iCrucified

Archive for the ‘Incarnational’ Category

I am following the Revised Common Lectionary (Cycle C) as my primary Scripture reading for this Lenten Season. This week my concentration has been on passages from Psalms, Genesis, Philippians and Luke. This morning’s meditation was reflecting on the following passages again and the thoughts that Holy Spirit had brought to me during the week.

Remembering –Luke 9:28-36

And –Philippians 3:12-17

^{LUKE 9:32-35} “Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory… Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, ‘Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials.’  Then a Voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to Him.’”

_{MY COMMENTS (JB)} “When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory…” This is the case with us as well. When we “wake up” from our spiritual slumber, we see Jesus’ glory. Unfortunately, we don’t always respond in the fashion that is most beneficial for our development as Jesus’ followers. A cursory look around us indicates that our favorite response is that of Peter. We love our “church experience.” We go to great lengths to create an “experience” in our congregational gatherings… it is as if the thing we venerate is the “experience” over the God of the experience… just like Peter (Master, it’s wonderful here…let’s make shelters as memorials). Our churches have become more “sheltered memorials” than houses of worship and spiritual development centers. If we are truly worshiping the God of our memorial shelters, we will be hearing Him say, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to Him.” The evidence of our hearing will manifest itself in changed—transformed lives. If the fruit of our worship does not manifest itself in producing lasting fruit for the kingdom of God, it only stands to reason that we are worshiping something other than the Chosen One. In all likelihood, we are probably worshiping our memorial…and that equates to worshiping something we have created, and ultimately, worshiping ourselves.

^{PHILIPPIANS 3:12-17} “I have not attained perfection, but I press on to posses that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me… No, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the heavenly prize for which God, through Jesus is calling us… Let the spiritually mature agree on these things… If you disagree, I believe God will make it plain to you… Pattern your lives after mine…”

_{MY COMMENTS (JB)} The vast majority of “professing Christians” are exactly that; professing Christians… not practicing Christians (1 John 2:4-6). The work of “attaining perfection” is loathsome to most people. Everything about the life of following after Jesus rails against our nature… and this is the problem. We have not willingly crucified our nature in order that we might follow after Jesus. Therefore, we balk…we put up excuses…we forgive and accept our failure…and we give up striving for the prize and settle on worshiping the experience and our “sheltered memorials.” This is immaturity exalted in the highest and it leads not only to failure, but most likely to separation from God for eternity (Matthew 7:21). If we refuse to grow, and listen to God’s Chosen One, we have to answer the question; “to who then are we listening?”

We listen to ourselves, our true god.

We cannot arrive in the Promised Land unless we are willing to leave Egypt.

“We must be prepared to give up some things if we intend to get things that are even more important… The life of Jesus is not a monument to the past; it is an invitation to the fullness of our own futures.” ~~Joan Chittister

It seems absurd to us looking back at the ancient Israelites as they complained in the desert wishing to return to their Egyptian captivity. We might be want to think, “I would never willingly go back into the oppression and bondage of slavery…” But people have done exactly that repeatedly. Take for instance, the emancipation of slaves following the American Civil War, many slaves willingly chose to stay with their owners. I realize that some people will say that the reasoning was the slave owners were benevolent and caring for their slaves, and that might be true. I am willing to bet the majority of slaves (who stayed) did so out of the terrifying fear of the unknown…freedom can be terrifying; “what if I make a mistake?” “What lies ahead in my future?” “How do I plan for the unknown?” A “known” that is terrifying is still less terrifying than an “un-known.” How about another example; we hear the profile over and over again of the “repeat criminal” who cannot break away from the prison system. There have been multiple confessions from these career criminals who have stated the reason for their return to the prison institution is their lack of ability to cope with freedom. My guess is there are many more who fall into this category who might not be able to articulate this sentiment openly, but find themselves repeating their crimes for the same reason subconsciously…because there is safety and comfort in the “known” of their incarceration (food, shelter, community) with their most primal needs being met.

The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. ~~Deuteronomy 7:22

Ok…one last example; this one because there are those of us who will say, “I’m not a criminal or slave or ancient Hebrew…how does that apply to me?” Sin. Same difference. We return to our sins, or stay in our sin, because of fear, discomfort, and disbelief. Primarily, the same reasons the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt, slaves wanted to stay with their masters, and criminals return to prison. The path of change and freedom takes courage, tenacity, perseverance, and faith. The path of the slave simply requires one to “stay put.”

“My Lord God… I do not see the road ahead of me… Therefore I will trust You always.” ~~Thomas Merton

The path to the Promised Land leads through the Desert. There is no other way. This is the path of spiritual maturity; forgetting the past and forging ahead to what God has destined for us. Jesus offers us the promise of walking in His steps; we must lay aside ourselves for the promise of something better and strive will all our heart, soul, mind, and strength to attain it…no matter that the path to attaining it runs through the place of desolation and deprivation for it is here that we learn to depend upon God. “Let the spiritually mature agree on these things… If you disagree, I believe God will make it plain to you… Pattern your lives after mine.”

“Darkness is not driven away immediately. Light comes in small increments, moment by moment…purging the souls is a lifetime effort.” ~~Francis of Sales

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Engaged in this season of Lent, I am sharing the journey with some friends. I challenged them this week to put pen to paper and share a poem, song, or psalm as they meditate and reflect upon the season and their Savior.

(Note – Technically it is only day thirteen, but for the sake of this reflection I have included the two Sundays that have passed in my counting of days).

I have tried to “practice what I preach” leading with example the following piece entered into my journal this morning:

Day 15 (A Lenten Reflection)   ~~by Jeff Borden

Fifteen days…

I feel the tag-team nemesis of complacency and apathy plotting against me;

Fasting and early mornings are an inconvenience and burgeoning nuisance.

So easily annoyed in my self-denial this saint I am;

So easily distracted from my nearness to Him, in my focus on me.

Fifteen days…and sadness surrounds

In the darkness of me I examine my weakness; the frail flesh that always disappoints,

Driven by awareness of my own deceptions, the mirror of my soul screams at me:

Self-Righteous! Sinner! Idolater! Guilty!

And my spirit is poor.

Fifteen days…repentance resounds

The purpose of the fast evidences itself as a searing light exposes the macabre me

Echoes of the Apostle call from the recesses of my memory, “Who will deliver me?”

The promise of rest looms in the distance

Hope is the fuel for a weary sojourner

The desert is wild and relentless; loneliness, doubt, uncertainty, and fear surround

“Who will deliver me?”

Fifteen days…weakened and tempted

Hungry for redemption I call out to my Lord; “Draw near to me as I draw near to you!”

He replies, “I am here”

Fifteen days…renewed and remembering

With prayer and fasting my soul is refreshed;

Strengthened for the journey, Savior removes the blindness of my sin

Eternity’s hope, the promise of never-ending union with the Trinity,

And my wandering heart is set back to task

Complacency and apathy defeated this day, Day Fifteen.

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Book Review: The Tangible Kingdom

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Hmmm…what to say, what to say…

LOVED IT.

A book like this requires some degree of back-story, and it was provided, so it was a little long for me to get to the nitty gritty of what I was searching for in the story. It was around chapters nine and ten that I found myself getting “sucked in” to the heart of what Hugh Halter was driving at. I am incredibly excited about the community described in the tangible kingdom. It brings great joy to me to hear that people are living the life that Jesus taught…and not some cheaply interpreted facsimile of it.

Chapters ten through around fourteen were mostly about deconstruction from the “way we have always done things.” I appreciated that Halter was not overly critical toward the methods he was deconstructing; in fact, he seemed very sensitive to the people entrenched in those systems.

Chapters fifteen through eighteen were rebuilding chapters; teaching the foundational elements of this “incarnational community.” Everything that was shared in these chapters just seemed to make such beautiful sense… I found myself saying over and over; “yes, yes, yes, yes…!!!”

The final chapters, nineteen through twenty-one, were about the focus and outcome of the three primary components of the community once people decide to “join” the community. This focus hinges on togetherness, oneness, and otherness…and I’ll stop there. The teaching and the illustrations used by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay are very clear and easy to understand. It would be my great desire to see this community with my own eyes. I would love to get some one-on-one leadership development from an existing-healthy-functioning community.

In my opinion, this is another 5-star book and another must read for those people and leaders desiring to live missionally and incarnationally (buzzwordsy I know, but I don’t know how else to describe it). Personally, I don’t know that I’d follow everything from this book… I have some personal convictions that differ from the authors, but I understand the heart of his passion and with that I agree 100%. I recommend this book very highly. I’m glad to kickoff my 2010 reading year with this one; a great way to start it out.

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