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Posts Tagged ‘way of Christ’

Becoming Convinced

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , on June 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 8:25
“Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied.

Just what does it take to be convinced of something? I mean, at what point, do we have that “aha” moment?

Many people of Jesus’s time never did “get it.” Why? He told them over and over who He was. He performed miracles. He spoke with authority. He was knowledgeable. He was kind. He was inclusive. He was loving. What was the stumbling block?

And today, if Jesus were to appear in our modern age, what would it take for people to believe? If he did miracles, everyone would focus on debunking them. If he spoke with authority, he would be questioned about his curriculum vitae. If he said he was God, he would be analyzed by a psychiatrist. If he had a television show, he would be critiqued. And, God forbid, what if wasn’t good-looking as politicians and entertainers have learned. Would he need a jingle or a mission statement? Would he need an agent? And what race would be acceptable to the world? Perhaps He would blog first and build a virtual following before He revealed himself?

Belief is a funny thing. It’s not always based on proof. In fact, the primary dimension of belief has nothing at all to do with what is logic or reasonable. Belief happens within. And if a person is cut off from his or her interior self, belief is not possible.

So far, the book of John is all about becoming convinced. “Is he really who he said he was.”

When I became convinced, it was 1979, and although I had lived a very “worldly” life that included lots of drugs, alcohol, sex, and self-absorption, his words reached through the fog and inside I knew. I just knew there was truth and I wanted it.

“… he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” [John 8:23-24]

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Living Among the Dead

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , on June 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 24:5b
“…the men said to them [women at the tomb], “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Albert Einstein has been attributed with saying that the definition of insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Perhaps today is good day for me to review what I am doing out of habit and yet, still expecting different results. Why do I have such trouble sustaining relationships? Why do I repeat myself over and over again to my children? Why am I heavier than I’d like to be? Why are we in so much debt? Why do I put too much on my “plate?”

I have been looking for living answers among the dead ones.

When Jesus disappeared from the tomb, everything changed. None of the old rules or the old ways would apply. He had told his disciples and followers that the day was coming. He had tried to prepare them, but they still weren’t ready. They couldn’t wrap their minds around the new way.

It’s time to change things up. It’s time to leave the tomb.

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Letter of the Law

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on June 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 8:4-5
“…and [they] said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

This is a very familiar passage from scripture where Jesus thwarts the efforts of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees who want to trap him into speaking against and/or breaking the law. If they could catch him publicly, they could justify arresting him, etc.

They probably didn’t know that Jesus had already said and taught: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” [Matthew 5:17] But he was a teacher, a rabbi, who was teaching a “new way.”

Jesus never denied that the woman caught in adultery should be stoned. It was, indeed, the law. He was known for his words of mercy, grace and forgiveness and they expected him to “forgive her.” Instead, this became an excellent example of how the law can look through the lens of mercy. Jesus tells the crowd that the punishment can begin, but should begin with that person who is without sin, that person who has not broken any of the laws. There were none. The crowd dispersed and the letter of the law was not exacted. The woman was given a chance to change… Jesus did not release her without first telling her to “leave your life of sin.”

For me, one implication here is that her sin would eventually kill her if she persisted… the law would be fulfilled.

But the greater message is that many of us are still in a crowd looking, with righteous indignation, for sinners to get their just reward. We must be more careful; the fulfillment of the law may look different than we expect.

Jesus put sins and lawbreaking into one great big pile. One sin was no worse than another. Breaking a “little law” was no different than breaking a “big law.”

Today, help me see others with the eyes of Jesus. Help me think first before I act. Help me to consider more carefully the behavior of others and ask myself, “how would I hope to be treated” if I was doing the same thing? Help me temper my tendency to judge others with the mercy of Christ.

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Eye of the Needle

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on June 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 19:24
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

That’s us, the rich man. I don’t think we want to hear that, but it’s true. I’m reading Rob Bell’s “Jesus Wants to Save Christians,” and found a list of disturbing facts. Here are just a few:

  • The U.S. consumes 20 million barrels of oil a day. (Next in line is China, 5.6 million barrels a day.)
  • America controls 20% of the world’s wealth with only about 5% of the world’s population.
  • Every 7 seconds, somewhere in the world a child under age 5 dies of hunger while Americans throw away 14% of the food we purchase.
  • Nearly 1 billion people in the world live on less than one American dollar a day.
  • More than half of the world lives on less than $2 a day, while the average American teenager spends nearly $150 a week.
  • 40% of people in the world lack basic sanitation while 49 million diapers are used and thrown away in America every day.
  • 1.6 billion people in the world have no electricity.
  • Most people in the world do not own a car; one-third of American families own 3 cars.
  • One in seven children worldwide has to go to work every day just to survive.
  • Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half of the world does on all goods

I’m only saying: we’re the rich man. All of us. So, how will you get through the eye of the needle to enter the Kingdom of God?

I am counting on the mercy and grace of Christ. That’s it. There is no other way.

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First Fruits at Pentecost

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

Pentecost, in Old Testament times, was actually considered a Feast Day. It was a day to bring the “first fruits” of the harvest to the Lord. It was offered in thanksgiving of what had been given to the people.

This day, we are celebrating the high school graduation of our oldest son. In many ways, he is our first fruit. He was a gift of God to us and and now we return him to the will and way of God. He turns 18 in a few more weeks and then he’ll be off to college, seeking his own future, making many of his own choices. Thanks be to God for the gift of our son.

Sergei was a foundling on the streets of Riga, Latvia. He has a few memories of his life in that country, but not many. At one time, he had a family there, but he does not remember how he was separated from them. He was in a boys’ gang for awhile on the street, but he doesn’t really remember how long… it could have been a day, a week, or even longer. When he was found by the police, he was taken to the orphanage and given a birth date and a name on June 27th. On January 21st, 1998, he entered the United States with a new name and a new family. He was chosen by God for a new life.

We gather today as a family to celebrate his harvest…. and God is with us.

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Grace and Truth

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , on May 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Grace is a good thing. Always. We can never get too much grace. Like mercy, it is a safe gift. Grace is forgiveness. Grace is forgetfulness. Grace is patient and kind.

Truth on the other hand carries some extra weight. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for truth. But it takes courage to practice truth, particularly truth about oneself. As I see myself more clearly, I am often appalled at what I see. I am grateful for grace that tempers truth.

Truth today: I’m floundering a bit. I’m feeling edgy and I think I’m missing something important. Instead of more centered on Christ, I feel less so. I want to escape. I want to hide. When my kids don’t want to hear me, they cover their ears and say, “blah, blah, blah” over and over again. That’s I feel today. I don’t want to care about anything today.

Grace today: This too shall pass.

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Born of God

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 1:12, 13b
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God … born of God.

This is the gift of Christ Jesus, to have the flame within ignited by the Spirit of God. We are born… or reborn… this is the root of the saying, “born again.”

As I mentioned before, we all have the light, but our personal light needs to be linked to the Source.

And once that happens, as Paul tells Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6), “… I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…” We do this through the personal devotion, koinonia [community], and connecting with the flame of others.

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