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Posts Tagged ‘holiness’

Access to God

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 20, 2010| 1 Comment »

The term, access, is such a contemporary word. We think of computer access and Internet access and it’s clear that there is a direct way to get or use these services. And yet, here we have a promise for direct access to God by the Christ. This is really the gospel (good news) for me.

Ephesians 2:18-19a
For through him [Jesus Christ] we both [gentiles and Jews] have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household . . .

It’s funny. If someone said to me, in order to meet or talk with Bill Gates, I’d have to go through a particular secretary, I wouldn’t bat an eye. That would make sense. Or, in order to meet with the President, I’d have to go through a series of requests to various intermediaries before I could get that prized meeting. Or, if I wanted to have an audience with the Pope, I’d have to have very good reasons and very good contacts.

And yet, if I say that the Christ is the access point to God, there is much push back. “God is available to anyone,” they say. And in some ways, that is true. Certainly, all of creation is within God’s purview and if God, as Spirit [John 4:24], wants to communicate or connect with anyone, anywhere or any how, who am I to belittle the idea.

But scriptures are clear that this mysterious “work” (or sacrifice) of Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, is the planned gateway to God. It’s a direct path: easy, loving, and dependable.

For me, the question is not so much about accepting Jesus but whether or not a person really wants to be in relationship with God, big God, Spirit God, Universe God? Do I, as a grain of sand (or even smaller) in relationship to the suns and planets want access to the Creator? Do I have any questions . . . fears . . . hopes? Do I want to know about my place, my role, my meaning?

I do. And I thank this same God for giving me the access code in Jesus.

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Humility in the Miracles

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

People who are regularly used of God in miraculous ways do not need to talk about it. It’s the one-shot Sally’s who go on and on about the marvel. I’ve been guilty of this myself–not good.

II Corinthians 12:5-6
I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.

It’s not that the miracle didn’t happen. It did. And certainly, to be on the receiving end of a miracle is worth shouting about.

But I’m talking about the messenger, the hands that were laid on the sick, the prayer that was said for wholeness, or the advocate who placed the petition at the foot of the cross. This is the one who must learn and walk in humility and silence. It’s a most difficult road.

I am sure Paul was used in a vast array of miracle-working ways. Some of these incidents are shared in scripture, but I’m guessing many are not. Clearly, he was anointed by God and sent by Christ. He knew and understood the temptation to boast of such things. He saw the results of this boasting in others. It became a separation between the purity of the Spirit moving through the healer and human pride.

We are all called, as vessels of the supernatural, to bring light, healing, and wholeness to those around us. This was the plan all along. Christ within.

“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” [John 14:11-12]

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Separate by Choice or Oppression

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There comes a time when a person’s principles will separate him/her from certain friendships or situations, either by choice because the circumstances are unpalatable or by the pressure of others. The question is whether the separation is a wall or a space.

II Corinthians 6:16-17a
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.

Even though Jesus supped and interacted with “prostitutes and tax collectors,” these folks were not his daily diet. He still had to seek out solitude and silence. He needed time with God, his heart’s true home. He also needed time with his close friends with whom he shared his himself.

This scripture reference has been used for centuries to justify the creation of exclusive “societies” in the name of holiness. Convents and monasteries became the ultimate separation and for years; they thrived until humanity called out for help and slowly they came out and brought their faith to the world around them. It was a difficult change, a time to learn balance between separation and service.

There are other ways to separate. Simply an attitude or affiliation can be a dividing wall. For some, it’s like a badge of honor to maintain a list of things they don’t do: watch R-rated movies, listen to secular music, dance to a beat, look at nude paintings or sculpture, drink wine, beer or any alcohol at all, send their children to public schools, take communion in a particular way, baptize in a particular way, pray in a particular way, and so forth. The walls become thicker and taller over time. Unfortunately, if anyone crosses over or digs a hole through the wall, he/she is considered a reprobate. The wall is fortified.

Some of the extreme examples are the groups who have created compounds in the name of “community” where rules dominate, families inter-marry, and women are considered chattel once again. There are churches where membership is a complex ritual. There are religious groups where the “shepherds” determine whether two people marry or not, or whether a family should buy a car, or how much should be tithed. Yes, these are extremes, but their is separatism all along this continuum. They become an oppression.

How or what people do in the name of God can be diverse. How an individual is led to worship and honor God is a choice. But when these practices become a source of intentional alienation, something is wrong.

It is my heart that my life would be a flowing stream that can break down walls but also create pools and coves of safety. I don’t ever want to become a stagnant pond in the name of “holiness.”

He [she] is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he [she] does prospers. [Psalm 1:3]

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From God, Through Christ

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2010| 2 Comments »

Prepositions are funny things. They are so small and yet so full of meaning. They establish relationship between two things or people. Here is a verse that establishes God as the source (of all light) and the Christ as the prism through which that light shines.

I Corinthians 8:6
. . . yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Mike and I had a throwback experience yesterday and showed the old movie, Pollyanna with Hayley Mills, to our daughter. I’d forgotten about the lovely scenes with the prisms and how that simple act gave hope to a couple of grumpies.

But the symbol is perfect. We cannot actually see light. We see a reflection or, in the case of a prism, a refraction and a spectrum of color.

Jesus is our prism and through him, we see God.

Consider the phrase, “to live is Christ” [Philippians 1:21] and what that might mean in conjunction with the prism image. If we are in Christ and Christ is in us, then we, too, become a prism. The more transparent and translucent we can become, the more likely the Light can be seen in us, the spectrum of God’s love.

Over the years, I have wanted to manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit [I Cor 12:8-13], but today, I understand this essential manifestation must come first. Those other gifts are by-products of the Light, they are merely one color in the spectrum.

Oh God, may the spectrum of your Light shine through Christ and may I be a vessel clear enough, transparent enough, that others would be able to see You. Forgive me for covering myself with bushels [Matthew 5:14-15] and closed doors and closets.

You are my truth.

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Mere Mortals

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

That’s me still: acting like a mere mortal. Basic. Common. Plain. Simple. I’m working on the complicated stuff, but truth is truth and I’m still displaying mere mortal signs: jealousy and quarreling to name two.

I Corinthians 3:3
You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men [and women]?

Are there really people out there who don’t quarrel and behave jealously? Are they able to let go of what they want and allow the other person to have it? Are they able to let go of control? Are they able to state their opinion without an attitude, without demand, without guile? Can they trust unequivocally? Can they rejoice with those who have more, deserved or undeserved?

What is the opposite of a mere mortal? I assume it’s a saint? I’ve always had trouble with that label. Peppered throughout the New Testament, it’s a way of referring to the devoted and the believers. It’s more than just being “nice” or “kind” or “good.” A saint is a position of holiness. Some denominations set aside the “really” good ones and put their stories through all kinds of tests and research to qualify them, canonize them, and then broadcast them. And yet, Paul seems to use the word more blithely: believers as saints, followers as saints, beloved as saints, dead believers as saints.

It’s easier to find evidence that I’m a mere mortal than it is to find evidence that I’m a saint. Maybe today, eh? Maybe today I can declare it my “saint’s day.”

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What Is Not

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Here it is: God takes the most lowly and insignificant thing/person and breaks apart the norm, the traditional, the comfort zones, and the “interpreted now.” He takes “what is not” and creates something new: from nothing–something.

I Corinthians 1:28
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, . . .

There is a wonderful show on the History channel about the Shroud of Turn called the Real Face of Jesus. I recommend it. A scientific study has been going on for the last several years and only now are these results being made public. In the end, they still have no idea HOW the image manifested on the shroud. One theory is that it was created by a tremendous release of energy or light. Not too surprising for a believer to accept, more difficult for a team of scientists. They are faced with the power of “what was not” becoming something.

Healings are the same thing: bringing into our world something that was not: healthy body parts and organs.

This is all miracle stuff and the point is? Only God can make these things happen. Here’s our job, those called as witnesses, we are simply to look and acknowledge those moments when “what is not” is replaced by “what is.”

Sometimes these are physical transformations, but they can also be spiritual and mental transformations. Ask. Confess. Wait.

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” [Romans 8:11]

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Signs and Miracles

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Signs and wonders don’t just happen haphazardly. They are a huge responsibility: heady stuff to experience a miracle (either on the receiving end or the giving end). Can you imagine being the conduit for one? Or have we grown cavalier about it?

Romans 15:19
[Even as my preaching has been accompanied] with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] by the power of the Holy Spirit. [The result is] that starting from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel [faithfully executing, accomplishing, carrying out to the full the good news] of Christ (the Messiah) in its entirety. [Amplified]

Fortunately, Paul understood and was intimately acquainted with the source of power. He knew and trusted the Holy Spirit to do what was needed for the sake of another every time. Every sign, every wonder, and every miracle was a focused expression of God. Paul was just the hands and feet to bring that miracle to the right moment in time.

I have often wondered what it would be like to be used in the healing ministry. Initially, it sounds fantastic, to lay hands or pray for someone and then witness that person’s healing or recovery. But a trap is in not respecting the full source of the power. Except for Jesus, a healer is nothing but a vessel that has learned to pour out pristine force. But how does one keep the pour untainted? How do I avoid tampering with the flow, adding my own hopes, desires, and interpretations? How do I keep myself from holding back a small trickle for myself? How do I avoid pride and uber-confidence?

In my earlier years, I would lay hands quickly, ready to give that miracle-working stuff a chance to operate. Looking back, I see it was too much about me and not enough about the other. I am not so quick today. I sense a greater responsibility in praying for another. There must be faithfulness to the moment and connection to the source. I must be transparent and authentic. I must be clear.

Prayer is serious business. Let me not be casual about it again Lord. Every prayer is an opportunity for signs and wonders. Every prayer can be direct contact with the greatest power of the universe.

And with that in mind, I think about Paul when he commands us to “pray without ceasing” [I Thessalonians 5:17]. Accordingly, we must have the ability to be in continual contact with the Source, not just saying a lot of prayers out loud or repeating affirmations, but a genuine unity of spirit, connection, mindfulness, and awareness.

That’s the first miracle . . . and it happens within.

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