11-3-20 - Trimming Lamps

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

Turns out there is an art to making a flame, at least when it comes to lamps. According to Wikipedia, “A poorly trimmed wick creates a flame which is dim and smoky. A properly trimmed wick should come to a rounded point, or should be wedge shaped.” The bridesmaids in our story took care of that: 

“...at midnight there was a shout: ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.”

Yesterday I shared the suggestion that the “lamps” in Jesus’ parable may have been more like oil-soaked rag torches. Perhaps that is so, but he does speak of trimming wicks, which suggests a more sophisticated level of lamp technology. It’s not enough to have access to fire, and fuel to burn – if we want our light to be strong and unwavering, we need to keep our wicks well trimmed.

How does that translate for us as Christ-followers engaged in God’s mission to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation? Our primary means of keeping our lamps ready to burn clear and bright are spiritual practices, such as those we’ve just explored in the Way of Love. These include well-known disciplines as well as rituals and patterns we develop for ourselves. The “big ones” include regular times of prayer and contemplation in which we seek to hear God speaking to and through us; regularly reading and chewing on Scripture; regular participation in worship with the Body of Christ; regular acts of giving and mercy and mission. Beyond these are disciplines such as fasting, confession, retreats, and pilgrimage that help us draw nearer to God.

Note the emphasis on the word “regular,” the root of which gives us our word “rule.” Like monastics, we are invited to take on a rule of life, a planned and articulated series of spiritual practices we find faith-strengthening and life-giving. Just as we exercise our bodies regularly, these practices make us more grounded, healthy, responsive, nimble and strong. We all have personal rituals and routines that can also be spiritual practices for us. These might include hospitality, listening, walking, drawing, music – anything that can be woven into the rhythm of your day or week, that calls you to your truest self and opens your spirit to the life of God.

Do you have a “rule of life?” I developed one that included some time each day interacting with nature, regular walks and writing nature poetry as well as daily prayer, bible study and journaling, and monthly hospitality (that one, alas, is on hold for the time being). What spiritual practices do you currently engage in, formally or informally? Make a list. Are there some you’ve been wanting to take on and haven’t gotten to? Offer that desire or intention to God in prayer and then make a plan to incorporate it into your life. Be specific about the when and where, and who might support you in that practice.

If you don’t have a spiritual director or formalized “spiritual friendship” with anyone, I highly recommend it. Think of this person as a personal trainer or exercise buddy for your spiritual life. Jesus always invites us to partner in ministry, and the accountability and other perspective is invaluable. 

All the wick-trimming in the world, though, won’t let the light shine if we don’t have enough oil. The spiritual life is a combination of our engagement and the Holy Spirit’s serendipitous presence. Tomorrow we’ll talk about what it means to have enough oil to shine for all the world to see - because man, does this world need the light we bring.

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11-2-20 - Drowsy Bridesmaids

You can listen to this reflection here.

This coming Sunday, we hear one of Jesus’ more confusing stories, about the wise and foolish bridesmaids. No, this isn’t the Kristen Wiig flick of a some years ago; this is Jesus telling a story to explain something he’d told his followers: “Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:42)

To teach them about being prepared, Jesus compares God’s realm to bridesmaids awaiting a tardy bridegroom:
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.”

So, why were the bridesmaids going to meet the bridegroom? Where was the bride? And why did they need lamps? The story makes more sense if we know a little about what scholars think might have been marriage customs in Jesus’ day. Some say that in and around Bethlehem, in the time of Jesus and later, wedding processions would go through the towns at night. Bridesmaids would greet the bridegroom and escort him to the bride, dancing with lit torches.

If so, the “lamps” in the story were really more like torches, rags soaked in oil and put in a bowl on a stick. Once lit, they’d last about 15 minutes, and then more oil would be needed to keep them lit, because the dance was longer than that. Maybe that’s why these wise bridesmaids had not only their lamps, but extra oil, so they could do the whole fire dance, whereas the foolish, shortsighted ones would be unable to fulfill their dance.

It’s a good metaphor for being faithful and ready – especially for disciples called to be bearers of light, bearers of the One who said he was the light of the world. Today let’s play with the image of being ready when what we’re waiting for seems so long in coming (election outcome, anyone?). We can sympathize with the bridesmaids becoming drowsy and dropping off to sleep. How often do we feel that God is too long in coming, or too long in answering our prayers in a way we desire to see?

The bridesmaids' drowsiness might represent a spiritual condition called “acidie,” a kind of spiritual ennui, when our love for God has grown tepid, nothing feels fresh or passionate. Protracted pandemic, rampant racism, debilitating division, anxious anger can foster such feelings. If our relationship with God is lukewarm, it’s hard to praise, hard to get excited about service or sharing our faith with others. Living so far from the events we read about in the Gospels, it can all seem ho-hum unless we have new encounters with Jesus in prayer and worship and service.

If that’s where you are, tell Jesus that in prayer. If you are in a more connected, passionate faith place, rejoice in that. Either way, spend some time with today with the One whom John the Baptist referred to as the Bridegroom.

We are invited this week – and always – to take on the mantle of bridesmaid, one who dances the Bridegroom to his bride. In Christian metaphor, the bride is the Church. What might it mean to dance Jesus to his church, which so badly needs him now?

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10-30-20 - The Way of Love: Rest

You can listen to this reflection here. 

The seventh spiritual practice in the Way of Love shares an attribute with the seventh day of Creation: rest. Genesis speaks of God creating the world and all its life in six “days” (epochs…), and says, “And.. God rested on the seventh day from all the work that God had done.” Does God need rest? Isn't God unlimited in vigor and resilience? (Just like us...?)

God's ways are mystery, but could it be that a regular period of inactivity, a time to digest and process events, to refresh and recharge, is good even for this God in whose image we are made? Keeping the Sabbath holy – set apart from the ordinary – is an invitation and a command, the only commandment many Christians blithely ignore. This is like being given the deed to a beautiful house and not moving in. Do we really prefer to stay in our shacks of fatigue and stress, while God offers us the gift of time, even a whole day each week, in which to be unproductive?

That is my definition of Sabbath – a day (any day of the week) to just be, to unplug, enjoy, be creative if desired, but do nothing that would be on a to-do list. When I manage to keep sabbath on my day off, I wake up the next day so ready to work. But when I keep asking my brain and body to generate and respond to work without a break, I become less productive, and certainly less peaceful. Just as our bodies need time to digest meals, and our brains need sleep time to process all the data and experiences we’ve encountered all day, so our spirits need times to refresh. Jesus regularly sought times apart, to pray, to listen, to be still.

Why is it so hard for us? A host of obstacles work against the practice of Rest. Not only does our culture not support rest, it promotes the lie that progress is defined by productivity, that we are only as valuable as our latest accomplishment. Many of us also carry an inner demand for achievement, borne of a deep insecurity about our identity. When we work, we know who we are. But hear this: when we rest, we know whose we are. God says, “You are my beloved. With you I am well pleased.” The practice of Rest says “Yes!” to God’s love and grace.

The “tyranny of the urgent” also inhibits our ability to live into God’s gift of Rest. And with our technology, where the urgent thrums constantly through our devices, it’s even easier to get caught up in what seems most pressing. It takes maturity and discipline to step out – ideally at least once a day – and say, “Hmmm – that felt like the most urgent task. But was it the most important thing I could have done with that hour/day/week/ year?” Rest gives us that perspective.

Another disincentive to living into the gift of Rest is discomfort with feelings that might emerge when we stop. Busyness is an effective anesthetic, distracting us from fear, anger, grief or anxiety that might be stirring in us – and in these times, all of those feelings are swirling in many of us. When we stop, we often become aware of our feelings. And feelings, like 2-year-olds, can kick up some tantrums if ignored. Acknowledge them, attend to them, and they often subside. Rest helps us do that.

To commit to the spiritual practice of Rest requires decisions and discipline. Beyond the imperative of getting enough sleep, it is best to set aside time(s) to rest within each day, and longer times within each week. Going for a walk, taking a few minutes to pray, napping, a cup of tea with a friend – these are all ways we can Rest. If you cannot fathom the idea of a 24-hour sabbath, try a half day. (Though a whole day is actually easier than a partial.) The practice of Rest also invites us to step out of the rhythms and pressures of our lives one or more times a year, to take a day or several of retreat.

Like most of the practices, this one gets easier as we make it habitual. Rest is where all the other practices in the Way of Love become integrated. They are all designed to help us center our lives on Jesus. And Jesus said, “Come unto me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.” Take him up on that offer - we will rest with him for eternity. We can get used to it now.

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10-29-20 - No Rose Gardens

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Some of the Beatitudes deal with attitudes (some call them the “Be-Attitudes”): 

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’

It is not surprising to hear that Jesus wants his followers to thirst for righteousness, practice mercy and cultivate pure, undivided, God-turned hearts. These are not easy to live, but they make more sense than what comes next:
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’

Lest Jesus’ disciples think that following him was their road to glory, he tells them right up front to expect flack, slander, even persecution. This will be a sign that they’re in the big leagues, up there with the great prophets of Israel, who had a message from God the leaders did not want to hear. Look what happened to them: flogging, imprisonment, job loss – sometimes death. Jesus does specify that it’s persecution for his sake or for the sake of righteousness; ordinary suffering and mistreatment don’t buy us any reward. But suffering for the revelation he has come to proclaim and demonstrate? That will be honored. In a way, Jesus is saying they are on the road to glory, but they’ll be in gloryland before they taste it.

In America and Europe we face little persecution for being Christian – and there’s always the question of whether or not we present enough evidence to convict us. But if we’re serious about our faith and vocal about how following Christ affects our choices, decisions, priorities in how we spend our time, money and relationships, we may face derision, even some social cost.

Now, if you’ve been keeping score, you’ll notice I skipped one:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.' 

This may be the most important one - and, thanks to Monty Python’s Life of Brian (“Did he say, 'blessed are the cheesemakers?’”) perhaps the best known. I’ve included it with these persecution clauses because a true peacemaker is apt to make enemies, ironic as that may seem. Peacemaking is not for the faint of heart – just ask Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King, Jr., to cite a few obvious examples. Or Jesus. Many people are deeply invested in their enmities, in us/them thinking, in the political and economic gains to be had by demonizing others. If we take up the ministry of forging peace, we should expect flack, even shrapnel.

How do these beatitudes hit you today? Can you relate to the promise of persecution, and to the eventual reward? How have you experienced the ministry of peace-making? Are there ways your church community could become more active in that focus? It’s a prime need in our world today.

When I was young(er), there was a hit on the radio that went 

“I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden; 

along with the sunshine there’s gotta be a little rain sometimes."
Jesus doesn't promise us a rose garden, or a return to the garden of Eden. He promises to make us part of God’s mission to reclaim, restore, and renew the garden of this earth and all its inhabitants. That breathtaking invitation is worth suffering for.

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10-28-20 - The Poor, the Sad and the Passive?

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Now here’s a recruitment slogan: “Calling all who are poor, all who are sad, all who are passive – I’m going to change the world with you!” These may not be the qualities we associate with leadership and success… and maybe Jesus is inviting us to reconsider our criteria for leadership. The men and women who were his closest followers were not the cream of society’s crop – Galilean fishermen, tax collectors, women with “reputations.” And yet we honor them and know their names 2000 years later.

The first three “beatitudes” deal with emotional conditions:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are the grief-stricken, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.'

What does “poor in spirit” mean? I think of it as being at a low ebb, our spiritual energy sapped by fatigue or sadness, fear or disappointment, our faith less than robust. I suspect most of us have felt poor in spirit. But we, Jesus promises, will inherit the fullness of God’s spiritual realm, the Life of God.

Similarly, most of us know what it’s like to mourn; for some, it seems to go on forever. But Jesus says we will be comforted, which doesn’t end the mourning, but can shift it into a different key, so that we manage to sing a new song even in grief.

Meekness may be the one attribute here that isn’t as common to us. I think of “meek” as passive, not pushy, not forwarding one’s own agenda. We associate “meek” with being a doormat. But I have heard that “meek” may not be the best translation of the Greek. In French that word is rendered “debonair.” That gives a different slant. As an essay I found online says, “Gone was Casper Milk Toast. Instead, my mental images were of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, or of Gene Kelly, singing in the rain. I would so much rather be debonair than meek! The debonair are people who move with grace through life. They have style. Blessed are the debonair!”

The writer goes on to say that the Greek word can be translated ‘gentleness.’ "The word can refer to a strong animal such as a horse, who is well-trained and gentle in spirit, in spite of its strength. It can also mean the quality of being teachable — modest, generous, humble and considerate. In other words, those who are blessed are those who have strength, and yet use it with gentleness.”

I don’t know if you’re feeling debonair today, but I hope you have a sense of your strength and your gentleness, and know that God can work through us best when we combine the two. Perhaps that’s what it means to “inherit the earth” – to be fully participating in God’s mission in strength and gentleness. And when grief and dispiritedness are upon us, we might pray for more of the gentle power of the Spirit to fill us, to pump up our tires (the word for spirit is pneuma,after all…), to transform our mourning into joy.

In making these feelings markers of discipleship, Jesus honors our emotional truth and invites us to bring all of who we are each day into the fullness of our God-Life. And he offers hope for us when we’re not feeling so strong, reminding us, “This is not the end of your story.” He is the end of our story, and he will lead us there, as we follow.

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10-27-20 - Blessed

You can listen to this reflection here.

There is only one gospel passage assigned for All Saints Day – every year, it’s the same old Beatitudes. This has always bugged me; I’ve tended to dismiss the Beatitudes as a how-to guide (albeit, Jesus’ how-to guide...) and I’m not big on the idea of people striving for sainthood. That is God’s to bestow.

But it’s time I opened myself to this famous laundry list of saintly characteristics – remembering that “saint” means Christ-follower. Jesus is speaking to his followers on a “mount” – more of a hill, but Matthew wants to draw some parallels between Moses giving the Law on Mount Sinai in the old covenant, and Jesus giving the “law” of the new covenant. (Luke, a Gentile, seems less interested in demonstrating continuity between the Jesus movement and its Jewish roots. In his Gospel, this scene takes place on a plain, on level ground – reinforcing his theme of Jesus as the great leveler, equalizer.)

Jesus has been teaching his followers every chance he gets, but on this day he has a particular message. In the face of the hardship they will endure as his disciples, he wants them to understand an important marker of that identity: that, above all, they are blessed. This is the one word he repeats over and over.

What does it mean to be blessed? It means to stand in the light of God’s love and favor. Just as we cannot make ourselves saints, we cannot bless ourselves – we have to let it happen to us.

And God’s blessing, it would seem, is often counter-intuitive – the attributes Jesus associates with blessing are not ones the world equates with success. Once again Jesus overturns the “logical” order of human priorities and introduces the upside-down reality of God’s realm. The people of Jesus’ day thought prosperity and health and offspring were signs of God’s blessing. Jesus says, “Look deeper.”

With what do you associate blessing? In what ways do you feel blessed or unblessed?
Might you ask the Holy Spirit to show you in what ways God sees you as blessed? 

I like to hold other people in my mind’s eye and imagine them showered with God’s holy, healing light – that is an image of blessing. So today maybe we want to imagine ourselves in that light. And know we are blessed, no matter what we feel like on a given day.

As followers of Christ, we are blessed to be a blessing. We are one of the ways God is blessing the world. And we’re a whole lot more effective when we’re in touch with our blessedness. The next time someone says to you, “God bless you,” whether or not you’ve sneezed, say, “Bring it on!”

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10-26-20 - Saints All

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Next Sunday is All Saints Day, which celebrates not only those godly women and men who have gone before us into glory, but the saints we all are. Yes, even you!

There is a reason we call it "All Saints" – it reminds us that all who follow Christ as Lord are seen as saints of God. “Saints” was just the term used for Christ followers; Paul would write a letter to “the saints who are in Corinth,” or “the saints who are in Rome.” It refers to people called out and set aside, consecrated, made holy to the Lord, the way we set aside special consecrated vessels for holy rituals.

“Saint” does not mean “a really good person” or “holier than thou.” In fact, true saints are humble enough to be quite aware of their faults and weaknesses. Our doctrine of saints recognizes that saints are made, not born - just add water! We are made holy by being united with Christ in baptism, not through our own efforts and attributes. Many of our best known saints, like St. Augustine or St. Francis of Assisi, had quite rakish pasts before the Holy Spirit got hold of them. Some, like St. Teresa of Avila, were quick of wit and sharp of tongue. Some were martyrs, some monastics, some simple, some highly educated. Saints come in all shapes and sizes.

What kind of saint are you? When are you most aware of having been made holy? Another way to ask that is, when are you most aware of the Holy Spirit working through you?

If you want to become more aware of your sainthood, that’s a prayer God is always pleased to answer, “Make me more holy, Lord.” If you pray that prayer today, also ask the Spirit to show you all the ways you already reflect God’s holiness and love. Saints are a work in progress.

The Holy Spirit always leaves a residue. Through our encounters with the Spirit we become tinged with the holy, and as we keep inviting the Spirit to dwell in, with and through us, that tinge of holiness grows stronger and thicker until the holiness is more obvious than the mere humanity. And then, lo and behold, someone is liable to say of you, “S/He is such a saint!”

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