iCrucified

Archive for the ‘Becoming the Word’ Category

Please die.

“What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation…” [Galatians 6:15]

I wonder why we so often push back against the Holy Spirit? Here we are, heirs and inheritors of all the promises of God, every one, and so many times we are want to push back against Him and follow our own inclinations and desires. This summer has been a roller coaster ride for me in every facet of my being; emotionally, physically, and spiritually… and while I continue to implement the tools God has given me through the gifts of spiritual discipline I continue to wrestle and war against the nature of self within me. The flesh of “me” pushes back against the “perfecting nature of God” within me. I despise that. I give thanks and glory to God that I can choose to submit to His Spirit, but I don’t like for one minute that I have to choose in the first place.

“…and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.” [Galatians 3:28] “And because we are His children, God sent the Spirit of His Son (Jesus) into our hearts, prompting us to call out ‘Abba, Father.’” [Galatians 4:6]

God has sent the Spirit of Jesus into our hearts… therefore; it would seem to me, that we can follow Him. We can truly, literally, and successfully live a life, walk a life, and exhibit the grace and presence of the life that Jesus lived [1 John 2:6]. So, back to my question, I wonder why such a battle rages within me. I wonder why I consider my wants first; I wonder why I filter things through my perspectives first? I wonder why I seek out my comforts first.  I generally will choose to make these thoughts subservient to the concerns and needs of others, but I wonder why, so often, I have to make the choice to choose their needs and thoughts over mine in the first place. It would seem to me that my old nature has not been completely crucified. [sigh]

“I have been crucified. With Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now love in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself up for me.” [Galatians 2:20].

And this is my cry… This is my prayer; that one day I will be able to say these words, as did the Apostle Paul, with conviction and authority. One day I will know that the war of my flesh and the raging “me” of self will be complete. I live by faith today that all the promises of God are yes and amen, but I live with hope looking forward to the culmination of all things Christ… including Him within me. May it be so, for the glory of  You, Christ Jesus, my Savior. Amen.

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Distraction or Incarnation …the choice is ours

For the majority of this month (August) I have been reading and meditating on the letter from Paul to the Galatians. As reflected in some of my other blog posts, one of the prominent thoughts I have had during this time of meditation has been the apostle’s concern for the Galatians and how easily they have been distracted from the path of Christ Jesus [Galatians 3:1]. In my opinion, we have not made much progress since the letter was written… We too are easily distracted, or “bewitched,” to borrow the word most commonly used and translated from Paul’s letter. Let me share with you a personal example…

Among other things, my new job has been weighing on me; there are several factors that contribute to this weight, but they are not really the point of this posting. What is important is that I recognize how easily I can be distracted if I allow myself to be “bewitched” by the weight of my job or any other of the myriad of things taking place in the machine works of my daily life. As I’ve paralleled this Letter to the Galatians alongside “my world” I’ve realized how quickly my love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) can be tested and jeopardized by my choice to remove my focus from the illuminated and guiding voice of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This morning while on my way to work, with all of this weighing on me, I turned to my wife and said to her; “I don’t like being distracted… I don’t like being bewitched. I don’t want to have my focus removed from the Presence of God even for a minute. I don’t want to be lured into a chase that does not lead to embodiment of the fruit of God’s Spirit.” We continued our conversation during the short ride to my job and I resolved to be a living representation of Jesus to the people I encountered… it is, after all, what we are called to be, incarnations of the Christ. I am pretty sure that some people I spoke to may not have been aware that they encountered Jesus, but I know that they did. As I prayed before entering work and as I prayed again before speaking to my first customer, and as I prayed again before interacting with my fellow trainees and peers I asked God to help me live Him. It is my most humble and heartfelt prayer:

“Dear Jesus, through Your grace and by Your Spirit, help me to allow others to encounter You through me and likewise, help me to remain focused upon Your Presence that I do not miss You living through the life of others I encounter. May Your Presence be in me and in my view through every moment of every day. Amen.”

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Agitated, Distracted, and Bewitched – Part 2

“What is bewitching you?”

I extend apologies if my words that follow sound somewhat random in my opening remarks. I don’t know if you are following along or not, but you can catch up here if you’re interested in where this is coming from… I’m still following reflections on the Letter from Paul to the Galatians.

Regardless of our understanding with issues of spiritual depression or those “dark nights of the soul,” Jesus said He would never forsake us… “Lo, I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20). So then, what happens when we feel removed from, or distant from, the Presence of God? Consider emotions like anxiety, stress, anxiousness, aggravation, and agitation (to name a few). Where do these feelings come from; how do those feelings invade our being when we may have been (just moments before) experiencing sweet peace and fellowship with God’s indwelling Holy Spirit?

I realize my commentary may seem to have deviated from the original intent of the Letter to Galatians, but I think my thoughts remain true to the uber-arche that is the human and “that” is part of the narrative that is this letter. The writer, Paul, asks his listeners what has “bewitched” them… what has distracted them to the point they would leave the greatest liberating force of their lives in order to follow a paradigm that is no force at all and whose destination is sure despair, destruction, and ultimate defeat.

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. [Galatians 5:16-26]

Distractions

The blessing of new creation (which is what we become) through the redeeming, reconciling, and restoring work of Jesus Christ provides believers the means and empowerment to live daily and always in the Presence of the Triune God. The formerly broken relationship between man and God is reconciled and restored… on this side of Eternity, in this present and physical world, we are permitted to walk in whole and holy relationship with the God of the universe. We are capable of and invited to experience the blessed guidance and counsel of the same Spirit of God that inhabited and empowered the risen Savior-God, Jesus Christ.

Reality Check

Personally, I can’t help but examine and ponder my own experience compared to the “new creation life” that I read about in the Bible (especially the New Testament). I fully believe the Bible and its entire claim to be true; otherwise I would not be striving to follow it. Therefore, I believe my experience should be more closely aligned with, and reflective of, the thoughts I share in the paradigm of the aforementioned paragraph. Is it? Is my experience fully submitted to the Spirit’s leading? Do I live in complete harmony with Jesus?

I want to answer yes, but find myself becoming distracted or “bewitched” by the smoke and mirror trickery of powers and principalities of this world. Don’t misunderstand my words; I do not believe there is demonic influence or oppression behind every distraction or trial of man. I do believe our present world is still in a fallen state and subject to that “fallenness.” However, as I have also expressed in other blog posts, I  believe that we are in a state of redemption and being redeemed… meaning there is still yet to come a whole and ultimate redemption, but we are still permitted and invited into participation of redemption-reconciliation-restoration through the work of Jesus Christ today… now.

What about distractions and being “bewitched” though?

Ok. So, (1) we are permitted to live in reconciled relationship with God, (2) we are able to take control of oppressive thoughts and bring them into submission to the Lordship of Christ, (3) we are capable of living in peace, joy, and godly love, and (4) we are given the choice to follow the unfailing guidance of the Holy Spirit of God Almighty who indwells the heart, mind, and soul of the transformed believer. We believe, according to Jesus, the kingdom of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration of God is here today and still yet to come, but we are capable of experiencing the fruit of the ultimate kingdom today… on this side of eternity. Why do we still choose to pursue distractions and allow ourselves to become “bewitched?”

Speaking out loud from my own experience and observation, I think the problem of our “bewitching” (the distractions of life that remove our focus and sight from God) is twofold. The first is our failure to truly accept the forgiveness and freedom of His grace to us. I think this stems from a continued lack of trust in the God we profess to trust. This problem goes back to the first sin of man (Adam) and we continue to suffer from it. In most cases with man and sin, we can find that pride and trust intermix to overthrow God as the Sovereign in our lives. Ultimately, since we do not trust God, we seek to find bastions of our present reality to cement our trust and place our faith (work-career, social status, participation or non-participation in certain activities, affiliations with groups and organizations, and etc) …and this, removes our focus and relationship with God to something else which ultimately deceives and fails us.

The second problem is systemic to our Greek influenced Western world. Our general approach to the essence of life is dualistic and also suffers from various forms of Gnosticism (follow the links to learn more on those terms). In very simple language, we separate our relationship and compartmentalize most facets of worshiping God and following the ways of Jesus Christ in our lives. We toss around terms like “spiritual life” and “secular world” as if this is the normal way of viewing our relationship with God… the inner life and the outer life. We have been bewitched by thinking this way. The Hebrew mind (and the teaching God gives to us) does not separate the essence of man or the life he lives. We are commanded to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” There is so much more that can be said about this, but I’ll save that for another time.

A recent reading from a piece from Joan Chittister expressed much more eloquently than I could, a clear image of this duality. She writes as follows:

The private preserves of the spiritual life are far from dead, however. It is so much easier to go to daily Mass and feel good about it than it is to serve soup at a soup kitchen. It is so much more comfortable to say bedtime prayers than it is to speak peace in a warring world. It is so much more satisfying to contribute to the building of a new church than it is to advocate welfare legislation. It is so much more heroic to fast than it is to be patient with a noisy neighbor. It is so much easier to give the handshake of peace in church than it is to speak gently in the family. And yet one without the other is surely fraud if life with God in community is truly of the essence of real spiritual growth.

The messages of the Prologue (The Rule of Benedict) are clear: Life is very short. To get the most out of it, we must begin to attend to its spiritual dimensions without which life is only half lived. Holiness is in the Now but we go through life only half conscious of it, asleep or intent on being someplace other than where we are. We need to open our eyes and see things as they exist around us: what is valuable and what is not, what enriches and what does not, what is of God and what is not. It may be the neighborhood we live in rather than the neighborhood we want that will really make human beings out of us. It may be the job we have rather than the position we are selling our souls to get that will finally liberate us from ourselves.  It may be what we do rather than the prayers we pray that will finally be the measure of our sanctity.

God is calling us to more than the material level of life and God is waiting to bring us to it. All we have to do is to live well with others and live totally in God. All we have to do is to learn to listen to the voice of God in life. And we have to do it heart, soul, and body. The spiritual life demands all of us.  ~~Joan Chittister; The Rule of Benedict – Insights For the Ages [pp.31-32]

Why are we so easily bewitched? Why are we so quick to follow a way that is not The Way?

I caught glimpse of another parallel this weekend. Paul writes with direct reference in his letter to the Galatians concerning the old covenants (Abrahamic and Mosaic) and the new covenant of Jesus Christ. This past weekend I was in a worship gathering and heard a teaching from Hebrews 12:18-29. In this letter the writer recalls the first meeting of the Israelites with God at Sinai following the exodus from Egypt. I don’t recall the entire point of the teaching, but my mind was drawn to the similarities I noticed from my own study and reflection on this Galatians letter and this text from Hebrews. The writer is sharing his words in a very forthright manner or so it seems. There appears to be an urgency in his words for his readers to understand what he is saying… it’s as if they too have lost their way. Sinai still exists today for so many Christians who decide that living in the shadow of fear, the unknown, and an angry, unpredictable god (lower case intended) is better than living in wholly continuous fellowship with the God of Zion. The problem, in my opinion, is that many people consider “living in Zion” to be more work and more costly in personal sacrifice than the cost of living in the shadow of Sinai. Truthfully, it is…more costly to live in Zion. Zion cost Christ his life, the cost for us is nothing less than the same. The cost of Sinai is occasional sacrifice, but Sinai brings with it the covenant reward of death. The consequence of choosing Sinai over Zion is eternally catastrophic…and the ripples of that forward-reaching catastrophe reverberate with every tick of the second hand during our present-world existence. We follow our own truth and our improperly lit paths, because we have rejected the illuminated path of whole-hearted surrender that is the price of the Christ Journey.

Can we live in harmony with God; experiencing the sweetness of His Presence in every moment regardless of circumstance? The Scriptures tell us yes. If we disagree, the logical conclusion is that Scripture is a lie or we are a lie. If we follow Scripture according to our own interpretation and selection, we do not follow the God who has chosen to speak to us through His Scripture. The writer of Hebrews emphatically reminds us; “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.” (Hebrews 12:25)

How is God speaking to you? What is He saying…? What is your answer? Are you tired of being deceived?

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Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? (Or “who has cast an evil spell on you?”)[Galatians 3:1] Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits. [Galatians 4:8-9] I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. [Galatians 1:6]

I continue to meditate daily on the Scripture from Galatians and seek God to teach me understanding from these passages as I go through my dailyness. One of the thoughts in an earlier post included some consideration given to the question from Paul the Apostle; “who has bewitched you?” I haven’t been able to completely shake this question and I keep returning to it, seeing so many things that “bewitch” us and mislead us…taking us away from the Presence of God during our day and wandering off on the “rabbit trails” that would bewitch us and distract us from His Glory. This morning, I read the following from Sister Joan Chittister:

Agitation drives out consciousness of God. When we’re driven by agitation, consumed by fretting, we become immersed in our own agenda and it is always exaggerated. We get caught up in things that, in the final analysis. Simply don’t count, in things that pass away, in things that are concerned with living comfortably rather than living well. We go to pieces over crying children and broken machines and the length of stop lights at intersections. We lose touch with the center of things.

At the same time, a kind of passive tranquility is not the aim of Benedictine life. The call of this spirituality is to be gentle ourselves and to bring nonviolence in our wake. It is an amazing position for a sixth-century document to take in a violent world. There is no Armageddon theology here, no call to a pitched battle between good and evil in a world that subscribed to dualism and divided life into things of the spirit and things of the flesh.  Joan Chittister; The Rule of Benedict, p.24.

We can be so easily distracted… the one thing that everyone seeks, regardless of their awareness of it or not, and regardless of the visible object of their chase …is God. It is the hunger of our souls. It is amazing how easily we are distracted from seeking Him and settling for a lesser god. What is bewitching you?

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Freedom’s just another word…

I’m still “mining gold” from the Letter to Galatians… and I still don’t have this one all “worked” out, but I’m gonna share my thoughts anyway. Forgive me if they seem a little scattered and not completely cohesive.

I love the dialectic approach of the Apostle as he presents his case to the Galatians. His series of arguments throughout the letter arrive at their culminating truth in chapter five; “…What is important is faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6). He expresses this “bottom line” idea and then presents an illustration of freedom from the perspective of God versus the view of mankind.

“You have been called to live in freedom, use your freedom to serve one another in love. The whole Law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another… Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” [Galatians 5:13-16]

Freedom…

Yesterday while I was in my training class for a new job, a memo was circulated reminding the employees that our company practices a “Tobacco Free” policy. This means no tobacco products on the company property…at all. No smoking, dipping, or chewing… at all. There are no designated areas, and it’s not allowed in your car in the company parking lot. Tobacco free means not allowed. Needless to say, this inspired the ire of a number of dissenters. A few brief conversations lit up the classroom with a couple of them sparking thought in my own mind. One of the comments posed was something about “land of the free…” Another comment questioned the “rights of the people.” Still another comment came in these words; “too many rules will kill people.” There were a few other ideas and comments over this memo, but I believe you get the gist. People weren’t happy; including quite a few non-smokers.

I think what is interesting to me is the skewed understanding of “freedom;” what it means and how it plays out. To one person, freedom means they are allowed or “free” to do whatever they please. Actually, this definition of freedom sounds more like anarchy to me than it does freedom. Ironically, this person’s freedom (to do as and when they please) may impinge the “freedom” of another person. Let’s use smoking cigarettes as an example. Person one chooses to exercise their freedom to smoke in an area designated as a break area at our place of employment. I exercise my freedom to take a break in the designated area. I’m not a smoker, yet because the nature of smoking entails smoke, I invariably end up having my freedom violated with smoke (smelling it myself, ingesting it into my system, and having my clothes scented with it). In this case, one person’s exercise of freedom becomes another person’s violation of freedom.

I don’t know how prevalent this definition of freedom is, but over the course of my life’s experience I’ve heard quite a few people define freedom as being able to “do as they please.” True, some more generous folks will qualify that definition to include: “free to do as I please as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else.” However, the defining points of that qualification are subjective. Who, or what, defines “harm?” Reality suggests that we share space on this planet and that being the case; one person’s freedom is another person’s oppression. In truth, our freedom (to do as we please) only extends to the tip of our nose before we invade the space of someone or something else.  This, I believe, is what Paul suggests when he writes; “You have been called to live in freedom, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” What does using your freedom to serve one another in love really mean; and what does it look like?

Freedom & Love and Love & Freedom

The Apostle groups together some very choice words: faith, freedom, and love. He writes; “…What is important is faith expressing itself in love” and “You have been called to live in freedom, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” How does love express itself?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. [1 Corinthians 13:4-8]

The freedom that displays this type of love is not born of narcissistic indulgence. No, the freedom that displays this type of love is selfless and sacrificial in execution. A high bar that seems counterintuitive to what we would understand “freedom” to be. According to the argument presented by Paul, freedom is equivalent to slavery… self-willed and self-imposed to be sure, but slavery nonetheless. It almost doesn’t seem fair… until:

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:5-11]

Are we capable of extolling and lavishing this type of servant love upon another human being? Maybe we can do it for people we like or care deeply for. Can we exude this type of “freedom-born” love upon a human being we do not like? Can we love people we don’t like? Hmmm… Tough questions for sure, but “…what is important is faith expressing itself in love” and “you have been called to live in freedom, so use your freedom to serve one another in love.” This was the attitude of Christ, and the Apostle Paul informs us that our attitude must be the same. Can we do it? Yes, we can. It begins with our willingly laying aside our rights; Jesus said this was denying self to take up our cross and follow Him. You will remember the Apostle’s words from earlier in this letter: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” [Galatians 2:20].

Freedom; is it the permission to do as I please?

Or, is “Freedom just another word for nothing left to lose…”

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So, I’ve been thinking about this passage of Scripture for the past couple of days…

So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? [Galatians 4:9 ---NLT]

Before I get into what I’ve been thinking about, let’s look at a couple more versions (or translations) of this passage:

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? [NASB]

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? [NIV]

The context of this passage is dealing with Gentile converts who had been proselytized by the Jewish Christians. These Judaizers had been following the missionary stops of Paul (the apostle) and introduced a different gospel to the new believers. In this letter to the young believers in Galatia, Paul sternly rebukes them for abandoning the message of truth and freedom he had preached to them. Great. Wonderful… and I mean this. The lesson, message, and encouragement gleaned from this story alone is fantastic, but is there something more the Holy Spirit would minister to me? I think there is…

First, Paul begins, “So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you).” My heart is cut to the quick with this statement. I go through my life rather confident that “I know God.” And I believe that I do. However, as I have let these words sink into the deep parts of my mind and heart over the last couple of days I wonder how far the reflection of my life falls short of “now that I know God.” I don’t mean this to be a false humility moment, I’m serious. I try to live my life above reproach and I’m striving to learn and grow in the ways of Jesus. I earnestly study, pray, and practice spiritual disciplines. I involve myself in the community of faith and Jesus-following disciples around me. I am conscious of the areas that need people who are purposing the Kingdom of God and try to join along in that work as best I can with what I am able to contribute; my money, my time, my talents, and other resources as they are realized. But, I still feel as though I fall short. “Now that I know God,” is an incredible statement packed with implication, indebtedness, inference, and invitation. I feel as though the weight of that realization is almost more than I can bear; the mere attempt at understanding what it means to “know God” is over my head, and I tremble.

Perhaps this is why we are not so unlike the Galatians. Paul asks them; “why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?” Going back to the comfortable and the known is not so scary as the unknown… even if this means being a slave to it; even if it means settling for a fraction of the life that we have been promised. The Bible is full of these examples throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, and our own history is full of examples as well. Honestly, I too am an example of this. I am an example in many ways. I’ve been distracted by the noises and tyranny of life around me. I’ve made excuses for not fully engaging in work that God is involved in… I’ve allowed my health; physical and mental, to affect my spiritual development. And, I could go on and on I’m sure. The truth is all of the examples I’ve given and more I’m sure, are examples of “going back again and becoming a slave to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world.” We are told the battle we wage is not of this world, but principalities that war in heavenly places for our soul (Ephesians 6:12). When I remove my eyes from the glory of God, when I allow myself to be distracted by the anxious things of this world… I am becoming a slave to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world. To my understanding, I do not think I am overly out of context with the application of this passage of Scripture. Might this strike us as closer to home and more in line with the text??? If all my actions are observing the rules of my particular church (don’t touch, don’t say, don’t watch, don’t think…) and the most I apply the words and teachings of my faith is in the context of the law’s letter (Sunday school, weekly worship services, the occasional service project), how am I different than those following the Judaizers? Or, if I do attempt to follow after the Jesus I profess my love, and my actions are to endear me to Him… am I attempting to earn His favor? Where is the freedom in this?

No. I don’t want to fall short. I don’t want to feel tired or fearful as I endeavor to become like Jesus. I want to live in freedom and I want to confidently say “I know God, or He knows me.” And, I don’t want to freak out about that. I desire to live in the freedom and confidence of position in the person of my Savior, Jesus. When we live like this, great things happen for the kingdom of God, and He is exalted before men. I pray this continues to serve as a reminder and a call to action. A call to drop the pretense, a call to abandon the useless spiritual principles of this world, and a call to embrace the always present Presence of the Living God who has enabled me and empowered me to share in His Person and His Spirit. Praise Him.

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Volatile Grace

I have written several times in recent months with reference to the Rule of Benedict and my study of Benedictine spirituality. This past week I began a new book, this one by Joan Chittister, The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages. This morning I was stricken with the gravity of negative implication of God’s grace. Yes, I said negative. I realize the thought itself is counter intuitive to our thinking…and seemingly so I would think, but read on.

“…the rule implies, we have been given a grace that is volatile. To feel it and ignore it, to receive it but reject it, the paragraph suggests, is to be in a worse situation than if we had never paid any attention to the spiritual life at all. For disregard of God’s good gifts, Benedict says, for refusing to use the resources we have for the upbuilding of the reign of God, for beginning what we do not intend to complete, the price is high. We are disinherited. We lose what is ours for the taking. We miss out on the life we are meant to have. We are dealt with, not as children of the owner who know instinctively that they are meant to grow into new and deeper levels of relationship here, but as hired help in the house, as people who look like they are part of the family but who never reap its real benefits or know its real nature. In failing to respond to God everywhere God is around us, we may lose the power of God that is in us.

Wow. Personally, I’ll be chewing on this for awhile and bringing additional comments later (you might be interested in comparing some some thoughts I had in a similar vein here), but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the meantime.

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Like a Punch in the Faith…

So… is it more like a “punch in the face” or a “punch in the faith”??? Right now the jury is still out as I work through the latest in a string of transitions for our life in Olympia, WA. What am I talking about? Actually, I’m talking about “punching a clock face on faith…” meh. Or, something like that… All kidding aside, I started a new job today. Laurie started hers last week. With both of us in our (whispers…) “forties,” it feels a little odd starting over again. I think it was especially odd feeling for me when I was clearly one of the oldest people in the room; there was definitely a generational divide. Much to my joy, there didn’t seem to be any notice of this from the other “newbies” in my training class.

What does this have to do with faith? Everything… I think. Can I take a minute to explain? Okay, bear with me a minute.

Me = first day at work. I’m a growing (ever so gracefully) older man entering a young-adult-entry-level customer service job. My first inclination is to say; “Self, what in the world are you doing here?” I look around and begin to feel scared and/or sorry for myself. I begin to fantasize about doing anything but what I’m doing at the moment. I start to project forward in time to when I am no longer doing the work I’m doing, but something more gratifying and satisfying. Then I remember why I am where I am… Faith. Faith brought me to where I am. Following Jesus brought me to Olympia. Part of Olympia is my willingness to say “yes” to God and trust His leading and His provision. Part of His provision is through my new employer. My obedience to God translates to my becoming a blessing to my employer; all of the sudden the paradigm of my predicament flip-flops and turns from destination depression to divine direction. And that’s how it happens; being led by the Spirit.

It is all too easy to follow the path of self. We do it all the time; protecting self, defending self, boasting self, exalting self, feeding self…self, self, self. However, the journey of following Jesus is about self denial and that presupposes that one scenario will exclude the other. Self cannot follow Jesus; He said so (Luke 14:25-27 and Matthew 16:24). So anyway, pushing self aside and listening instead to the Spirit we find our way to purpose and living in harmony with God. We find our way to unity with the Spirit and advancement of God’s Kingdom and His divine Purpose. And, this is where my day ended… Joyfully exuberant that God would see me feeling as though I were “punched in the face” and reminding me that I was practicing a punch in my faith. So, when I “punch my clock” each morning at my God given new job… I’ll delightfully remember that He brought me to where I am and He’ll teach me, guide me, and use me in the purposes of His choosing all for His glory. I’ll remember to leave self at home.

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390 Miles of Mountains, Valleys, Rivers, and Streams… [Day 6]

Wow. Six days (starting the seventh now…) on the road in about 30 square feet of living space shared by three people; this is what we call “quality” family time. For some folks this might seem like a nightmare, but it has been an experience that we will recall fondly for the remainder of our lives… hopefully I’m not just speaking for myself. We have enjoyed breathtaking beauty that could only have been created and sustained by the Hand of God, shared prayers together, made new memories together, and talked excitedly and expectantly of what our new future holds. We are grateful to God who has called us and welcome freely His Hand to work in us and through us. We are thankful for the friends and family who have upheld our journey with prayer and loving communication for the past week. We know that it is the faithful prayers of those wonderful people that has buoyed our spirit and helped us to remain riveted upon the Presence that never leaves or forsakes us. All Praise to God and may He bless those who have been a blessing to us. Amen.

Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way: the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. (Rule of St Benedict 4:20-26)

Additional Shout Outs

Gotta give some serious props to a few people…

Truckers; man O man… These guys and gals don’t get enough credit. They provide much of the backbone support for keeping America running and probably don’t get near enough respect for the job they do or the logistical support they provide. So, here’s to you Truckers! You people rock. You are also much more generous and kind over the road than I have given you credit for in the past. Now that I have had the “small” experience of walking a little bit in your shoes, I understand a bit more of what you go through on a daily basis. I have a new found and deep respect for what you do and what you must endure in the course of doing your job. May God Bless you in your work and may He keep you safe as you do it.

Roadside Rest workers; you deserve a pat on the back. Thanks for keeping them clean and a pleasant oasis for us tired and bladder stretched travelers. These little outposts along the way of a long journey are often taken for granted… not by me; never again. Thank you people who work to keep them clean and welcoming.

People who keep the GPS Satellites working; thank you. I love my Garmin GPS, but without the Satellites and the people who keep them running and streaming data back to it… well, it wouldn’t be worth anything… so, you people who invent the technology and keep the stuff running to make my little Garmin so happy, THANK YOU! I’d be lost without you.

“A man who, while remembering God, respects every man, by a hidden movement of God’s hand himself receives help from every man. A man who protects the injured has God as his helper; a man who stretches his hand to aid his brother has God’s arm to support him.” (Issac of Syria)

About our travel yesterday…

On a more solemn note, we were sorrowful to miss another opportunity that we weren’t in the “know” about. As we passed through Clinton, Montana we realized it is the home of the Testicle Festival. This is certainly a grandiose affair that every person should experience at least once in a lifetime. Sadly, we won’t be in the area when the festival convenes this year. Maybe we’ll make it some other time for the delight that is lamb frys and mountain oysters (ewww).

We experienced much more of the same beauty; more majestic mountains, valleys, rivers, and streams. The view and landscape continues to change and provide us with variety for our viewing pleasure. Words do not describe the grandeur and splendor that our eyes have beheld. We have often heard how beautiful this particular area of the country is and we have not been disappointed. I only wish the photos we provide in the slideshow were a better representation of what we have seen with our own eyes.

Today will end our trip across America as we expect to pull into the port of Olympia sometime late this afternoon. We’ll update you again soon… Keep praying for us! God Bless You!

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446 Miles, BBQ, Fireworks, and the Fourth of July [Day 5]

We departed Sundance, Wyoming with a steady drizzling rain pushing us down the road and had in mind to make Belgrade, Montana (just outside of Bozeman, MT) our goal for the day/evening. There was no real agenda or itinerary for stops or sightseeing for this day. Since it was the Fourth of July, we figured we’d make distance our holiday and push as many miles behind us as we could…I was counting on most people doing parties and cookouts and not being on the road with us. My plan worked; the road was rather barren of travelers and there wasn’t much in the way of attractions along our way for this leg of the journey.

Beautiful Panoramic Landscapes

“Lord how glorious are your works…” (Psalm 92:5)

The journey between Sundance and Belgrade was an interesting mix; there were hills, mountains, high desert, and plains. The views were incredible. We also traveled through the Crow Indian Reservation… not so majestic (sad face). We have traveled (over the years) through a number of American Indian Reservations and the ones we have experienced (Northeast, Mid-South, Southwest, and Alaska) have all been a very depressing to me. I don’t want to get all “soapboxy” about the subject, but I personally feel that we have committed atrocities and disservice to the Native Americans more than any other people group on the planet. I was especially keen to this feeling of depression as I observed the figurative juxtaposition of our own 4^th of July celebration against the witness of a people without a lot of freedom, liberty, and justice. I was also reminded of some of the horrendous atrocities of the “Indian Wars” as we traveled through Little Big Horn, Custer’s Last Stand, and a few other notable battle sites. (sigh).

“Know that the Lord he is God: it is he who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people.” (Psalm 100:2)

Highlights

Not much to recall on this day’s journey… One thing I can say is that my upper body and shoulders are getting extremely fatigued. It’s been five days on the road for daylight to dark and my upper body is Ti – red. I need a break or a serious massage. Fortunately, I think we will finish the drive in a couple more outings. Of course, I have to unload and unpack then, but I’m hoping for an adrenaline rush to get me through that (smile).

Ok, so here’s the highlight of the day …and it didn’t come to us until the very end of the trip.

We decided to eat in Bozeman, Montana (the choices were better according to the Garmin). We arrived around 8pm and I’m pretty whipped; my arms and shoulders are in knots and I’m pretty “flat-lined” of the brain. Seeing an Applebees Restaurant and a Famous Dave’s BBQ close together with a huge strip mall parking lot between them, I decided to pull in and park the Big Ole Yeller Truck. I pulled into an open spot in front of a Camero not noticing (at the time) there was a man sitting in the car. I wasn’t close mind you… I pulled into a spot with yellow lines on both sides of me. The Camero was pulled in perpendicular to the “lined spots” actually taking up three parking spots with his car. Fast-forward… I turned off the engine and opened up the door and Camero-man was out of his car and scowling at me. He says; “You have this whole parking lot and you have to pull up right in front of me???” This was said with little veins bulging in his temples and big veins bulging in his neck. I’m like, (calmly)… “I’m sorry, would you like me to move?” He scowled more and said “no” and then complained a bit more about my choice of parking spot… and I apologized again and asked once more if he’d like me to move the truck… this time jumping back into the seat and making motion to start the engine. He declined my offer again and hopped into his car and moved to the other side of Ole Yeller, still parking perpendicular to the lines and pointing to the strip mall.

Chapter Two

We decided to eat BBQ and had a delightful meal. We took our time and it was close to 10:00pm when we finished and just getting fully dark outside. Remember this was the 4^th of July… and we were in Bozeman, MT. When we stepped outside, heading back to the truck and ready to make Belgrade, MT for the evening and our Holiday Inn Express, we were greeted to fireworks in the sky at every point of the compass. They were being shot in several locations filling the “big night sky” of Bozeman. And… The parking lot, streets, curbs, and sidewalks were FULL of People and I mean FULL. This was Camero Man’s reason for fussing at us. We had parked in an area that would obscure his view of the fireworks. Of course, being interlopers into the land of “Big Sky” and all things Bozeman, we had no clue. We get an “F” in local protocol, but Laurie said I had the attitude of Jesus when I was accosted by “Wanting-to-watch-fireworks-camero-man,” so all in all I think we were able to score a passing grade of C+ as missionaries on this evening.

Chapter Three and Epilogue

It wasn’t easy getting Ole Yeller out from the sea of people and from under the “pyrotechnic big sky of Bozeman” and we got a little twisted around to boot. The Garmin doesn’t like getting turned around in parking lots and starts freaking out like “Rainman” repeating “recalculating, recalculating, turn left then left, then.. recalculating, turn right then left, recalculating…” so, I got kinda lost and had to go about 5 miles into the gunpowder and sulfur smelling crowds of Bozeman before I could find a “recalculated route” around the congregations paying homage to the “technicolor fire gods of the sky.” In the end, we found Belgrade… the Holiday Inn Express… and a great night’s rest. I’m ready to press on to Spokane, Washington today. Pray for us as we take on the Bitterroot and Swan Mountains. God Bless!

A Certain philosopher asked St Anthony: Father, how can you be so happy when you are deprived of the consolation of books? Anthony replied: My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me. (Desert Fathers: CIII)

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