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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

Sorting Hat

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The Hogwarts Sorting Hat was used to determine which “house” a new student would have allegiance to during his/her years in school. I have seen Christians do much the same thing by taking tests and classes and workshops to “determine” their “gifts.” Not Hogwarts but hogwash!

I Corinthians 12:29-31a
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

I can call this search process hogwash because I’ve done it. I’ve done it more times than I’d like to confess. And like the MBTI, the results come out pretty much the same every time. Why do I keep putting on this sorting hat? Obviously, I’m hoping there is a paper test that will anoint me as an apostle or faith healer (those have drama) instead of an administrator! For heaven’s sake, all that energy on the giftings and I’ve been missing the whole point: “. . . earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces . . .” [vs 31a, Amplified].

Roles in a church or in any organization appear as the need arises. The question is not how each person is anointed for all time, but are we willing to step up when we are needed? Are some people better at some things than others? Of course. But, I don’t believe we are limited to that one role, ever! The problem I’ve seen is that we limit ourselves to what we “think” that role will look like. God is creative.

Right now, too many in the church are operating purely out of tradition and habit. Church is a building. Church has a “pastor” who speaks from 15-40 minutes from the front of the church. There are songs that are sung – the number or time is set. It goes on and on.

What is the best gift and what are the greater graces that we are called to cultivate? Is the church of today partnering with us in this journey. Or, are we all sitting under the sorting hat first? Are we sorted into roles and denominations? Are we sorted into leaders and followers? Are we sorted into pre-millennial and post-millennial? Are we sorted by country and color? Are we sorted by political party? And worse still. . . are we acting like the sorting hat itself? Are we sorting others?

I’m taking off my sorting hat today. I will not sort people around me. Nor will I be sorted.

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Self-Inflicted Injuries

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 8, 2010| 2 Comments »

Every time I hurt someone within the Body of Christ, even inadvertently, I am actually hurting myself. If I gossip against someone, I am dishonoring myself. If I ignore someone intentionally, I am cutting myself off. I am committing a slow suicide by poison.

I Corinthians 12:21, 26
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” . . . If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

I used to think of these verses as sharing in the sufferings of the saints. In other words, as others experience pain or sorrow, I share in that pain and thereby help the one who is hurting. But today, I see that I am part of the problem. And, more than likely, this truth applies to more than just the body of believers.

Psychologists say that the very things we complain about in others or “see” in the behaviors of others, these are our own bad habits as well. If we observe selfishness in others, we are probably acting selfishly ourselves. When we blanch at someone’s rudeness, chances are we are equally rude.

So, what do I do more than anything else? Judge others. And sure enough, I am also being judged. [Matthew 7:1] When am I going to get this?

I have never understood people, particularly teens, who cut themselves. They say it’s to “feel something” because they have become so numbed by emotional pain and depression. Am I hurting others with my judgments and “tongue” for the same reason? Do I think I will feel better by continuing in this habit?

Don’t I want love as much as the next person? Of course. Then, it’s time to radically change my weapons. It’s time to heal, to love, to mediate, to listen, to accept, to trust. It’s time to really love unconditionally the unlovely, the seemingly dishonorable, the broken.

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Giving Meaning to the Bread

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Let us give meaning to the Bread and WineJesus loved to speak in stories, symbols and metaphors. The supernatural world is indescribable otherwise. Our language is unable to represent something we do not know or understand. The meaning is revealed over time.

I Corinthians 11:26
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt. [The Message Bible]

Bread and wine were used throughout Jewish history, from manna to unleavened bread to the Temple showbread. But, at the last supper, Jesus takes bread and intentionally breaks it and shares it with the disciples (and probably everyone else who was in the room, since I believe there were women and servers there as well, and it was not a “private” event as is so often depicted). He is setting up a symbol to be repeated and to have meaning throughout history.

So often, we think of the “bread” (what we now call communion bread) as something he is doing for us. We are consuming it, we are gaining. But today, I am thinking about the implications for him. He is symbolically cutting up his body for the sake of others. His death and sacrifice begins that night.

And all that He asks is that we remember and keep remembering. “Touch me, smell me, eat me, drink me, and be whole,” He says through the sacrifice. The Jewish rituals of old had prepared people for the New Covenant. It was still the same: sacrifice for sin, offerings for forgiveness, awareness for new beginnings.

Contemporary Christians have lost the deep significance in the consuming of Christ’s symbols of body and blood. Plastic drink cups and dry crackers are poor substitutes. In this regard, it’s very possible that “high church” folks have it right.

On Memorial Days, we consider the sacrifices of the men and women who gave their lives. It’s holy and solemn and thoughtful. Should Christ’s memorial be any less from week to week or month to month?

The body and blood, the bread and wine, has the power to transform us. I want to remember. I want to really remember today.

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Signs and Symbols

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Tree outlined by the sunSt. Augustine wrote, “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.” There are so many symbols, motifs and archetypes that were intended to prepare the people for the coming Messiah. I wonder if this isn’t true for every life?

I Corinthians 10:1b, 3-4
. . . our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. . . . They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

I am not a theologian or an academic and I haven’t actually studied all the correlations between the Old Testament and the New. But Paul alludes to these relationships directly in this passage from I Corinthians 10 with his clouds and water and food and rocks. These words are powerful representations of presence, power, eternity, strength, and much more.

But what is the application of this passage for me? Were there clouds and water in my own short history before I came to the revelation knowledge of the Christ in my life? Did I eat God-food before I recognized it for what it was? Did I lean on a rock that was higher [Psalm 61:2]?

There are so many people and experiences that pass through a life outside of our control. Oh sure, I chose to go to New York to acting school, but I had no control over the makeup of the student body. Tom, who introduced me to the Bible as a living, breathing document, was part of that group. And maybe New Age stuff or fantasy reading may not be the best influence on an impressionable young woman, but it did set my mind on the “other world,” the world of Spirit where truer battles are waged, won and lost. In high school, I chose my friends, but how could I have known that it would be some of their parents who would impact my beliefs for a lifetime. I attended a predominately black public high school during some of the most tumultuous years of black history, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. As a result, I became much more sensitized and aware of cruelties and disparities between people, race to race, poor to rich, old to young. Later, in New York, I would go to school with his daughter, Yolanda, and my circle of understanding grew richer.

Symbols of meaning for me today that grew out of my past: small white lights on a Christmas tree, flowing waters of a stream, winter trees outlined by a setting sun, the purring of a cat, the smell of pine, unending circles like wreaths of fresh flowers or dancers or people holding hands, candles lighting a dark place, rain, stuffed bears, smooth stones, . . .

All of these have come to have much greater meaning to me as an adult. They can take me quickly into the secret place where I can commune. If I feel or hear or touch any of these things, I am with God. And I can only believe, back then, somewhere, somehow, God was with me before I even knew there was a God.

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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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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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A Case for Mediation

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

2000 years ago, mediation was advocated and encouraged, particularly among believers. And yet, where are we today? Courts are filled, lawyers plea bargain, guilty people go free, innocent people are executed, and those who should be a light in a dark place are silent and dull.

I Corinthians 6:5b
Can it be that there really is not one man among you who [in action is governed by piety and integrity and] is wise and competent enough to decide [the private grievances, disputes, and quarrels] between members of the brotherhood . . . [Amplified]

Where is the accumulated wisdom of the years? Why are believers of today seemingly less capable to handle disputes?

Part of the problem is that we are in too many silos (a business and information management term that refers to systems that cannot speak to each other). Our churches are silos. We are primarily divided by our denominational preferences. It is next to impossible to cross these arbitrary boundaries to create a trusted body of authority. Our efforts to date include organizations like the World Council of Churches which is disdained by most conservatives. In fact, as soon as the word “ecumenical” is brought up in conservative circles, the eyes glaze over. In many minds, ecumenical might as well be another word for “non-believer.” I know, I’ve been in that circle for your years (but no longer feeling quite so comfortable there).

Oh, there’s the National Council of Churches USA. While American churches don’t participate much in the World Council, denominationally, they are well represented at the NCC. Here they work in broad strokes: advocacy, resource building, communication, education initiatives, and academic research.

But nothing is really here for the resolution of disputes and grievances, nothing for mediation. That kind of authority would have to be given by the people. That kind of authority would require trust.

In our contemporary church, the doling out of “justice” has been handed over to Pilate. We are no different from the Jews of Jesus’s time.

Mediation is becoming more popular in the secular world. People are being trained in this process. Believers have a real opportunity to step up and embrace this trend and use it within the body. This is not necessarily a role for pastors, although it could be. More importantly, it’s a role for the faithful, those committed to truth, to God, to the Christ, to prayer, and to the Holy Spirit: these could build a forum for justice.

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