Saturday, February 14

Today’s Readings: Psalm 140; Joshua 10:1-15; John 7:53-8:11; 1 Corinthians 9:19-27; Psalm 18:25-50

Of all the people in the Bible who get a bad rap, I would say there’s one who stands out for me more than any other. That person? The apostle Paul. And why do I say that? Well, I know many folks who have come to think of Paul as the embodiment of intolerance. They point to words attributed to Paul in the pastoral letters that would limit the role of women in the church and point toward a rigid hierarchy in the church and think those things represent the essence of Paul. Those who take such a position don’t realize that most biblical scholars believe that roughly half of the books in the New Testament that were attributed to Paul by tradition were actually written by someone else! So if those exclusionary things that I spoke of don’t represent the essence of Paul, what words do? I would point towards today’s words from 1 Corinthians. In today’s passage from 1 Corinthians we get an image of Paul as being a proponent of what I feel is the single most important dimension of evangelism: flexibility. This dimension was revealed when Paul wrote: “I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view” (1 Corinthians 9:22 from The Message). Too often modern folks equate evangelism with imposing your perceptions and beliefs on another in a dogmatic manner. Paul points us toward another model where we step outside of ourselves and share our faith from the vantage point of another. Such an effort shows that you care enough about the other to see things from their perspective. So how do you go about sharing your faith? Do you stay rigidly locked into your own social location and talk AT others, or do you follow Paul’s advice and step outside of yourself and share your faith in terms to which others can relate? Til next time…

Friday, February 13

Today’s Readings: Psalm 3; Joshua 9:3-16, 22-27; John 7:37-52; 1 Corinthians 9:12b-18; Psalm 18:1-24

There have been lots of by-products of the rise of Christian fundamentalism since the 1920’s. One by-product has been the increased political power of those who identify as fundamentalists – especially since the 1980’s. Another by-product has been the increased division of folks who identify as Christians as fundamentalists often separated themselves from those in the mainline denominations. Another by-product has been the increased polarization of folks on social issues reminiscent of the cultural war that Pat Buchanon declared in 1992. All of these have been traumatic changes for all of us to live through (even for fundamentalists themselves, I would add!). So what’s been the most difficult consequence of all this? Well, in my opinion, the most difficult consequence to live with hasn’t been political or social: it’s been personal. You see fundamentalists have been so successful that they’ve planted seeds of doubt that God loves individuals. Are you a divorced person? “Well, then you’re in trouble,” fundamentalists would argue, “since the Bible speaks clearly about divorce in Matthew 5:31!” Are you lesbian, gay, or bisexual? “Leviticus 18:22 says you’re an abomination,” a fundamentalist might point out. And what about those in interfaith marriages or relationships? They’ve got words for you too. “Exodus 34:16 doesn’t look too kindly on those relationships!” they would argue. In situation after situation and circumstance after circumstance, some fundamentalists have denied the sacred worth and dignity of individuals. And even though many of their targets do not hold the same beliefs, the fundamentalists have been wildly successful in terms of sowing seeds of doubt in their mind. Sadly, many have come to believe they are unloved by God. That – I believe – is the greatest tragedy of the fundamentalist movement. So is this phenomenon of feeling unloved (or unlovable) a 20th Century American phenomenon? No. Today’s second Psalm proves it – for in that Psalm the psalmist admits: “[God] stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved – surprised to be loved!” (Psalm 18:19 from The Message). Over the years I’ve worked with tons of people – even those inside the church! – who have shared similar notions of being surprised that God loved them. Some in the church work so diligently in hopes of proving themselves lovable. How sad! Today’s words from the psalmist remind me of the single most important aspect of our calls to serve God: that is to let ALL of God’s children know they are loved. That is my fundamental principle. As you go out into a complex world that will pull you in many directions, don’t lose sight of that aspect of your call. Share with ALL those you meet the wonderful news that they are loved! Til next time…

Thursday, February 12

Today’s Readings: Psalm 95; Joshua 8:1-21; John 7:14-24; 1 Corinthians 8:7-13; Psalm 31

As a person who is extremely visual, I often need a concrete expression of something to really absorb the information. When I meet someone, for instance, I’m much more likely to remember the person’s name if I see it in writing. If I’m simply told the name, chances are I’ll forget it. Same thing goes when I am rearranging furniture in a room. If I can sketch out the possible layout of the room before I begin, I’m much more comfortable when it comes time to begin moving the objects. I’ve even found this true for how I practice my faith. So what object have I discovered that helps me grasp the essence of my faith as a Christian? The cross. Now some would hear that and assume the cross is a helpful physical expression of my faith since it connotes the radical sense of discipleship to which we are called. That’s certainly true on one level. I find the cross helpful for even more basic reasons, however. The physical design of our modern cross reminds me of what I feel are two foundational aspects of our faith. The horizontal beam, for instance, reminds me of arms. These arms represent a call to reach out to the world in love and service. And the vertical beam? Well, for me the vertical beam represents a balance between head and heart. I was reminded of this connection between head and heart in today’s Gospel reading from John. As Jesus was verbally jostling with the crowd about what standards they should use to evaluate one’s behavior, we are told Jesus said: “Don’t be nitpickers; use your head – and heart! – to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right” (John 7:24 from The Message). So how are you in terms of following Jesus’ advice? Is your faith based on just one of the extremes (head OR heart); or do you work at developing a healthy balance between the two? Next time you glance at a cross, you might thinking of using the cross as a reminder to aspire to better balance the two. Til next time…

Wednesday, February 11

Today’s Readings: Psalm 69:1-36; Joshua 8:30-35; John 7:25-36; 1 Corinthians 9:1-12a

Several years ago Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified five stages that people go through in dealing with the loss of a loved one: (1) denial and isolation; (2) anger; (3) bargaining; (4) depression; and (5) acceptance. I’ve had many chances over the years to work with folks as they’ve gone through each of the stages. While some people don’t always go through the stages sequentially (and others repeat some of the stages more than once in their process) it’s important that individuals go through all of the stages before they come to terms with their loss. What I appreciate about Kubler-Ross’s work is that it helps us realize that as human beings, we have to welcome the full gamut of our emotions in order to arrive at a place of mental health. I would make the same case in terms of our relationship with God: we have to welcome the full gamut of our emotions in order to arrive at a place of spiritual health as well. Some folks, however, are uncomfortable with expressing what they perceive as negative emotions within the context of their relationship with God. I think that’s too bad. In fact, whenever I encounter such folks, I ask them if they’ve ever read the Psalms – for the Psalms are a wonderful example of human beings expressing the fullness of their emotions within the context of their relationship with God. In today’s Psalm, for instance, we hear the psalmist expression anger and frustrations (i.e. “Because of you I look like an idiot”). We also hear expressions of isolation (i.e. “I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one. I couldn’t find one shoulder to cry on”). We even hear a little depression going on (i.e. “I’m broken by their taunts, flat on my face, reduced to nothing”). Each of these expressions are reminders that it’s okay to be real with God. The psalmist doesn’t leave us there, however; he reminds us that we shouldn’t get stuck in those places of anger, isolation, and depression. He urges us to see our process through all the way to completion so that we too might say: “Let me shout God’s name with a praising song, let me tell of [God’s] greatness in a prayer of thanks!” Today, during your time of centering, I would encourage you to be real with God and express the fullness of your heart - including those parts that you previously tried to clean up and make more presentable. After you’ve done that, open yourself to the possibility of radical transformation as you see your process all the way through. Til next time…