Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day FIFTEEN

March 9, 2012 By Diana

Genesis 43:1-15, The New Living Translation

But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan. When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

But Judah said, “The man was serious when he warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ If you send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy more food. But if you don’t let Benjamin go, we won’t go either. Remember, the man said, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

“Why were you so cruel to me?” Jacob moaned. “Why did you tell him you had another brother?”

“The man kept asking us questions about our family,” they replied. “He asked, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones. I personally guarantee his safety. You may hold me responsible if I don’t bring him back to you. Then let me bear the blame forever. If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.”

So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, “If it can’t be avoided, then at least do this. Pack your bags with the best products of this land. Take them down to the man as gifts—balm, honey, gum, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Also take double the money that was put back in your sacks, as it was probably someone’s mistake. Then take your brother, and go back to the man. May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man, so that he will release Simeon and let Benjamin return. But if I must lose my children, so be it.”

So the men packed Jacob’s gifts and double the money and headed off with Benjamin. They finally arrived in Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph.

_______

I love this conversation.

It gives me glimpses of hope that all is not lost when I dream of somehow, someday, overcoming my own personal flaws and peccadilloes.

These two men are a mixed up mess of human emotions – greed, jealousy, rage, self-pity, entitlement – all tossed together with loyalty, commitment, love, concern.

Jacob is still the frightened, non-favored twin, convinced that the world is against him.

Judah is still the manipulator extraordinaire, bargaining with the lives of his brothers.

But…

Jacob is ALSO the father who sees reason, who relaxes into the future, basically leaving to the sovereignty of God the life or death of his sons (with just a little generosity to help grease the wheels).

And Judah is ALSO the one willing to be the scapegoat, assuming full responsibility for this very scary trip to Egypt, offering himself as the one to bear both the shame and the blame.

What brings me hope in this vignette is that each of these rascals is a picture of transformation at work. They are not always messes. In fact, they are in the process of becoming less messy as this story unfolds.

Each of them still carries their early wounds and attachments – but…they are also each becoming someone different, someone more.

We’ll look in on this story a few more times during our Lenten journey together and we’ll find other pictures of this wonderful double truth: we are who we are – for good and for ill — and we are also who we are becoming, by God’s grace at work within us.

Hang onto that!

And see if this quote helps you do that:
“This is the way that God seduces us all into the economy of grace—by loving us in spite of ourselves in the very places where we cannot, or will not, or dare not love ourselves. God shocks and stuns us into love. God does not love us if we change; God loves us so that we can change.”
– Richard Rohr

_______

Sovereign God, you are the only one who can change us from the inside out. So, as this climb to the cross continues, give us eyes to see you at work within us, even as we see the changes in Jacob and Judah. Thank you that you never give up – even when we sometimes do! Guide us into becoming ever more completely that person you see in us, the one who bears a strong family resemblance to Jesus himself. Amen.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day FOURTEEN

March 8, 2012 By Diana

Mark 4:21-34, New Living Translation

Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”

Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

_______

“Lent is a call to renew a commitment grown dull, perhaps,

by a life more marked by routine than by reflection.

After a lifetime of mundane regularity

or unconsidered adherence to the trappings of faith,

Lent requires me, as a Christian, to stop for awhile,

to reflect again on what is going on in me.

I am challenged again to decide whether I, myself,

do truly believe that Jesus is the Christ –

and if I believe,

whether I will live accordingly

when I can no longer hear the song of angels in my life

and the star of Bethlehem has grown dim for me.

Lent is not a ritual.

It is a time given to think seriously

about who Jesus is for us,

to renew our faith from the inside out.”

– Joan Chittister

Three short stories.

Three photographs.

Wise words from Sister Joan.

That’s enough for today.

_______

These words are more than enough, Lord – these poem-words from Jesus, the ones that create pictures in our minds, helping us to see things invisible. Thank you for light, for farmers and seeds, for brightly colored weeds in the field – and thank you for using such simple things to teach us about who you are and who we are called to be. And help us to choose – again and again and again – to believe that you are indeed the Christ, come to bring us life. Amen.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day THIRTEEN

March 7, 2012 By Diana

Psalm 119:73-96, The Grail Translation

Yod

It was your hands that made me and shaped me;
help me to learn your commands.
Your faithful will see me and rejoice
for I trust in your word.
LORD, I know that your decrees are right,
that you afflicted me justly.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.
Let your love come and I shall live
for your law is my delight.
Shame the proud who harm me with lies
while I ponder your precepts.
Let your faithful turn to me,
those who know your will.
Let my heart be blameless in your statutes
lest I be ashamed.

Caph

I yearn for your saving help;
I hope in your word.
My eyes yearn to see your promise.
When will you console me?
Though parched and exhausted with waiting
I remember your statutes.
How long must your servant suffer?
When will you judge my foes?
For me the proud have dug pitfalls,
against your law.
Your commands are all true; then help me
when lies oppress me.
They almost made an end of me on earth,
but I kept your precepts.
Because of your love give me life
and I will do your will.

Lamed

Your word, O LORD, for ever
stands firm in the heavens:
your truth lasts from age to age,
like the earth you created.
By your decree it endures to this day;
for all things serve you.
Had your law not been my delight
I would have died in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts
for with them you give me life.
Save me, for I am yours
since I seek your precepts.
Though the wicked lie in wait to destroy me
yet I ponder your will.
I have seen that all perfection has an end
but your command is boundless.
_______

A song of praise for the beauty and comfort of God’s law, Psalm 119 has one verse for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Today’s lectionary reading carves out three from the middle.

The yearning of these words is almost palpable.
The psalmist yearns
     for God,
          for the orderly beauty of the law,
               for deliverance from enemies,
                    for judgment against those who have hounded him.

Oh, how I love the way all of that is jumbled together in this song.

All the love and angst and pain and anger and desire for vengeance.

I love it because it sounds like…
me.
And probably you, too.

We’re always a mangled up mish-mash of emotions and experiences,
sometimes one thing floating to the fore, sometimes another.

And these three stanzas have bits of a whole lot of that.

Sometimes the singer seems to have an almost magical view of God’s justice – a tit-for-tat kind of thinking.

Sometimes I slide into that pattern myself.
Do you?

Sometimes the song literally cries out for relief, wondering when comfort will come, when the struggle will end.

And I often find myself crying out for the very same things.
Do you?

But over and around and in between the anguish and the anger, this singer has a recurring lyrical theme:
   the goodness of God;
        the beauty of God’s law;
              a deep desire to live out the law day by day,
            whether the day bring victory or defeat,
                 consolation or desolation.

How I want to sing that song!
Do you?

_______

Teach me to sing with the psalmist, O LORD. To pour out my heart honestly – lousy theology and all. To seek your face, your justice, your word. To weave through all my cries a song of joyful praise for who you are and how you have shown yourself to us through the Word – the Word written, and the Word living, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day TWELVE

March 6, 2012 By Diana

Mark 3:19b-35, The Message:

Jesus came home and, as usual, a crowd gathered—so many making demands on him that there wasn’t even time to eat. His friends heard what was going on and went to rescue him, by force if necessary. They suspected he was getting carried away with himself.

The religion scholars from Jerusalem came down spreading rumors that he was working black magic, using devil tricks to impress them with spiritual power. Jesus confronted their slander with a story: “Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan? A constantly squabbling family disintegrates. If Satan were fighting Satan, there soon wouldn’t be any Satan left. Do you think it’s possible in broad daylight to enter the house of an awake, able-bodied man, and walk off with his possessions unless you tie him up first? Tie him up, though, and you can clean him out.

“Listen to this carefully. I’m warning you. There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God’s Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.” He gave this warning because they were accusing him of being in league with Evil.

Just then his mother and brothers showed up. Standing outside, they relayed a message that they wanted a word with him. He was surrounded by the crowd when he was given the message, “Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside looking for you.”

Jesus responded, “Who do you think are my mother and brothers?” Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, “Right here, right in front of you—my mother and my brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

_______

He’s getting under their skin.

The crowds are bigger each day,

the authority with which he speaks and acts is notable,

his obvious spiritual power has everyone’s knickers in a twist.

His friends are sure he’s either crazy or full of himself.

His enemies accuse him of partnering with the Dark Side.

His mother and brothers are demanding equal time.

He’s definitely astounding, mystifying, frustrating – perhaps even frightening – the very ones he should be closest to: his cronies, the religious hierarchy, his family.

And he cares not.one.whit.

Not one.

And that is perhaps the most astounding thing of all:

here is a man who is so confident and so centered

that he moves ahead with his own agenda,

despite the opinions, concerns and criticism of others.

I’m not sure I’ve ever in my life had a thought, performed a deed, said a word that I didn’t at some point think: “What will they think of me?” For me, it’s almost instinctual to care about the opinions of others.

Not so for Jesus.

Not so at all.

He sidesteps the request of his friends to rein it in.

He punctures the rhetorical bubble of the religious leaders.

He chooses to declare his own family-in-the-making rather

than relinquish himself or his ministry in order to soothe

the troubled (embarrassed?) hearts and minds of those

related to him blood.

In these three small vignettes, Jesus models for us

what it looks like

to live so fully in the center of God’s will,

so closely aligned with the Spirit,

that the opinions of others fall into their proper place.

He does offer a warning in the midst of these stories – a warning to those who would falsely accuse him of consorting with the enemy.

And it is in that warning that we begin to see how he does what he does – both the miraculous displays of power and the confident refusal to be swayed from his mission:

The very Spirit of God is at work in him.

The very Spirit of God.

_______

Lord Jesus, I stand in awe before you today, recognizing how much you have to teach me about living rightly. Help me to know, way down deep in the crevices of my soul, that your Spirit – the same Spirit that filled you – is alive and well and wanting to steady me, to counsel me in the doing of your word, in the living of a Jesus life. Amen and amen.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to Calvary – Day ELEVEN

March 5, 2012 By Diana

Psalm 57, Today’s New International Version
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave.

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.

I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.

He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me—
God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.

I am in the midst of lions;
I am forced to dwell among man-eating beasts,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.

My heart, O God, is steadfast,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.

Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

_______

David is a singer – first, last and always.

It seems singing is what he was made to do.

No matter what life throws in his path,

the man sings.

He sings of joy.

He sings of fear.

He sings of sorrow.

He sings of sin.

He sings.

Sometimes he sings about himself – how frazzled he feels, how surrounded, even buried by the difficulties of his life.

Sometimes he bluntly sings of his own good character, his stalwart loyalty, his fearsome warrior skills.

Sometimes he sings about the physical enemies who frighten, pursue and threaten him.

But all the time, he sings about God.

He cries out to God for mercy.

He declares the outrageous saving grace

of the God he communes with,

the God he calls to,

the God he worships.

And this particular song swings from high to low and back again, containing little bits of all of the above.

And it is beautiful, isn’t it? Filled with sharp juxtapositions of his own fears and the faithfulness of the God who saves him.

But the transition that just lifts my heart today, that offers encouragement and hope and challenge is this one:

I am in the midst of lions;
I am forced to dwell among man-eating beasts,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

Because I’ve been there, haven’t you?

In the midst of strange beasts, with sharp teeth and sharper tongues.

Feeling as though I’m being eaten alive by

the demands of others,

the demands of my over-busy life,

the demands of life-in-general.

Feeling surrounded,

overwhelmed,

heavy-laden,

in defensive mode,

crouching in the corner,

too terrified to peek out and see if those snarling creatures are still there,

ready to pounce.

But when I find myself there,

facing the hot breath and growling gutturals of life –

I want to do what David does.

I want to sing a song of remembrance,

a song of exaltation,

a song of exuberant praise,

acknowledging that GOD is God –

bigger than my fears,

bigger than any beasts that may choose to come and lurk in my parlor,

bigger than life-in-general.

Can I hear an ‘amen?’

_______

Good and Great God, Maker of the Universe and Savior of the World – help me to sing with your servant, David. To sing honestly when I’m feeling afraid. To sing expectantly when I’m facing an uncertain future, to sing resoundingly when I remember Who You are. O, Praise your name forever!

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

As has happened many times in our long relationship, my husband came through the bedroom where I was busily writing or reading and said, “You need to come outside and take a look at this – right now!” And there was this enormous rainbow, just shimmering out there. I grabbed my camera quickly, not looking at the lens first and snapped about a dozen pictures. By the time I finished snapping, the bow was gone. Too bad I didn’t wipe that filter off first! So, I’m sorry about the spots here and there – but I think you get the size and brightness of this beautiful reminder of beauty in the midst of stormy weather. Somehow fitting for this psalm.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – SECOND Sunday

March 4, 2012 By Diana

Romans 4:13-25 – The Message

That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God’s decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That’s not a holy promise; that’s a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God’s promise at that—you can’t break it.

This is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God’s promise arrives as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that’s reading the story backward. He is our faith father.

We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn’t that what we’ve always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, “I set you up as father of many peoples”? Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, “You’re going to have a big family, Abraham!”

Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That’s why it is said, “Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.” But it’s not just Abraham; it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.

_______

If you have made it through this LONG stretch of Romans, I salute you. If you haven’t, I urge you to go back, spend an extra 3-4 minutes and read it All.The.Way.Down.

It is great stuff.

I love what Peterson has done with these 15 verses, even though he used a whole lot more words than any other translation I checked!

He has taken some dense theology, in which Paul is working through a foundational Old Testament text, and he has made it comprehensible and current.

Nice work. Really nice.

So I took a little bit of artistic license and decided to try and do the same thing with today’s photo-for-reflection. See if you can follow my convoluted choice.

Look specifically at that last paragraph, the one with these words:

“He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That’s why it is said, “Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.” But it’s not just Abraham; it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.“

With this paragraph, Peterson re-states the story of Abraham and Sarah, and that unbelievable promise made to them by God – that they would father/mother many nations, even though they were old – and as the words starkly remind us – ‘impotent and infertile.’

Every other Bible you can find will choose to use a big word like ‘righteousness’ or ‘justification’ where Peterson has chosen the small word, ‘fit.’

And it is a perfect word. Absolutely perfect.

Because of the promises of God,

and the work of Jesus on the cross and out the tomb,

we are made fit to be with God.

Because of our Elder Brother,

we are welcomed into the heavenly places, from the get-go.

And like Abraham, we are encouraged not to simply be onlookers to this promise of fitness. No.
     We are encouraged
          to ‘plunge into the promise,’
          to ‘come up strong,’
          to ‘trust that God will make us right.’

The fitness comes to us as a gift of grace;
it becomes fully ours when we step into it and own it.

The picture I chose for today is of two brothers – a little brother and an elder one. The littler one wanted to play superheroes; the bigger brother bent down and joined him in the game – and they had a grand time on that Hawaiian beach four summers ago.

And here’s where you have to bear with me just a bit,

for a slightly stretched analogy…

Our Elder Brother has joined us in the game of life.

And even though we’ll never be the Superhero he is,

we are invited to apprentice,

to learn,

to trust,

and ultimately,

to put on that cape and FLY.

Wanna join in?

_______

O Jesus, I know this is WAY over-simplified, but somehow it helps me to see this beautiful truth of ours put into this everyday language. And remembering the sweetness of that big brother that day in 2008 helps me to picture the sweetness of your love for us. It’s not a game – this much I’ve learned the hard way – but it is an adventure. I thank you for making me fit enough to join you in it.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day TEN

March 3, 2012 By Diana

Psalm 139 – Today’s New International Version

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
   were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.

If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
They speak of you with evil intent;
   your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
   I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

_______

“Search me, O God, and know my heart…”

Have you ever wondered why this plaintive prayer is part of this particular psalm?

In earlier verses, some beautiful singing has been going on – songs of the everywhere-God, the God-from-whom-we-cannot-escape.

If the psalmist is right – and hundreds of years of Christian theology affirm that he/she is exactly right – then there is nowhere that this singer can go where God is not already present.

NOwhere.
There is no way to be outside of the presence of God.

Think about that for a moment.

The only other person in the universe from whom you can never be separated is…
yourself.

And we all know how often we wish we could run the heck somewhere – anywhere! – from ourselves, don’t we?

Yet the spiritual teachers I’ve been studying in the last few years all say something like this:
     the more we know ourselves, the more we know God;
     the closer we get to the center of who we are,
     the closer we come to God.

Which is not to say that we are God.

It is to say that doing the soul-searching work of introspection, really understanding who we are,
     how we’re wired,
     where the shadows are and
     where the light shines brightly –
this is the work that brings us closest to the heart of God.

Because God is the one who drew up the original blueprint, you see.

God is the one who sees us as we are – and as we could be.

And God is the one who can call forth from us
our very best, very brightest, very truest self.

So…

When I join the psalmist in asking God to search and know me,
I am doing the best work there is.

Because out of that work, the river of life flows from me to others.

Out of that work,
out of that searching,
the broken places in me can widen just enough
to let the light of Christ shine out into the everyday world God has asked me to inhabit.

So, then, this small prayer – the one that feels almost like an add-on – well, it’s a really big one to pray, isn’t it?

“Search me, O God. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

_______

So, with a deep intake of breath, I do pray that prayer, Lord. Help me to do the work – the hard, sometimes slogging and oh-so-slow work – of knowing myself and knowing You. May I rejoice in the assurance of your everywhere-Self; may I know the joy of your salvation and radiate that joy wherever I go.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day NINE

March 2, 2012 By Diana

Chagall Blue Windows, St. Stephen’s Church, Mainz, Germany

(I believe these were some of the ones done by his students, after his death.)

1 Corinthians 3:16-23, The Message:

You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.

Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times.

Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom.

What the world calls smart, God calls stupid.

It’s written in Scripture,

   He exposes the chicanery of the chic.
   The Master sees through the smoke screens
      of the know-it-alls.

I don’t want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours,

and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.

_______

If I let myself, I could begin to feel ever-so-slightly smug and superior to those Corinthian Christians.

They’re just a mess.

There’s sexual immorality going on, right in the congregation.

They apparently like to brag about themselves and how smart they are.

They insist on choosing sides – playing up their favorite teachers and insisting that he/she is the best.

They can’t seem to keep all the teaching straight – they forget about certain truths when it’s convenient to do so

They just don’t get the whole Jesus scene, do they? (she said, condescendingly.)

Gulp.

Ummm…I’ve just read over this list – and every single thing on it has been true in one congregation or another that I’ve been a part of.

And way more of it than I like to admit is also true of me.

Like…

An unhealthy spirit of competition.

An oh-so-convenient forgetting of some things when remembering them might be tough…

or embarrassing,

or frustrating,

or scary,

or completely counter-intuitive.

An entrenched belief that intelligence is what matters,

that education wins the day and proves the point,

that understanding things with my mind is much more important than living them with my life.

Okay. I’m feeling embarrassed, maybe just a wee bit more humble.

So…maybe I’m ready to read these words again, a little more slowly this time.

And I discover that the admonitions in this short selection of verses are ringing in my head, with chimes of

validation,

agreement and

regret.

Because I’ve certainly done my share of vandalizing this temple of mine:

too much food,

too little exercise,

too little sleep.

And I do try to keep up with the times – yes, I do.

I try to be at least minimally well-read,

to be able to support whatever position I might hold

on any given subject,

quoting chapter-and-verse of the latest ‘in’ guru.

And the very LAST thing I ever want to do is look the fool.

Heaven forbid!

Ah. That’s exactly it, isn’t it.

Heaven does not forbid my looking like a fool.

In fact, it seems that heaven encourages my looking like a fool.

Ouch.

I really don’t like the sound of that at all.

What will people think?

How will I survive the embarrassment, the humiliation?

Here’s how: by remembering.

Specifically – remembering that everything I need to know, everything I need to live – is already mine, as a gift.

A gift.

“…the world, life, death, the present, the future.”

It’s already mine.

Imagine that!

On second thought,

in light of this truth,

maybe looking the fool isn’t such a bad thing after all.

_____

Lord God Almighty, may I consistently live the life of the holy fool, one who is freed from the burden of over-caring about the opinions of others; free to live the Jesus life, to love the Jesus love, to whoop and holler or to weep and rail, all at the gentle guiding of your Spirit. Help me always to remember that the life I live – and the death I die; the present I inhabit and the future I will discover – are all mine by your gracious gift.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, personal journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day EIGHT

March 1, 2012 By Diana

Mark 2:1-12, Today’s New International Version

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

_______

Do you deal with paralysis?

I mean, are there some things in this life that literally paralyze you?

Maybe things like this:
   fear about the future;
   worry about someone you love – a child, if you have one, or a parent, a friend,
         a spouse;
   grief over the loss of a loved one or a loved relationship;
   overwhelming feelings of inadequacy;
   creeping depression;
   inertia, what the desert fathers and mothers called ‘acedia;’
   chronic fatigue;
   too many small children with too many noisy needs;
   too many teenaged children with too many mysterious needs;
   constantly feeling as though you are somehow never quite ‘enough?’
   generalized anxiety that literally stops you in your tracks.

There are lots of ways to be paralyzed.

There is, of course, physical paralysis – what seems to be described in this Jesus episode.

But there is also psychological and spiritual paralysis – an inability to make forward movement without help.

And in our story today, help is provided!

Friends see a need.
     And they see a possible solution to that need.
     They circle around.
     They brainstorm to overcome obstacles.
     They try something downright crazy, even borderline rude, to get their friend the help he needs.

And then…

Then Jesus looks at the friends, at their faith – their belief that help can be found – and he turns to the man who cannot move and says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Son.
Your sins are forgiven.

Sort of a strange thing to say, when you think about it.
And it certainly alarmed all the religious folks who were there to watch the show. According to their boxed-in picture of God and how God works, Jesus is dangerously close to blasphemy with these words, for only God can judge or forgive sin.

And it is clear that Jesus is offering forgiveness, and out of forgiveness, healing.

But…is Jesus also casting judgment on this man?
On top of the grief and pain of paralysis, is Jesus laying a guilt trip on the guy?

I don’t think so.

He calls him, ‘son,’ for one thing,
a term of endearment, tenderness, concern.

Sounds a lot more like compassion than judgment to my ears.
With these words, Jesus is making a statement about us all; he offers a recognition of our oh-so-human condition.

Because, you see
   we are broken (and in need of healing)
   and we are sinful (and in need of forgiveness),
     all of it the result of our shared human compulsion
          to be our own god.

And Jesus came to save us from all of it –
     the sin bits and the broken bits –
and to restore to us
     the grace,
     the beauty,
     and the divine image
that is part of the original design.

So why not say, “Your sins are forgiven?”
And then, of course, also say, “Be healed.”

But here’s the piece I don’t want to miss – oh, I really don’t want to miss this!

WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER when paralysis takes over.
We can pool our faith with that of one or two or three others – perhaps when our paralyzed friends can’t quite find their own?

And then we can lean into our shared faith (where two or three are gathered, right?) as we carry our paralyzed friend into the very presence of Jesus.

We can circle around,
     we can brainstorm creatively and lovingly,
     we can identify where help can be found, and
     we can help carry our friend into exactly the right place,
the place of healing and forgiveness.

Isn’t that amazing?

_______

Great Healer, Great Savior – You are the help we need. Thank you for inviting us into the helping circle with you. And thank you for revealing Truth with a capital “T” to skilled and willing people who can help us to deal with medical/ psychological/emotional/spiritual maladies. Help me to see what this man’s friends saw – to see people in trouble and to work and pray and recommend and refer and carry them bodily if I have to, so that more and more of us can move toward health and wholeness. So that we can get ‘unstuck,’ pick up our mats and walk outta here.

Click here for day one of this series and an explanation of what it’s all about.

Filed Under: biblical reflection, Lenten Journey, Wonderings in the Word

A Lenten Journey: Climbing to the Cross – Day SEVEN

February 29, 2012 By Diana

1 Corinthians 6:12-30, Today’s New International Version:

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived—
these things God has prepared for those who love him”—

for God has revealed them to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit within? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

_______

Just when I begin to get comfortable with a passage of scripture, just when I think maybe I’ve got it nailed – something strange happens.

I read it again.

And sure enough, I see something new there,
something I hadn’t seen before,
something that catches me off guard.

The passage we’ve just read is a prime example:

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God…”

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God…”

And here all this time, I thought the Spirit was the quieter
member of this Trinity Godhead,
   The Comforter,
   The Consoler,
   The Advocate.

Yes…but…this passage seems to imply that there might be a few other monikers that would fit Person #3:
   The Infiltrator
   The Instigator
   The Explainer
   The Translator

The same Spirit who searches the deep things of God
is the One who indwells us,
guiding us into understanding,
understanding some of those very deep things that
the Spirit has been searching out in the Mind of God Almighty.

Okay, brain freeze here.
If this is true, then how come we’ve still got so many ‘discussions’
going on the larger church,
so many points of serious disagreement about scripture,
history, gender roles, science…
you name it, we’ve got heated talk going on about it.

Well, for one thing, we’re a messy lot out here in Christendom.
Our antennae are notoriously faulty.
We pay more attention to that loudmouth person over there – the one we really, really do not like,
(or the one we secretly idolize),
than we do to the still, small voice.

And maybe it’s got something to do with this line from Paul’s letter to Corinth:

“…no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

It is so easy for us to lose sight of this truth.
We think we’ve got the inside scoop on the mind of God,
that we’ve got a corner on ‘the whole truth.’

When maybe what’s called for is a tiny piece of humility.
A recognition that there are lots and LOTS of things we don’t know and never will.
That “no human mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”

And here is a good and true thing about this time of the year:
     Lent is exactly the right time for growing in humility.
     Lent is exactly the right time for continuing conversion.
     Lent is exactly the right time for lifting our hands to heaven and crying,
    “Be God, God. By your Spirit at work in the church, teach us to listen to you and to one another. Teach us to walk humbly with you. And to walk humbly with each other, too.”
_______

Holy Spirit, I thank you that you refuse to be put into a box of our design. You are free, you are powerful, you are loving, and you are convicting. Help us to tune up our antennae this Lenten season. Help us to tune in to YOU.