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Posts Tagged ‘sacred other’

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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One Judge

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There really isn’t much point in beating myself up for every mistake or worrying about the “judgments” of others when I screw up. There is only one judge that matters.

I Corinthians 4:3-4
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me

The whole “judging” thing is my true Achilles heel. It’s a habit. It’s a trap. It’s a sin.

And to make matters worse, I turn the same eye inward. I am hard on myself too. No one escapes that voice.

But the answer is so simple. There is only one true Judge and that one knows the whole story. That One knows the reasons. That One knows the best help along the way. That One will intercede for me. That One is both judge and defender.

If I could really let go of judging others and myself, I believe I could love more freely. Love and “judging” cannot live together. Love accepts the now and holds hope in the heart for tomorrow.

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Sacred Temples

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2010| 5 Comments »

Among the synonyms for “sacred” are words like cherished, revered, guarded, sanctified, and holy. Do I cherish the body I have? Do I treat it reverently? Do I really care about it? And what about the bodies of others? Do I cherish them, the sacred others?

I Corinthians 3:17
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

On Facebook I have a friend, Tracey Tiernan, who has started a group called “Flipping the Switch” (She writes, “It seems like my pursuit of being healthy is like a switch in my brain that is either flipped off or on.”)

Isn’t our view of ourselves and others the same way? Flipping a switch is a clever way of calling for a choice. Or, in poker, revealing a hand. It’s time to lay the cards on the table and go with what we have. Use what we have. Honor what we have. Cherish what we have.

Like many people, I am in denial about the state of my body. I can justify putting my health and my body on the back burner because “I’m so busy.” Oh, it’s holy to pray every day. And it’s beneficial to others and to me to write every day. It nourishes the brain to read every day. It nurtures the soul to study the Word every day. But, what am I doing for this body?

Oh yeah, I’m feeding it all right. Good for me: I take vitamins and minerals. And then I go out for a latte and a donut (a munchkin, because it disappears before I can think about it). I pop chocolate. I ride when I could walk. I sit when I could stand. I sleep as little as possible. I drink about one glass of water a day and the rest is tea and coffee (pat on the back, I’ve given up soda and aspartame). I eat in my car, at my desk, and sitting at a computer. I cook with a microwave. Is this cherishing behavior?

My body is a microcosm of God’s world. The parable about planting and then leaving a vineyard in the care of servants while the Master goes on a journey also applies to the body [Matthew 21:33-41]. I am the caretaker for my body. It has been entrusted to me in this 3D world.

I want to accept who I am IN this body. I am mind, soul AND body. Lord forgive me for treating this temple so casually as though it doesn’t matter. It does matter. You are within. And it really is time to flip that switch.

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I Can Only Live My Story

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2010| 4 Comments »

Just live my story, that’s all I am asked to do. If I could keep it clear in my head that it’s my own journey that is mine to share, to correct, to adapt, to transform, and unfortunately, to also withhold, warp, or destroy, then I wouldn’t be so judgmental of others.

Romans 14:10, 12
Why do you criticize and pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon or despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. . . . And so each of us shall give an account of himself [give an answer in reference to judgment] to God. [Amplified]

God has the end of all the stories in hand. I cannot know what is in the heart of another person or their struggles or their understanding in this moment. Each person’s way carries its own challenges. Truly, who am I to say whether this one or that one is doing the best with what has been given to bear. We are all trying to figure it out. We are all trying to make the best of it.

These passages from Romans are actually an invitation to freedom. It is not for me to carry another’s journey. I can walk beside. I can live fully in my own understanding of a life in Christ and it is in that living that others might experience contact with love, hope, joy, etc. But it is not for me to drag the unwilling along my way. Nor is it for me to condemn their way (for the path could change in a moment).

To help another is simply to be present with that “sacred other.” To help another is to give access to my heart and soul. It is only my authentic self that can give life. It is only the Christ within who can touch a life.

Oh Lord God, may my account in that last day be a testimony of discovery: more of Christ and less of me.

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Pay Respect

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , on March 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Interesting juxtaposition of these words: taxes, revenue, respect and honor. In the arena of respect, it seems we hear more about earning respect than paying. Perhaps the greater problem is on the payment side. In the same way we cheat (just a little) on our taxes, we are probably cheating on respect.

Romans 13:7
Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Should someone or something be paid respect by position alone? Teens, in particular, unless drilled repeatedly, show more disdain for showing respect than any other debt. Position is no longer enough to garner respect.

I remember when there was a huge brouhaha when a woman’s sports team showed up at the White House to meet the President and a good number of them were dressed quite casually, including flip-flops. Some folks were up in arms about the “lack of respect.” I’m pretty sure the girls didn’t intentionally decide to diss the President the of United States by dressing down. It just didn’t occur to them that it might appear disrespectful.

But what does respect look like? Is it simply a matter of etiquette? Is it a set of actions or is it a frame of mind? To whom should we be paying respect?

I think we’ve missed the boat in our culture and as Christians, we should be picking up the slack. In the same way that we are to express love, we are to pay respect. We must show love and pay respect to the “sacred other.”

Instead of waiting for someone to “earn” respect, we should give it and something wonderful can happen. Can I do this? I really don’t know, but I want to think about it the rest of the day. Help me Lord to be mindful of you and your creation, to pay respect from the inside out.

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Inheritance by Grace

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Am I finally getting it? Every promise of God is possible because of grace. If my inheritance depended on my ability to obey the law, all would be lost. There is no sinless life and I am no different.

Romans 4:16a
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring . . .

Why does it all feel so difficult then? Why can’t I enjoy the full freedom that grace affords? Certainly I’m doing better in this aspect, but I still battle with the traditional culture of “shoulds” and “should haves” and “shouldn’t haves.” You know, you “shouldn’t” read that kind of book, you “should have” gone to church today, you “shouldn’t have” wine with dinner. But the court room cannot be in my own head or my perceptions of what “others” think. There is only one Judge that matters.

My historic difficulties have been wrapped around trying too hard: trying to be a “concept” Christian. I have tried to live the “idea” of being a Christian by doing “this” but not “that,” by embracing the unspoken rules of Christian behavior, by wearing a “believer’s” mask.

My focus this year must be on confession. Freedom and grace come through acts of confession. Authenticity of the heart begins with a transparent relationship with God. I long for true fellowship with other people of faith (koinonia), but I cannot expect to achieve this if I shutter myself from God, much less my family, friends, acquaintances, and fellow believers.

True obedience to the “law” comes from the heart and the heart is only prepared to obey when it is clear and whole. This holiness (wholeness) comes forth through the gate of confession.

Can I extend my understanding of grace to other people? Can I shed my tendency to judge others by pouring out the same oil of grace upon them that God is pouring out on me? Do I have the courage to invite them to remove their masks with the promise that I will not turn away? And what about the people who have grown tired of wearing a mask, who no longer have the energy to put one on anymore, who appear to be content in their darkness, can I be the light of grace for them?

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There is No Difference

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , on January 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Our human nature tends to put emphasis on the differences. That person is not like me. Another person is intolerable. Another is irredeemable. This is where grace must step in.

Romans 3:22b-24
For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, . . .

It’s a good thing God doesn’t depend on me for this grace business because I’m not very good at it. I try to keep my eye on the heart of the “sacred other” but I’m always thrown off by the words, the actions, the sounds: all those 3D things. I am particularly rough on my own family. Everything seems to be wrapped up in expectations.

People are constantly making mistakes. Some are trying harder than others to avoid or fix their errors, but still, the mistakes come. I am doing the same thing. I am tripping up all the time but my errors may be more covered up. I am a good chameleon. So, why am I so hard on others?

Some of this stems from a life-long struggle with “performance orientation.” I grew up in a household where my performance was constantly judged and compared to my sibling or others around me. Love was attached to performance. I was lovable if I was good or capable or smart. And as much as I know this about myself and my history, the same standards creep in as I deal with myself and others around me.

Stop! I really want to stop that. I want to become an instrument of grace.

I remember, I once worked in a temp job as a secretary for a man who was quite the perfectionist. He even made me re-do postage stamps if they weren’t completely aligned and perpendicular to the corner of the envelope. It was crazy-making. But so is my version of perfectionism and performance-based assessments.

Everyone has the potential and desire to love and be loved. Everyone can enter the glory of God through faith in the Christ, who God provided as a way. This is not about religion. This is about relationship. This is about sacredness within. This is the story of grace.

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