine or conceptualize this non-dimensional place or rather, an actuality. But we fall short. Instead, we have our own versions of celebrations and weddings and coronations in an attempt to capture the importance and wonder of a vow, a promise, a covenant, a new identity, a new responsibility.

Why do we have ceremony? Why do you? What is the message?

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Who is Worthy? Who is Able?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Most exegesis accedes that the “Lion of Judah” represents the Christ. And it is that One who is worthy . . . and able . . . to change the course of civilization in general and more specifically, to change my life.

Revelation 5:4-5a
I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able . . .

Who is worthy in my sphere of friends, family, and colleagues to impact my life? Who has earned the right to speak into my choices, to redirect my path, to open my eyes?

There are people who took on influential roles and circumstances. My mother, by default, spoke into my life as I was growing up. She was able. My older brother, also, by proximity and sheer force of will, taught me lessons whether I wanted to learn them or not. Boyfriends and husbands carved out sections of my heart, by will or by relentless time. I learned through the silences of loss like my father’s death when I was nine, or the loneliness of being a latchkey kid, or the bitter and repetitive mistakes that led me down roads I regretted again and again. These people and experiences were “able” to bear upon my life. But who actually earned a place?

Here is the role of God, the mission of Christ, the engagement of the indwelling Spirit. God, by sovereignty is worthy; Christ by personal sacrifice is worthy; Spirit by faithful presence is worthy.

If these do not exist in my life, then where is my confidence? Human is fallible. All of us. When we trust people, we must understand that trust is given and received within the limits of human experience and faith. But it is elusive, at best. It is unreliable, no matter how hard we “try.”

The whole point is to trust God, not human, to trust the Christ, not leaders, to trust the Holy Spirit, not tradition. Freedom and forgiveness are possible and more easily extended to others when my expectation is solely on the One who is able and worthy to exist in our midst.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory . . . ” [Ephesians 3:20-21a]

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What Jesus Opens

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 12, 2012| 1 Comment »

Album cover: Through the Open Door by Michael Anthony Miller

When formidable times come, it is more difficult to hang on to the truth of God’s sovereignty. Circumstances overwhelm the big picture and pain distorts understanding. Evil plays its hand and mocks the hand of God, claiming apparent victory. But we must look for the open door . . .

Revelation 3:7b-c
. . . These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

The supreme sovereignty of the Christ is captured in a single phrase about him, that is, the one “who holds the key of David.” The prophecies spoke of long lasting rule to the line of David in Israel. But even this rule was broken by imperfect rulers and inconstant followers.

While Jesus, the son of God, was perfect in plan and execution of God’s will, and now holds the key in perpetuity and rules humankind forever as the Christ.

This idea doesn’t sit well with human. We are a feisty, independent bunch and like our self-determination, despite the rocky outcomes (wars, rumors of wars, famine, uncontrolled disease, gluttony, murder, and conquest, just to name a few). We blissfully select presidents, prime ministers or simply allow dictators and totalitarians to rise up among us, but we (and I speak as “human” here) cringe or shrink away from the possibility of a divine God, a force unequaled on Earth, an entity outside of time but able to enter time at will. Why are we able to reconcile the one and not the other? Is it just too much science fiction?

There is an extremely traditional painting of Jesus standing at a door knocking, based on Revelation 3:20a, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. . . .” a verse used to indicate that Jesus, like a visitor, is waiting to be invited into our homes, into our hearts. It’s a kind depiction.

But I have a stronger image, that of the open door. This representation is not from Christ’s perspective, waiting to be invited in, this is from my perspective, an invitation to walk through with no strings attached, the invitation implicit in its openness.

It reminds me of a phrase I tell people from out of town, particularly those I like very much and I want to communicate my fondness to them: “Please, come anytime, our door is always open.” I want them to feel free to enter, whether I am at home or not, because I trust them with my home, my sanctuary, my heart.

Jesus trusts me in that way too. And you.

Christ Jesus has the authority to open the door and keep it open until any human can see it, believe it, and walk through it. On the other side is sanctuary.

I remember hearing a story about people who were locked up in cages for a long time but when the door was opened, they did not leave the cage. Outside the cage, all was unknown. Inside the cage, all was familiar. Fear held them inside. Love is patient and kind and waits.

The only bad thing I can see about this open door is the ability of traffic to go both ways. I would love to say I went through the door once and never turned back. Not true. I have stepped back into the old world many times but each time, the open door draws me back, the spirit of God draws me, and I find my way through again.

Come and see, the door is still open. Like the tomb, open. Be set free.

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My First Love

Posted in Random Thoughts, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2012| 1 Comment »

Painting by He Qi Chin

The hard part in these verses, the first of seven admonitions to the churches in Asia under John’s authority, is the complimentary tone, the praise for all of their hard work, and in particular, their endurance and perseverance. And yet, it is for nothing without love.

Revelation 2:3-4
I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary. But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love]. [Amplified]

This is the classic Mary/Martha conundrum [Luke 10:38-42] where Martha, the overly busy one is chastised by Jesus whereas Mary is praised, not for her “good works” but her devotion, her love.

I think about my early weeks as a believer. They were indeed like the proverbial honeymoon. I wanted to be in the Presence as much as possible. I prayed effortlessly for hours. I devoured the scriptures, cover to cover, several times over. I wanted to know God. I wanted to catch up. I had missed so much.

As a child, I was raised in the Latvian Lutheran church, and that, in itself, is not bad, but growing up in America where my heritage became more and more of an add-on instead of a way of life, I kicked against the church just as I kicked against Latvian school and speaking Latvian in the home. I did not really listen. I did not learn. And as a result, by the time I reached adulthood, I knew the Bible as a group of stories and parables. It held no life.

Many years later, in the noise and speed of New York City, miles from my hometown in Indiana, living the life I had imagined a young actress should lead, the last person I expected to encounter was the Christ.

My encounter was personal, just the Word, the Presence and me, Christmas Eve, 1979. At first, uncomfortable with my new found love, I mumbled my decision to follow this Savior. I didn’t really want anyone to know. But things do change and people saw my change and the old haunts, the old ways, no longer had appeal. In some cases, it was a test . . . not for me, but for this God I had chosen to follow. And that one was faithful, eventually removing me from each and every terror, drug habit, drinking habit, and erotica.

My first love first loved me.

But thirty years is a long time and like an old married couple, I have become somewhat cavalier in my relationship. Still busy, still faithful, but without the wonder. I am a good volunteer. I say “yes” to almost every task. I fill my calendar.

Irmgarde,” the Lord might say, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. And Mary is an example of what it means to choose what is better.

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Do Not Be Afraid

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

photograph by Angelica Cotos

Whether it’s angels, prophets, or the “son of man” speaking to a human, at least seventy times in scripture, they each instruct people not to fear. A clue: their appearances and proximity must be downright terrifying, and I infer, equally hard for the human to describe or process. What is happening to me?


Revelation 1:17-18
When I [John] saw him [“someone like a son of man”], I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

God is so different from us and even Jesus, who walked as human among us for those short 30 +/- years, altered after his resurrection. Oh, I know, most paintings or prints of his resurrected self show him looking pretty normal, but I’m thinking that normality was only during his 40 days on earth before he finally ascended [see Acts 1:3]. After that, I think he went on to a different manifestation, perhaps more like his transfiguration on the high mountain with Peter, John & James [Matt 17:1-13 & Mark 9:2-13]. Here is a whisper of the brilliance and light, power and energy, the “otherness” of the Christ.

Years ago, I used to joke with my husband that I wouldn’t go on a mission trip to some remote or dangerous place unless Jesus sat on my bed and told me to go. It was a silly way to insist that mission work was not for me. Eventually, I did travel to Africa and I’m grateful Jesus didn’t have to go to one of those extremes to get my “buy-in.”

Transfigured appearances of the Christ are significant. Anyone who has had a supernatural experience should know. And I’m guessing the phenomenon would be no less terrifying to us today. I would have strong doubts of any story was told otherwise. God light encompasses and penetrates the soul.

When John heard a voice and turned to look at its source (verses 12-16), he describes what he saw as best he could: 7 lampstands, “someone like a son of man” (which I interpret to mean that he looked human-like but not completely) who appeared to be dressed in white with blazing eyes, glowing feet and a voice that sounded like rushing waters (very loud, in case you haven’t stood by a mountain stream lately). John lost all composure and collapsed to the ground. Would I do any better?

And yet, this bright one, touched John and spoke, “Do not be afraid.” Everything John saw and felt gave him fear. It was all outside his experience; it made the mountaintop transfiguration seem like nothing.

John also described a two-edged sword coming out of the Christ’s mouth. There is nothing appealing to me about an image like that. I have seen artists depict this sword and it gives me the creeps. As I ponder the idea of a two-edged sword that cuts through anything and everything, back and forth, one swath at a time, I imagine, instead, John experiencing the truth of his life uncovered and revealed. Whatever the self-deceptions had been were exposed. The sword, the breath, the light, cuts away the dross.

And perhaps, then, the fear is not just from the presence of a holy God but from the impact that holiness has on us. The bonus is that Christ embraces us all the same.

The mystery of the sacrifice, once and for all, allows us into the Presence. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit recognizes God and vice versa.

Do not be afraid of the two-edged sword and its revelations. Do not be afraid of the Light that illuminates us both within and without. Do not be afraid of Spirit that transfigures us. Selah.

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The Alpha and the Omega

Posted in Random Thoughts, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

How do we lose the bottom line? God is God and that’s the point. God is sovereign. God is above all, within all, beneath all. Acknowledge God and life can be trusted. Engage God and a life can be transformed.

Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Start here. I start here today. Today is my Alpha. . .

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Who Keeps Me From Falling?

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

If the Christ is keeping me from falling, then the implication is clear: my tendency is to fall. Probably, I am more off balance than on, leaning at an edge. Without the centering power of the Christ, I will cascade, slowly or quickly, depending on my grip, into the pit, the valley, the quicksand.

Jude 1:24
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—

I have just journeyed the Christmas season with little anchoring. I allowed the busy-ness of the holidays to pull me away from my center. Even church events became distractions instead of magnets, as well as shopping, wrapping, and food preparation – awesome Martha [Luke 10:40] activities – but little centering time. I discovered I can sing about the baby Jesus, I can listen to hymns, I can go to church and pray corporately, but it does not keep me from falling out of the Presence.

Like the woman with the issue of blood [Luke 8:43-48], I must be intentional in centering down with the Holy Spirit; I must reach out and grab onto to the cloak, the covering, the access points I have been given. Oh sure, God is gracious and merciful, and I am not condemned, but I have missed a blessing by not inhabiting the presence of Christ within.

Jude commends us to “pray IN in the Holy Spirit.” Some believe this phrase means to pray in tongues or other form of “spiritual” language. And I don’t discount these as possibilities, but I am more interested in the intent of praying WITH the Holy Spirit within. It is a joint effort, this type of praying, it is praying without boundaries, it is praying in unison, it is praying out of a relationship. It is divine. It is powerful. It is holy.

And from here, the soul is centered, the spirit is centered, and as a result, the body is centered, joined to the Spirit of Wholeness [holiness].

At this time of year, many begin looking to the New Year, with resolutions and goal setting. I have but one: to remain in the Presence of Holy Spirit who keeps me from falling.

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