www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ronald White
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.' We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and s/he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing s/he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. NRSV
We who have journeyed through the Catholic, Lutheran, Southern Baptist, Missionary Baptist, A.M.E. or another conserving theological institution on our journey to Metropolitan Community Church will recognize and perhaps even resemble some of these admonitions. "Do not become idolaters!" Do not "indulge in sexual immorality!" Do not "put Christ to the test!" "If you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall!" Else, we may be "struck down in the wilderness" just like some of those Israelites who didn't make it to the Promised Land. Buck up, Christian! After all, "no testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone." Are you feeling a little "less than" you had hoped for when you decided to read your daily meditation for encouragement for your day?
Eeeyow. OK, eeeyow isn't a word; it's an exclamation of dismay that I felt when I read this passage and considered writing about it. If you are anything like me, you have spent one day too many in your lifetime feeling caught up short by what your previous church life and your judgmental Christian associates (note that I carefully did not call them "friends") have taught you about yourself and expected from you. If you don't remember the rhetoric, turn on just about any Christian radio or TV channel and spend a day listening. When I did that years ago, I asked myself "Where's the love?"
If you find yourself feeling a little troubled, perhaps even discouraged by myriad others passages like this one in the Bible, take heart. The problem isn't with you. The first problem is with the language in translation, with those who insist on taking the Bible as the literal word of God even though it has been rewritten first by hand for thousands of years and then with translators who have written and rewritten the Bible into dozens of English versions, each with their own politico-theological "spin." The second problem is the human beings who have over the centuries thrust themselves into church leadership positions, running their religious institutions based upon their own and their followers' strong need for concrete answers to questions which can at best be answered only ambiguously but which they dogmatically insist they have final answers to. If they would only begin with the most fundamental and profound question- who or what is God? - the impossibility of answering that question in any truly satisfying way would become their guidepost for accepting the relative ambiguity of the answers to many other of their profound questions. Instead, they cling to outdated and irrelevant historical thought, putting guilt, shame, and punishment on those who pose the questions and reject their neatly packaged answers. Like I said: the problem isn't you; it's them. Sad but true. But, Christianity is changing, awakening from a centuries long slumber. If you have trouble seeing it, look at our rapid growth at MCC. People like us are overjoyed to find a religious center that doesn't and leaders who don't judge us.
When I read the Bible or study Biblical literature, I cling to the unconditional love of God as Jesus pronounced it and as our pastors teach it: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." It is, Christ said, the highest commandment. My hope is bound up in the final, loving sentence of this passage: "God is faithful, and s/he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing' s/he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it."
communications@mccgsl.org
Friday, March 12, 2010
ily Lenten Meditation Friday March 12,2010
www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ronald White
1 Corinthians 9:16-27
If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe betide me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified. NRSV
If you are reading this meditation, you - like me - are on a spiritual journey. Else, you and I wouldn't have made the choice to invest ourselves in this spiritual exercise. Spiritual journeys are by their very nature intensely private experiences. The spiritual path we follow is uniquely our own: no one else can know our journey and no one else can travel it. Our spiritual journey is all about our interior life; it is a journey to places only we can go. Our external self is a reflection of the spiritual journey we are making. Our external religious practices are carefully crafted from the substance our internal spiritual path.
How, then, are we to understand these words that describe Paul's externalization of his interior spiritual life? Paul calls us to proclaim the gospel with no other reward than the act of proclaiming, no matter the cost. In order to do it effectively, he says that he had to become the servant of everyone he met. Ultimately, he claims, we will win the prize - "eternal life" - if we "run the race" well as he did.
The historical broader church has taught for now twenty centuries that the writer of these verses is Paul. These words reveal much about Paul's spiritual character and the quality of his interior life. He was a totally self-effacing man who denied himself for the service of proclaiming the gospel, the life example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Can we understand a human being who would deny themselves and become, as the writer says elsewhere, "all things to all people?" Can we imitate Paul who so completely emptied himself, including his acceptance of eventual imprisonment and death, that his interior spiritual self can be difficult to comprehend? Paul's example is powerful; but there have been others. We know that Mother Teresa lived her entire life in abject poverty for others who were also poor. So did Mahatma Ghandi. John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X all died for what they believed during the lifetimes of many of us. How are we to respond to the lives of these and others who have gone before us? Were they more perfect than we are? If we don't follow them down their spiritual path, how do we overcome the guilt and shame which we may feel for not living up to their example? We go about our exterior lives, working for a paycheck, investing in a place to live, food and clothing, entertainment, and a car or other transportation. We appear to focus on our own needs first. I know I have said and have heard others express that only if our needs are met can we adequately serve others - our immediate family, our extended family, the lay ministries of the church, or myriad other causes.
The contrast between our interior spiritual journey and the life Paul calls us to is stark. No one else can know how weak or powerful our faith is, how much time and attention we devote to prayer - however we frame that experience - or to study or planning or service to others. No one else can know how much our spiritual life is "all about us" or is largely about "the others." Nor can we know about anyone else's. Our exterior life can give clues but cannot adequately reveal our truest spiritual self so that another person can know it with certainty. As revered as Mother Teresa is, she freely admitted that she suffered internal demons for most of her life.
The spiritual power implicit in the experience of Paul and the others that allowed them to freely give of themselves is something that we can obtain in our lives. We are called to a higher externalization of our private interior spiritual life. How, then, shall we live?
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ronald White
1 Corinthians 9:16-27
If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe betide me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified. NRSV
If you are reading this meditation, you - like me - are on a spiritual journey. Else, you and I wouldn't have made the choice to invest ourselves in this spiritual exercise. Spiritual journeys are by their very nature intensely private experiences. The spiritual path we follow is uniquely our own: no one else can know our journey and no one else can travel it. Our spiritual journey is all about our interior life; it is a journey to places only we can go. Our external self is a reflection of the spiritual journey we are making. Our external religious practices are carefully crafted from the substance our internal spiritual path.
How, then, are we to understand these words that describe Paul's externalization of his interior spiritual life? Paul calls us to proclaim the gospel with no other reward than the act of proclaiming, no matter the cost. In order to do it effectively, he says that he had to become the servant of everyone he met. Ultimately, he claims, we will win the prize - "eternal life" - if we "run the race" well as he did.
The historical broader church has taught for now twenty centuries that the writer of these verses is Paul. These words reveal much about Paul's spiritual character and the quality of his interior life. He was a totally self-effacing man who denied himself for the service of proclaiming the gospel, the life example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Can we understand a human being who would deny themselves and become, as the writer says elsewhere, "all things to all people?" Can we imitate Paul who so completely emptied himself, including his acceptance of eventual imprisonment and death, that his interior spiritual self can be difficult to comprehend? Paul's example is powerful; but there have been others. We know that Mother Teresa lived her entire life in abject poverty for others who were also poor. So did Mahatma Ghandi. John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X all died for what they believed during the lifetimes of many of us. How are we to respond to the lives of these and others who have gone before us? Were they more perfect than we are? If we don't follow them down their spiritual path, how do we overcome the guilt and shame which we may feel for not living up to their example? We go about our exterior lives, working for a paycheck, investing in a place to live, food and clothing, entertainment, and a car or other transportation. We appear to focus on our own needs first. I know I have said and have heard others express that only if our needs are met can we adequately serve others - our immediate family, our extended family, the lay ministries of the church, or myriad other causes.
The contrast between our interior spiritual journey and the life Paul calls us to is stark. No one else can know how weak or powerful our faith is, how much time and attention we devote to prayer - however we frame that experience - or to study or planning or service to others. No one else can know how much our spiritual life is "all about us" or is largely about "the others." Nor can we know about anyone else's. Our exterior life can give clues but cannot adequately reveal our truest spiritual self so that another person can know it with certainty. As revered as Mother Teresa is, she freely admitted that she suffered internal demons for most of her life.
The spiritual power implicit in the experience of Paul and the others that allowed them to freely give of themselves is something that we can obtain in our lives. We are called to a higher externalization of our private interior spiritual life. How, then, shall we live?
communications@mccgsl.org
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Daily Lenten Meditation Thursday, March 11th
www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Christine White
Mark 6:30-46
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.' But he answered them, 'You give them something to eat.' They said to him, 'Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?' And he said to them, 'How many loaves have you? Go and see.' When they had found out, they said, 'Five, and two fish.' Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled; and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. NRSV
The crowd in this story in Mark is so eager to hear Jesus' words that they drop everything and go to a deserted place to greet him when he arrives. Jesus, it seems, was going to the deserted place for a well-deserved rest for his disciples and himself. When he saw the crowd, his initial reaction may have been how you or I might respond - with a big sigh because there would be no rest for him. Immediately, he had compassion on the crowd and began to teach them.
A consistent dual purpose is evident in the ministry of Jesus: both to care for and to preach the gospel to people. Is the Church called to the responsibility of living up to Christ's example by balancing those two tasks? Can the church effectively do social ministry, feeding and caring for those who can't care themselves, and preach the gospel while also providing public worship?
The example of Jesus certainly calls to do both. Christianity cannot exist without proclaiming of the gospel; teaching and learning the Word of God are just as essential to our faith and our life in community as praying and belonging. But, we are also called to have compassion for the suffering of those in our presence, as Jesus demonstrated in this story. Our responsibility is to be the physical body and spiritual presence of God to those in need, meeting their social and material needs, whether or not those who receive our care ever join MCCGSL. Those in need are our brothers and sisters - they are our church - whether or not they understand the spiritual principle.
At MCCGSL, we are blessed to have a wide variety of opportunities to learn and grow in our knowledge of what it means to be in relationship with God and to serve the social justice needs of the community in which we live, the community both within and beyond our church walls. For example, classes are available that help us grow in our spiritual life.
"Creating a Life That Matters" is an eighteen-week long exploration of our relationships with the sacred, ourselves and with our passion. Jackie McNeil, Vicky Stricklin, Bonnie Long, and Michael Desmond co-lead this class. The comments made by people who have taken this class is that it is utterly remarkable in the contribution it can make to one's process of self-discovery.
Reverend Sue offers a class entitled "Recovering from Homophobic Religion" which examines the fundamental misunderstanding of scripture which hundreds of years of church - not Biblical - doctrine has created. She addresses ways of healing the damage done to all of us by this theological malpractice.
Another class, "Living the Questions," led by Reverend Dave, helps us find a comfort zone where we can live with the ambiguity we face while seeking answers which may not be readily available to us. The scholarship in this video-based study is of stellar quality.
Ember Baker offers Prayer 101, a class that explores eclectic approaches to prayer; teaches us how to pray in order to build our relationship with the divine by tuning in to the Holy Spirit's voice in our personal lives; and how to pray through guided meditations. Ember uses music as well as some methods borrowed from non-Christian spiritual traditions, resulting in a creative and prayerful experience.
The Sunday morning study group, "Dream, Think, Be, Do" led by Val Jackson, tackles tough theological issues in a safe and comfortable way. Like all of MCCGSL's classes, this video-based study helps us define and clarify our individual theology, moving from where we have traveled in the past to where we prefer to go.
Another resource is weekly and, during particular seasons, daily meditations written by a team of writers who spend a great deal of time reflecting on a passage of scripture and putting in words that which has been revealed to them in their studies.
Covenant families are small groups that gather once or twice a month in a member's home for Bible Study, fellowship and prayer.
MCCGSL also has teams which you can join in order to live your faith. First is a social justice team, led by Susan Menhard, Steven Pursley, and Jonathan Wyatt, which seeks ways for each of us to become involved in local, national and/or global social justice. A second team is the Community Support Team led by Elaine Lopez and Dusty Geiger which reaches out into our community to feed and care for the those who are in need.
May this Lenten season be a reminder to us to embrace our responsibility as followers of Christ to both learn and serve others. .
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Christine White
Mark 6:30-46
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.' But he answered them, 'You give them something to eat.' They said to him, 'Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?' And he said to them, 'How many loaves have you? Go and see.' When they had found out, they said, 'Five, and two fish.' Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled; and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. NRSV
The crowd in this story in Mark is so eager to hear Jesus' words that they drop everything and go to a deserted place to greet him when he arrives. Jesus, it seems, was going to the deserted place for a well-deserved rest for his disciples and himself. When he saw the crowd, his initial reaction may have been how you or I might respond - with a big sigh because there would be no rest for him. Immediately, he had compassion on the crowd and began to teach them.
A consistent dual purpose is evident in the ministry of Jesus: both to care for and to preach the gospel to people. Is the Church called to the responsibility of living up to Christ's example by balancing those two tasks? Can the church effectively do social ministry, feeding and caring for those who can't care themselves, and preach the gospel while also providing public worship?
The example of Jesus certainly calls to do both. Christianity cannot exist without proclaiming of the gospel; teaching and learning the Word of God are just as essential to our faith and our life in community as praying and belonging. But, we are also called to have compassion for the suffering of those in our presence, as Jesus demonstrated in this story. Our responsibility is to be the physical body and spiritual presence of God to those in need, meeting their social and material needs, whether or not those who receive our care ever join MCCGSL. Those in need are our brothers and sisters - they are our church - whether or not they understand the spiritual principle.
At MCCGSL, we are blessed to have a wide variety of opportunities to learn and grow in our knowledge of what it means to be in relationship with God and to serve the social justice needs of the community in which we live, the community both within and beyond our church walls. For example, classes are available that help us grow in our spiritual life.
"Creating a Life That Matters" is an eighteen-week long exploration of our relationships with the sacred, ourselves and with our passion. Jackie McNeil, Vicky Stricklin, Bonnie Long, and Michael Desmond co-lead this class. The comments made by people who have taken this class is that it is utterly remarkable in the contribution it can make to one's process of self-discovery.
Reverend Sue offers a class entitled "Recovering from Homophobic Religion" which examines the fundamental misunderstanding of scripture which hundreds of years of church - not Biblical - doctrine has created. She addresses ways of healing the damage done to all of us by this theological malpractice.
Another class, "Living the Questions," led by Reverend Dave, helps us find a comfort zone where we can live with the ambiguity we face while seeking answers which may not be readily available to us. The scholarship in this video-based study is of stellar quality.
Ember Baker offers Prayer 101, a class that explores eclectic approaches to prayer; teaches us how to pray in order to build our relationship with the divine by tuning in to the Holy Spirit's voice in our personal lives; and how to pray through guided meditations. Ember uses music as well as some methods borrowed from non-Christian spiritual traditions, resulting in a creative and prayerful experience.
The Sunday morning study group, "Dream, Think, Be, Do" led by Val Jackson, tackles tough theological issues in a safe and comfortable way. Like all of MCCGSL's classes, this video-based study helps us define and clarify our individual theology, moving from where we have traveled in the past to where we prefer to go.
Another resource is weekly and, during particular seasons, daily meditations written by a team of writers who spend a great deal of time reflecting on a passage of scripture and putting in words that which has been revealed to them in their studies.
Covenant families are small groups that gather once or twice a month in a member's home for Bible Study, fellowship and prayer.
MCCGSL also has teams which you can join in order to live your faith. First is a social justice team, led by Susan Menhard, Steven Pursley, and Jonathan Wyatt, which seeks ways for each of us to become involved in local, national and/or global social justice. A second team is the Community Support Team led by Elaine Lopez and Dusty Geiger which reaches out into our community to feed and care for the those who are in need.
May this Lenten season be a reminder to us to embrace our responsibility as followers of Christ to both learn and serve others. .
communications@mccgsl.org
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Daily Lenten Meditation- Wed March 10th
www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Christine White
Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, 'John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.' But others said, 'It is Elijah.' And others said, 'It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.' But when Herod heard of it, he said, 'John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.'
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.' And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, 'Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.' And he solemnly swore to her, 'Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.' She went out and said to her mother, 'What should I ask for?' She replied, 'The head of John the baptizer.' Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, 'I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.' The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. NRSV
In my church of origin, I was not taught to read the Bible historically or literally, but rather to read it metaphorically. One example of why I still ascribe to that way of reading scripture is The New Interpreters Bible's (NIB) explanation that the "historical" account in Mark of King Herod being trapped into beheading John the Baptist because of a drunken oath is different than the "historical" account of the incident written by Josephus, the Jewish historian. Which account is more credible? And, if Mark's account of the drunken king incident is not history, why did the writer include it in Mark?
If Mark's isn't a factual historical account, then what truth or life lesson can be found in the story of a king who goes against what he believes is right because of a drunken oath and because of what his guests might think? The NIB suggests that this depiction of Herod's actions indicates the following life lesson: "Willingness to sacrifice others to maintain honor, prestige and power remains one of the great temptations of persons in positions of authority." With the caveat that this is a temptation for all people, not only those in positions of power and authority, I agree.
Put yourself in Herod's shoes to begin to understand the lesson. If Herod was sincere in his respect for John and his desire to protect him, can you imagine how he felt when he was alone with his feelings about what he had done to John? Think how the guilt, shame, and sadness would have felt powerful, overwhelming, and all consuming. If he had ever acknowledged his feelings or allowed himself to experience them, he might have hung himself from a tree just as Judas did for betraying the Christ.
When we sacrifice what we know is right in order to look good to others by going along with the crowd, the personal cost in self-condemnation is far greater than if we stand against the crowd to do what our conscience clearly tells us we should. The biggest cost to us, however, is what happens when we do not allow ourselves to feel our painful feelings: not looking at ourselves honestly...believing that we are minimizing the pain we will experience by ignoring our feelings...stowing away those painful feelings in a stewing emotional cesspool with all the other negative feelings we've never addressed. Our low self-esteem is lowered to rock bottom by the self-destructive act of denial of what we feel and believe. And, ultimately, perhaps through injury to our physical or mental health, perhaps through their magnified and misdirected expression exploding outward on someone who doesn't deserve it, we toxically experience and express them one way or another.
What can we do to feel better about who we are? When we don't have the courage to do the right thing - or when we need the courage to act correctly - we can remember the teaching of Jesus that God's love for us is unconditional. How can we choose not to follow in Herod's footsteps? We can have the courage to do what is right because we know it is right. Nothing, neither who we are nor what we have done, can separate us from the love of God. Step out of Herod's shoes. Feel God's all-consuming love. Believe God's love. Know that as God's handiwork, as God's very own creation, you are the apple of God's eye. If you start there, it is a short step to making healthy emotional decisions based on a strong self-concept and to knowing the loving forgiveness that awaits us when we fail to. If only King Herod had known the love of God, the story might have had a different ending. But then, another story would have been needed to teach us the moral.
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Christine White
Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, 'John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.' But others said, 'It is Elijah.' And others said, 'It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.' But when Herod heard of it, he said, 'John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.'
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.' And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, 'Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.' And he solemnly swore to her, 'Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.' She went out and said to her mother, 'What should I ask for?' She replied, 'The head of John the baptizer.' Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, 'I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.' The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. NRSV
In my church of origin, I was not taught to read the Bible historically or literally, but rather to read it metaphorically. One example of why I still ascribe to that way of reading scripture is The New Interpreters Bible's (NIB) explanation that the "historical" account in Mark of King Herod being trapped into beheading John the Baptist because of a drunken oath is different than the "historical" account of the incident written by Josephus, the Jewish historian. Which account is more credible? And, if Mark's account of the drunken king incident is not history, why did the writer include it in Mark?
If Mark's isn't a factual historical account, then what truth or life lesson can be found in the story of a king who goes against what he believes is right because of a drunken oath and because of what his guests might think? The NIB suggests that this depiction of Herod's actions indicates the following life lesson: "Willingness to sacrifice others to maintain honor, prestige and power remains one of the great temptations of persons in positions of authority." With the caveat that this is a temptation for all people, not only those in positions of power and authority, I agree.
Put yourself in Herod's shoes to begin to understand the lesson. If Herod was sincere in his respect for John and his desire to protect him, can you imagine how he felt when he was alone with his feelings about what he had done to John? Think how the guilt, shame, and sadness would have felt powerful, overwhelming, and all consuming. If he had ever acknowledged his feelings or allowed himself to experience them, he might have hung himself from a tree just as Judas did for betraying the Christ.
When we sacrifice what we know is right in order to look good to others by going along with the crowd, the personal cost in self-condemnation is far greater than if we stand against the crowd to do what our conscience clearly tells us we should. The biggest cost to us, however, is what happens when we do not allow ourselves to feel our painful feelings: not looking at ourselves honestly...believing that we are minimizing the pain we will experience by ignoring our feelings...stowing away those painful feelings in a stewing emotional cesspool with all the other negative feelings we've never addressed. Our low self-esteem is lowered to rock bottom by the self-destructive act of denial of what we feel and believe. And, ultimately, perhaps through injury to our physical or mental health, perhaps through their magnified and misdirected expression exploding outward on someone who doesn't deserve it, we toxically experience and express them one way or another.
What can we do to feel better about who we are? When we don't have the courage to do the right thing - or when we need the courage to act correctly - we can remember the teaching of Jesus that God's love for us is unconditional. How can we choose not to follow in Herod's footsteps? We can have the courage to do what is right because we know it is right. Nothing, neither who we are nor what we have done, can separate us from the love of God. Step out of Herod's shoes. Feel God's all-consuming love. Believe God's love. Know that as God's handiwork, as God's very own creation, you are the apple of God's eye. If you start there, it is a short step to making healthy emotional decisions based on a strong self-concept and to knowing the loving forgiveness that awaits us when we fail to. If only King Herod had known the love of God, the story might have had a different ending. But then, another story would have been needed to teach us the moral.
communications@mccgsl.org
Monday, March 8, 2010
Daily Lenten Meditation for March 8, 2010
www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Christine White
Genesis 44:18-34
Then Judah stepped up to Joseph and said, 'O my lord, let your servant please speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, saying, "Have you a father or a brother?" And we said to my lord, "We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead; he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him." Then you said to your servants, "Bring him down to me, so that I may set my eyes on him." We said to my lord, "The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die." Then you said to your servants, "Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more." When we went back to your servant my father we told him the words of my lord. And when our father said, "Go again, buy us a little food", we said, "We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother goes with us, will we go down; for we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us." Then your servant my father said to us, "You know that my wife bore me two sons; one left me, and I said, Surely he has been torn to pieces; and I have never seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down my grey hairs in sorrow to Sheol." Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life, when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring down the grey hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, "If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life." Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy; and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father.' NRSV
On July 16, 1942, the French police rounded up the Jews of Paris, including thousands of children despite the Nazi orders to gather only those aged 16 and older, holding them briefly in Paris before transporting them to Drancy, a French concentration camp. Ultimately, they were transported to Auschwitz and exterminated. From the end of World War II through the decades that followed, French leadership blamed Hitler's Third Reich for their own reprehensible moral choice, thus fracturing their relationship with many members of the family of nations of which they were a part.
As I reread the Genesis pericope about the Sons of Jacob, I was reminded of a striking parallel with this tragic French choice and how its consequences unfolded over time, retold by Tatiana de Rosnayin her story about this profound historical event, Sarah's Key. How do they connect?
Joseph was one of twelve sons of Jacob, a father whose other sons came to believe that he loved Joseph more because Jacob made him a special robe. Can you imagine the hard feelings that their sibling rivalry led to? Add in the rest of the story: Joseph spoke to his brothers the truth which he saw in a dream, a dream that had his brothers bowing down to him. The rest of that story is that his brothers collectively built their hatred and one day when Joseph went out to the field to check on his brothers, they - like the French - made a bad moral decision. They had planned to kill him, but instead let Judah talk them into selling Joseph into slavery.
Fast forward many years to a famine in Israel so severe that Jacob sends his ten oldest sons to buy grain in Egypt. They appear, you'll recall, before the governor responsible for selling grain to all people, a man who overcame his early misfortune and rose to prominence in Egypt as an interpreter of dreams for the Pharaoh. Joseph whom they do not recognize but who recognizes them, tests his brothers by accusing them of being spies and tells them that they must return home bringing back their youngest brother, Benjamin (Jacob's new favorite son), while their brother, Simeon, is held in prison. With their father's agreement, Benjamin makes the second trip with his brothers. They are able to purchase grain, obtain Simeon's release and begin the journey home. But, having hidden a silver cup in Benjamin's bag, Joseph sends his steward to bring Benjamin back as a thief. In a moral reversal, Judah makes his passionate and persuasive offer to substitute himself to atone for Benjamin's alleged crime. In risking his own life on his brother's behalf, Judah redeemed himself. Ultimately, his transformation, demonstrating to his entire family his willingness to sacrifice himself, led to reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. The unwritten first step in his transformation was admitting his personal guilt in the wrong done to Joseph.
For decades, the people of France assessed the blame for Vel' d'Hiv, the name given to the event of Jewish cleansing, to the Germans. Finally, the French acknowledged that the moral atrocity was their responsibility, the result of French hatred and prejudices. Then, as in the Biblical story, healing began, healing not only for surviving Jews but also for the French people who had long borne the weight of the events of 1942.
The lesson for us is profound. When we deny our personal responsibility for the events of our lives, we place an invisible barrier between ourselves and God. But, that isn't the end of the story. God doesn't condemn us for constructing the barrier. God knows that only we can remove the barrier, patiently waiting for us to do so, forgiving us every step of the way.
www.MCCGSL.org
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Christine White
Genesis 44:18-34
Then Judah stepped up to Joseph and said, 'O my lord, let your servant please speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, saying, "Have you a father or a brother?" And we said to my lord, "We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead; he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him." Then you said to your servants, "Bring him down to me, so that I may set my eyes on him." We said to my lord, "The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die." Then you said to your servants, "Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more." When we went back to your servant my father we told him the words of my lord. And when our father said, "Go again, buy us a little food", we said, "We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother goes with us, will we go down; for we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us." Then your servant my father said to us, "You know that my wife bore me two sons; one left me, and I said, Surely he has been torn to pieces; and I have never seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down my grey hairs in sorrow to Sheol." Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life, when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring down the grey hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, "If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life." Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy; and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father.' NRSV
On July 16, 1942, the French police rounded up the Jews of Paris, including thousands of children despite the Nazi orders to gather only those aged 16 and older, holding them briefly in Paris before transporting them to Drancy, a French concentration camp. Ultimately, they were transported to Auschwitz and exterminated. From the end of World War II through the decades that followed, French leadership blamed Hitler's Third Reich for their own reprehensible moral choice, thus fracturing their relationship with many members of the family of nations of which they were a part.
As I reread the Genesis pericope about the Sons of Jacob, I was reminded of a striking parallel with this tragic French choice and how its consequences unfolded over time, retold by Tatiana de Rosnayin her story about this profound historical event, Sarah's Key. How do they connect?
Joseph was one of twelve sons of Jacob, a father whose other sons came to believe that he loved Joseph more because Jacob made him a special robe. Can you imagine the hard feelings that their sibling rivalry led to? Add in the rest of the story: Joseph spoke to his brothers the truth which he saw in a dream, a dream that had his brothers bowing down to him. The rest of that story is that his brothers collectively built their hatred and one day when Joseph went out to the field to check on his brothers, they - like the French - made a bad moral decision. They had planned to kill him, but instead let Judah talk them into selling Joseph into slavery.
Fast forward many years to a famine in Israel so severe that Jacob sends his ten oldest sons to buy grain in Egypt. They appear, you'll recall, before the governor responsible for selling grain to all people, a man who overcame his early misfortune and rose to prominence in Egypt as an interpreter of dreams for the Pharaoh. Joseph whom they do not recognize but who recognizes them, tests his brothers by accusing them of being spies and tells them that they must return home bringing back their youngest brother, Benjamin (Jacob's new favorite son), while their brother, Simeon, is held in prison. With their father's agreement, Benjamin makes the second trip with his brothers. They are able to purchase grain, obtain Simeon's release and begin the journey home. But, having hidden a silver cup in Benjamin's bag, Joseph sends his steward to bring Benjamin back as a thief. In a moral reversal, Judah makes his passionate and persuasive offer to substitute himself to atone for Benjamin's alleged crime. In risking his own life on his brother's behalf, Judah redeemed himself. Ultimately, his transformation, demonstrating to his entire family his willingness to sacrifice himself, led to reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. The unwritten first step in his transformation was admitting his personal guilt in the wrong done to Joseph.
For decades, the people of France assessed the blame for Vel' d'Hiv, the name given to the event of Jewish cleansing, to the Germans. Finally, the French acknowledged that the moral atrocity was their responsibility, the result of French hatred and prejudices. Then, as in the Biblical story, healing began, healing not only for surviving Jews but also for the French people who had long borne the weight of the events of 1942.
The lesson for us is profound. When we deny our personal responsibility for the events of our lives, we place an invisible barrier between ourselves and God. But, that isn't the end of the story. God doesn't condemn us for constructing the barrier. God knows that only we can remove the barrier, patiently waiting for us to do so, forgiving us every step of the way.
www.MCCGSL.org
communications@mccgsl.org
Friday, March 5, 2010
Daily Lenten Meditation for March 6th
www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ron White
1 Corinthians 7:10-24
To the married I give this command-not I but the Lord-that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
To the rest I say-I and not the Lord-that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. It is to peace that God has called you. Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.
However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything. Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called.
Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make use of your present condition now more than ever. For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters. In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters, there remain with God. NRSV
Without much question, this is a difficult scripture when we attempt to apply it to our lives today. Literalists have long held passages such as this one over our heads like an ax ready to fall. As we read it, we must keep in mind the ancient cultural context in which it was written and seek a relevant message for us today.
In the time of Paul and for many centuries thereafter, marital relationships were narrowly defined - between one man and one woman. Although that is still the norm, at least in Western culture, the similarities between marriage in Paul's culture and partnering relationships today are, at best, limited. So routine and prominent in the Old Testament, multiple partner marriages - one man with many wives - had ceased to be operative in the culture. Exceptions to the rule occurred in Christendom: look at Henry the Eighth of England, a Christian king with multiple wives. Gay relationships also happened, but were dismissed and condemned because they were not the accepted norm. At least within the narrowly defined Jewish subculture which was a part of the broader Middle Eastern culture, marriage had become monogamous - one man, one woman. I've always wondered how that transformation evolved in Old Testament times. No explanation is given in the Bible; marriage simply morphed without explanation.
In Paul's time, marriages were not the product of friendship, common interests, or love and affection during courtship. Treating children like owned property, parents decided who their child would marry, arranged the celebration, and initiated the consummation of the relationship which was mandated to occur during a week-long feast. The newly wed couple were expected to experience sexuality for the first time and to produce a child, if at all possible.
What are we to do with this passage?
First, read it historically just as it is written. Don't apply the norms and values of Paul's time to your life today. Paul says, "Let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches." In your spirit, you know the role to which you have been called, the life God has blessed you with, difficult though it may be at times. Paul calls us in our day, just as he called Christians back in his day, to careful discernment of the way we live according to the Godly values which continue to grow and change us all of our lives. Look to those values - love of neighbor and ourselves, love of God, taking care of one another - to discern how they can best guide your life.
Second, note that Paul lets us off the hook with respect to living according to his cultural context. He repeatedly says that he is not speaking for God. "This is my rule in all the churches." Wisdom is embedded in Paul's admission.
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ron White
1 Corinthians 7:10-24
To the married I give this command-not I but the Lord-that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
To the rest I say-I and not the Lord-that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. It is to peace that God has called you. Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.
However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything. Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called.
Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make use of your present condition now more than ever. For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters. In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters, there remain with God. NRSV
Without much question, this is a difficult scripture when we attempt to apply it to our lives today. Literalists have long held passages such as this one over our heads like an ax ready to fall. As we read it, we must keep in mind the ancient cultural context in which it was written and seek a relevant message for us today.
In the time of Paul and for many centuries thereafter, marital relationships were narrowly defined - between one man and one woman. Although that is still the norm, at least in Western culture, the similarities between marriage in Paul's culture and partnering relationships today are, at best, limited. So routine and prominent in the Old Testament, multiple partner marriages - one man with many wives - had ceased to be operative in the culture. Exceptions to the rule occurred in Christendom: look at Henry the Eighth of England, a Christian king with multiple wives. Gay relationships also happened, but were dismissed and condemned because they were not the accepted norm. At least within the narrowly defined Jewish subculture which was a part of the broader Middle Eastern culture, marriage had become monogamous - one man, one woman. I've always wondered how that transformation evolved in Old Testament times. No explanation is given in the Bible; marriage simply morphed without explanation.
In Paul's time, marriages were not the product of friendship, common interests, or love and affection during courtship. Treating children like owned property, parents decided who their child would marry, arranged the celebration, and initiated the consummation of the relationship which was mandated to occur during a week-long feast. The newly wed couple were expected to experience sexuality for the first time and to produce a child, if at all possible.
What are we to do with this passage?
First, read it historically just as it is written. Don't apply the norms and values of Paul's time to your life today. Paul says, "Let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches." In your spirit, you know the role to which you have been called, the life God has blessed you with, difficult though it may be at times. Paul calls us in our day, just as he called Christians back in his day, to careful discernment of the way we live according to the Godly values which continue to grow and change us all of our lives. Look to those values - love of neighbor and ourselves, love of God, taking care of one another - to discern how they can best guide your life.
Second, note that Paul lets us off the hook with respect to living according to his cultural context. He repeatedly says that he is not speaking for God. "This is my rule in all the churches." Wisdom is embedded in Paul's admission.
communications@mccgsl.org
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Daily Lenten Meditation - March 3, 2010
www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ember Baker
Mark 4 1-20
Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that "they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.' "And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." NRSV
Many sermons have been preached, and even songs written based on this text. It presents a spiritual truth only thinly veiled in a description of a very ordinary everyday image of a sower scattering seed. The seed, Jesus explains, represents the word, the truth He offers, and the various types of ground represents people who hear that word. Some can take it in deeply, and some cannot.
For me, this passage begs the question, "How does one become good soil?" How does one prepare one's heart and mind to receive deeply the radical message that Jesus' life and death are offering us? Only ground that has been broken, that has been opened up, can receive the seed deeply and let it take root.
In his book, Everything Belongs, Fr. Richard Rohr explains the meaning of this passage in this way.
Most spiritual work is readying the student. Both soil and soul have to be a bit unsettled and loosened up a bit. As long as we're too comfortable, too opinionated, too sure we have the whole truth, we're just rock and thorns. Anybody throwing us seed is just wasting time. Pg 38.
This unsettling of the soil and the soul is what the season of Lent is all about. It calls us to dig into ourselves a bit and look honestly at how we have been living. We must break through the crust, the façade of our ego self, the image we project of who we think we are, or of who we want others to think we are. It's a time when we hold ourselves responsible and accountable for our own feelings, choices, and actions. It is a time when we embrace our own brokenness as humans in preparation for our descent with Christ into death and resurrection.
The unsettled soul, the broken heart, the opened mind are the good soil that can take in the message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and allow that seed to grow strong and bear lasting fruit. Through self examination, study, and prayer we can become rich soil for God's word. And we can bear nourishing fruit into a hungry world.
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ember Baker
Mark 4 1-20
Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that "they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.' "And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." NRSV
Many sermons have been preached, and even songs written based on this text. It presents a spiritual truth only thinly veiled in a description of a very ordinary everyday image of a sower scattering seed. The seed, Jesus explains, represents the word, the truth He offers, and the various types of ground represents people who hear that word. Some can take it in deeply, and some cannot.
For me, this passage begs the question, "How does one become good soil?" How does one prepare one's heart and mind to receive deeply the radical message that Jesus' life and death are offering us? Only ground that has been broken, that has been opened up, can receive the seed deeply and let it take root.
In his book, Everything Belongs, Fr. Richard Rohr explains the meaning of this passage in this way.
Most spiritual work is readying the student. Both soil and soul have to be a bit unsettled and loosened up a bit. As long as we're too comfortable, too opinionated, too sure we have the whole truth, we're just rock and thorns. Anybody throwing us seed is just wasting time. Pg 38.
This unsettling of the soil and the soul is what the season of Lent is all about. It calls us to dig into ourselves a bit and look honestly at how we have been living. We must break through the crust, the façade of our ego self, the image we project of who we think we are, or of who we want others to think we are. It's a time when we hold ourselves responsible and accountable for our own feelings, choices, and actions. It is a time when we embrace our own brokenness as humans in preparation for our descent with Christ into death and resurrection.
The unsettled soul, the broken heart, the opened mind are the good soil that can take in the message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and allow that seed to grow strong and bear lasting fruit. Through self examination, study, and prayer we can become rich soil for God's word. And we can bear nourishing fruit into a hungry world.
communications@mccgsl.org
Monday, March 1, 2010
Daily Lenten Meditation - March 2, 2010
http://www.hopeandhelpcenter.org/
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ember Baker
Psalm 62
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Yahweh comes my salvation. God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. (Selah) For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from God, who alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. Trust in God at all times, O people; pour out your heart before God; God is a refuge for us. (Selah) Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work. NRSV
Many modern Christians may find the Psalms to be disturbingly un-Christian, violent, and raw. The psalmist has no trouble believing that always and everywhere, God is on his side. He doesn't hesitate to be completely honest with God about his own emotions or perceptions. He often asks that God wound or even kill his enemies. The psalms explore all the extremes of the human emotional spectrum from exhalation to doubt, fear, love, hope, and despair.
In Roman Catholic Monasteries around the world, monks and nuns recite or sing the Psalms daily. The Psalms are the core of their daily office, the series of communal prayers they say several times a day. The reason for this is that, as a whole, the Psalms, more than any other single source, express the entirety of the human condition -- the good, the bad, and the ugly as well as everything in between. By praying the psalms daily, they are lifting all of humanity, the entire human condition up before God continuously for blessing, healing and redemption. It is the point at which the lives of monastics, which are largely separate from mainstream culture, intersect and minister to all of humanity through prayer.
Modern Christians, particularly Protestants, tend to ignore the Psalms, except when they are turned into a catchy song. But they are a rich source for spiritual growth and wisdom when we look at them properly, and use them in our prayer lives. They show us, if nothing else, that no matter where we may be at a given moment, or what we may be feeling, we can bring it before God safely. That God can take whatever we can dish out, as it were, and that God wants the reality and the grittiness of relationship with us, not just pious lip-service and devotionals.
There are many ways to pray the Psalms. One can simply recite them with intentionality as the monastics do, using them to lift up the emotions they express, and the realities about the human condition they depict before a loving and forgiving God. We may choose to read them with the four step process known as Lectio Divina which has been taught in numerous classes over the years at MCCGSL. We can use them in a process of self-examination, where we look into our own hearts for where we can relate to or find ourselves resisting what is being said by the psalmist. We then can form a verbal prayer asking for God's guidance, healing, or transformational power to enter into us or the circumstances around us. We can choose a short phrase from the psalm and use it as a mantra in meditation. In this particular Psalm, for example, the phrase "For God alone, my soul waits in silence," Might be shortened to "My soul waits," and used as a mantra. Using a short mantra like this, or even one of the names of God, we can take the emotions and circumstances expressed in a psalm along with our feelings about what it says and any parallels we may see in the world of today, and simply be present to all of it and to God as we repeat silently in our minds, "My soul waits . . . My soul waits . . . My soul waits."
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ember Baker
Psalm 62
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Yahweh comes my salvation. God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. (Selah) For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from God, who alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. Trust in God at all times, O people; pour out your heart before God; God is a refuge for us. (Selah) Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work. NRSV
Many modern Christians may find the Psalms to be disturbingly un-Christian, violent, and raw. The psalmist has no trouble believing that always and everywhere, God is on his side. He doesn't hesitate to be completely honest with God about his own emotions or perceptions. He often asks that God wound or even kill his enemies. The psalms explore all the extremes of the human emotional spectrum from exhalation to doubt, fear, love, hope, and despair.
In Roman Catholic Monasteries around the world, monks and nuns recite or sing the Psalms daily. The Psalms are the core of their daily office, the series of communal prayers they say several times a day. The reason for this is that, as a whole, the Psalms, more than any other single source, express the entirety of the human condition -- the good, the bad, and the ugly as well as everything in between. By praying the psalms daily, they are lifting all of humanity, the entire human condition up before God continuously for blessing, healing and redemption. It is the point at which the lives of monastics, which are largely separate from mainstream culture, intersect and minister to all of humanity through prayer.
Modern Christians, particularly Protestants, tend to ignore the Psalms, except when they are turned into a catchy song. But they are a rich source for spiritual growth and wisdom when we look at them properly, and use them in our prayer lives. They show us, if nothing else, that no matter where we may be at a given moment, or what we may be feeling, we can bring it before God safely. That God can take whatever we can dish out, as it were, and that God wants the reality and the grittiness of relationship with us, not just pious lip-service and devotionals.
There are many ways to pray the Psalms. One can simply recite them with intentionality as the monastics do, using them to lift up the emotions they express, and the realities about the human condition they depict before a loving and forgiving God. We may choose to read them with the four step process known as Lectio Divina which has been taught in numerous classes over the years at MCCGSL. We can use them in a process of self-examination, where we look into our own hearts for where we can relate to or find ourselves resisting what is being said by the psalmist. We then can form a verbal prayer asking for God's guidance, healing, or transformational power to enter into us or the circumstances around us. We can choose a short phrase from the psalm and use it as a mantra in meditation. In this particular Psalm, for example, the phrase "For God alone, my soul waits in silence," Might be shortened to "My soul waits," and used as a mantra. Using a short mantra like this, or even one of the names of God, we can take the emotions and circumstances expressed in a psalm along with our feelings about what it says and any parallels we may see in the world of today, and simply be present to all of it and to God as we repeat silently in our minds, "My soul waits . . . My soul waits . . . My soul waits."
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation MARCH 1
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Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ember Baker
Mark 3:7-19a
Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!" But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home. NRSV
In this passage from Mark we see Jesus' ministry as a healer coming into full swing. The crowds following him, looking for healing are so large that He has his Disciples take him out onto the water in a boat so as not to be overwhelmed by the crowd pressing around him. He also chooses 12 apostles to share his ministry and imparts to them the authority to heal and to cast out demons.
In modern times we have largely replaced this healer, Jesus, with a Divine Sacrificial Lamb, image of Jesus. This Savior Jesus, come to reconcile a broken or damaged relationship between God and humanity, is certainly the one we generally focus on during this season of Lent leading to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus' Death on the cross. Lent is a season of introspection when we examine our own brokenness and our need for reconciliation with the Divine. In traditional terms, we acknowledge our own sinfulness, our failures and shortcomings and our personal and corporate need for redemption. Even so, we have this passage of Jesus as Healer and Deliverer from Demons squarely placed in the middle of this Lenten season. It reminds us that the real meat of Jesus' ministry was about transforming lives, one at a time, through healing of all sorts. It hints to us that this work of reconciliation between God and humankind and the work of healing broken people are one and the same.
So this season, instead of looking for the areas where we have sinned or fallen short of the target, as the term is used in archery, and turning to Jesus on the cross full of guilt and remorse for our sins, let's take this passage to heart and remember Jesus the Healer. Let us take courage from this passage and look at ourselves, our lives, and our relationships, deeply and honestly for the places where we are still broken, wounded or bound. Let's take a moment today to go to Jesus the healer and allow him, not only to see our wounds, but to touch them with His healing power. Let's come to him as one who can set us free from our personal demons whatever they may be and transform our lives.
And let us remember that we, as apostles of Christ, are called into His work of healing and delivering others into freedom and wholeness. Whether that be through offering kind words, caring for a sick friend, or offering forgiveness to someone who hurt us, let us take on the mind and heart of Christ as we travel with Jesus through these last days before his death.
communications@mccgsl.org
Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ember Baker
Mark 3:7-19a
Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!" But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home. NRSV
In this passage from Mark we see Jesus' ministry as a healer coming into full swing. The crowds following him, looking for healing are so large that He has his Disciples take him out onto the water in a boat so as not to be overwhelmed by the crowd pressing around him. He also chooses 12 apostles to share his ministry and imparts to them the authority to heal and to cast out demons.
In modern times we have largely replaced this healer, Jesus, with a Divine Sacrificial Lamb, image of Jesus. This Savior Jesus, come to reconcile a broken or damaged relationship between God and humanity, is certainly the one we generally focus on during this season of Lent leading to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus' Death on the cross. Lent is a season of introspection when we examine our own brokenness and our need for reconciliation with the Divine. In traditional terms, we acknowledge our own sinfulness, our failures and shortcomings and our personal and corporate need for redemption. Even so, we have this passage of Jesus as Healer and Deliverer from Demons squarely placed in the middle of this Lenten season. It reminds us that the real meat of Jesus' ministry was about transforming lives, one at a time, through healing of all sorts. It hints to us that this work of reconciliation between God and humankind and the work of healing broken people are one and the same.
So this season, instead of looking for the areas where we have sinned or fallen short of the target, as the term is used in archery, and turning to Jesus on the cross full of guilt and remorse for our sins, let's take this passage to heart and remember Jesus the Healer. Let us take courage from this passage and look at ourselves, our lives, and our relationships, deeply and honestly for the places where we are still broken, wounded or bound. Let's take a moment today to go to Jesus the healer and allow him, not only to see our wounds, but to touch them with His healing power. Let's come to him as one who can set us free from our personal demons whatever they may be and transform our lives.
And let us remember that we, as apostles of Christ, are called into His work of healing and delivering others into freedom and wholeness. Whether that be through offering kind words, caring for a sick friend, or offering forgiveness to someone who hurt us, let us take on the mind and heart of Christ as we travel with Jesus through these last days before his death.
communications@mccgsl.org
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