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Posts Tagged ‘soul’

Circumcised by Christ

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

That should get your attention. It got mine. The symbolism begins with the origin of the word: cutting around. This rite is performed by Jews, Muslims, and many Christians. Its been in practice for centuries. Circumcising the heart and soul, not so long.

Colossians 2:11-12
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

By aligning myself with Christ, by submitting to Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, I am allowing Christ to complete that process by cutting around and cutting off, the coverings of my heart and soul. I am laying myself open and bare to Holy Spirit. I am different.

The longer we wait for spiritual circumcision, just like physical circumcision, the more painful it becomes. Adult men who choose to be circumcised have a long recovery (up to six weeks) as well as the potential for unforeseen complications and infection. Spiritual circumcision is no different because we resist the process. We become used to the way it was. We may know we don’t have a robust relationship with the Christ Spirit and we understand intellectually that this circumcision is necessary to really experience and feel the Spirit, but we cower under the threat of pain and discomfort. The pain comes from what we try to hold onto and the habits that secure the layers of narcissism.

I’m afraid, unlike physical circumcision which is a permanent change, spiritual circumcision is not so everlasting. We have to actual pay attention and participate. It’s not strictly passive. I think my heart and soul have been covered over by my fears, my disappointments, my anger, and so forth. I’ve had a series of circumcisions of the heart.

I can only be grateful that Jesus is a good, kind, and patient medicine man.

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Face the Face

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

If I arrange a meet up with a previously unfamiliar person in a public place, we exchange identifiers: I’ll be wearing a red scarf or the other person will wear a straw hat. We do this to recognize one another. In the case of Christ, light recognizes Light. How will I know Jesus? “You’ll know,” God says, “you’ll know.”

II Corinthians 4:6
For God . . . made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

This is of great comfort to me. We live in a world of charlatans and an array of “Elmer Gantrys,” who work hard to deceive the people around them. I have feared being deceived. But here, God promises the illumination of knowledge in my soul will guide me to recognize the true face of Jesus, the glory of God.

“When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant.” [Exodus 34:33b-35a]

The face of Jesus is luminous because of God’s glory within, not just reflected, like Moses. An object is either luminous (generates its own light) or illuminated (reflects light).

When a person’s face is relaxed and open, that face radiates and reflects warmth. Some examples that come to my mind are mothers with their newborn children, children in sleep, brides in love; we have all seen it at one time or another. When Jesus walked among the people, He had that look, that Light, all the time. It was catching. Jesus’s face reflected in the faces of the people.

“As light was the beginning of the first creation; so, in the new creation, the light of the Spirit is his first work upon the soul.” [Matthew Henry commentary]

I cannot stand face to face with the physical Jesus today. This illumination is now within. This Light is in the worship, in prayer, in contemplation.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek. [Psalm 27:8]

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Blinded by the god of this age

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Who is the god of “this” age. Paul referenced the power of the god of his age who blinded the mind and heart, is it the same god? Is this that scrappy scapegoat “the devil,” or is it we ourselves? Aren’t we mini-gods, manipulating the world around us with our knowledge and discovery?

II Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

In an age where logic and science rule, evidence and observation reign, is there room for faith in paradox and the miraculous?

How do we believe in mountains can be moved by “faith as big as a mustard seed?” How do we believe that the Lazarus’s of this age, can rise from the dead by command. How do we embrace the peculiarities of Christianity where the meek inherit the earth, turn the other cheek, die to live, give to receive, and so forth.

In Mark 10:50-52, Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted. It was up to the blind man to actually ask to see.

Lord, where I am blind, allow me to see.

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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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Holy Roots

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

Isn’t the root issue always the most important? So often, we judge people and circumstances by first impressions or appearances without looking for the heart. But looking inside can be treacherous.

Romans 11:16
If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

In the plant world, roots have very particular responsibilities. They absorb water and inorganic nutrients and they anchor the plant to the ground. They also control how quickly a plant will grow and store nutrients for later use. (Wikipedia for more on roots)

This description is not much different than the work of the human spirit who ultimately directs our growth and maturation into adults. A child whose spirit is broken will not thrive. A wounded soul is incapable of experiencing the fullness of love or hope: essentials to happiness. A slumbering spirit will no longer absorb truth.

Some years ago I was active in the Elijah House ministry. This is where I first heard about the negative power of “bitter root judgments” [See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Romans 12:15]. It is so important to search out and prayerfully confront deep root problems. As long as these issues from a person’s past are boxed up and unattended, they will continue to impair and cloud daily life (sometimes without our conscious knowledge). Elijah House was instrumental in revealing some of these obstacles in my own life and how to become aware of their negative influence. Some of those roots had to be pulled out altogether and cast away. Some were cleaned and lovingly returned to the soil of my heart by the Holy Spirit: inner healing.

When a personal spirit is united with the Holy Spirit, the process toward wholeness [holiness] begins. It is just another way of explaining “sanctification.”

Sanctification works both directions, from the outside in and from inside out. Yes, we must choose to change our behaviors and extend ourselves outside the comfort zone: loving the unlovely, helping those less fortunate than we are, investing our “talents” in those people and areas that can use them. But we must also change from within, exposing our hearts and spirits to the Light of God’s Holy Spirit. And as our roots are healed, the outside choices become much easier.

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God’s Mercy

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Mercy is the best thing ever, particularly when we’re on the receiving end. But, it gets a little dicey when we see some other “undeserving” soul get the good stuff.

Romans 9:14-15
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” [Exodus 33:19]

God is at the bottom line and no matter how hard we try to understand God’s distribution of suffering and mercy, we will never be able to get it. What often appears “unfair” is not for us to judge. Scripture promises that God is just; our understanding is not required in God’s dimension.

My essential characteristics, my natural abilities, my intelligence, my body, my mind, my spirit: these were the ingredients God put together to make me into “me.” These, along with the circumstances and environments out of my control (where and how I grew up) including my parents and genealogy, all come together as my life’s infrastructure. Upon these, I can add building blocks while others can add to the structure as well. I grow, I become, I change. . . or not.

God’s mercy has kept me alive these many years. There were roads I supernaturally avoided that would have led to my early death. There were dangerous people that I fortunately bypassed. There were places I never had to visit. I wasn’t just lucky, I was under grace.

But there was still my willfulness and it narrowed my journey and brought me to turning points that I chose; many of those choices were not wisely considered. For good or ill, they brought me to this day, this hour, this life.

I cannot go back and relive or choose differently. I cannot project who I will be tomorrow. I can only walk out today, being mindful of the gifts, the mercy, the presence of God, the possibilities.

Oh Lord, what will we make of this day together?

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Mind Games

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 15, 2010| 1 Comment »

When people say, “it’s all in your head,” that’s more true than not. The mind is at the core of who we are. The mind is quite mystical and unpredictable. The mind thrives within, not just in the head, but also in the heart, the gut, and the soul.

Romans 8:6
Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [Amplified]

The mind is also a lover. The question is with whom or what? The mind can be seduced. The mind can be fooled. The mind can be capricious (changing from one behavior to another). The mind can be a slut or a saint.

Joyce Meyer has an entire video series on the “Battlefield of the Mind” but sometimes I think it’s a little more like “speed dating.” Going from one thing/person to another, the mind is looking for the current fit, the “feel good,” the curious, the challenging, or the appealing.

Thank God the Spirit is patient.

It is in the mind that the story of Hosea and Gomer is truly played out on a regular basis. Gomer, the prostitute, who breaks covenant with her prophet husband, and yet, he forgives her again and again.

My mind is too much like Gomer. I am linked by promise to the Spirit, and yet I stray. Each year, I stray less and less. As my mind becomes more submissive, by choice, to the loving Spirit, the relationship strengthens. My mind is becoming more content.

God is teaching me how to feed my mind with prayer, scripture, music, reading, nature’s beauty, koinonia relationships, love, hope, rest, and solitude. When I feed my mind well, I am not so hungry for the “next new thing.” When I am disciplined and consistent, my mind experiences peace.

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