From Madeleine L’Engle’s foreword to Christopher Arnold’s book - “Seeking Peace”
A decade or so ago one evening during Lent, at Manhattan’s Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, I listened to the Reverend Canon Edward West talk about the peace we seek, and use the rather unexpected metaphor of a subway. Most of us in the audience that night rode the subway, to the Cathedral, to and from work. He pointed out to us that if we looked at the people riding in the same car with us, most of them would look as though nobody loved them. And that, alas, was largely true. Then he told us that if we would concentrate inconspicuously on one person, affirming silently that this person was a beloved child of God, and, no matter what the circumstances, could lie in God’s peace, we might see a difference. Peace is not always something you “do;” it is a gift you can give.
The next time I rode the subway I glanced at a woman in the corner, hunched over, hands clenched, an expression of resigned endurance on her face. So, without looking at her, I began to try to send God’s loving peace to her. I didn’t move. I didn’t stare at her. I simply followed Canon West’s suggestion, and to my wonder she began to relax. Her hands unclenched; her body relaxed; the lines of anxiety left her face. It was a moment for me of great gratitude, and a peace that spread out and filled me too. It is something I try to remember as I ride a subway or bus, or walk down the crowded streets, or stand in slow-moving lines at the supermarket. If God’s peace is in our hearts, we carry it with us, and it can be given to those around us, not by our own will or virtue, but by the Holy Spirit working through us. We cannot give what we do not have, but if the spirit blows through the dark clouds, and enters our hearts, we can be used as vehicles of peace, and our own peace will be thereby deepened. The more peace we give away, the more we have.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The Cost of Running From God
Down, Down, Down
Jonah 1:3 reads (in part) “so he paid his fare and went on board.”
I know that Jonah did not think that this purchase of a ferry ticket in any way paid the cost of his attempted escape from the will of God, but when I read it this phrase started me thinking about the cost of running from God. The more I think of it the more I realize that what we see as the total cost is really only a down-payment.
For Esau, it was the cost of a mess of pottage. For Jonah, it was the price of a ferry ticket. What is it for you?
Some random thoughts from this first chapter of Jonah
1. For Jonah, it was all down hill after he paid the fare.
1:11 - Then it grew more and more tempestuous
1:13 - the sea grew more and more stormy against them
He got all of this for the price of admission to a ferry.
Are you wracked on the storms of your life? Is it because you are running from what God has asked you to do?
2. Interestingly, while Jonah was running from God, he was able to salve his conscience by keeping a proper theology.
- In Chapter 1:9 he says, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
- In Chapter 2:9 he prays, “Salvation is from the Lord”
- In Chapter 4:2 he continues, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”
All of this paints a great picture of God - the Creator, the Redeemer, and the compassionate, forgiving One. This is an outline that any evangelical preacher would recognize as fodder for a great message. And yet, here was Jonah, running from God … to do who knows what.
3. Jonah was able to fall asleep. Again, I know this was from physical exhaustion, but it is also a picture of one who has become spiritually non-responsive. God says “Nineveh”, but I think Tarshish is just as good. God says “east”, but I’ll choose west. God says “Preach” but I choose to sleep.
The “sleep” is a picture of a good conscience, but this illustration shows us that the conscience - by itself - cannot be trusted. In I Timothy 4:2, Paul talks about teachers “whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”
The cost of running from God
The price of a ticket is just a down payment
From there we go down, down and still down
Until finally our conscience can no longer be trusted
Is it any wonder we cannot hear his voice?
Jonah 1:3 reads (in part) “so he paid his fare and went on board.”
I know that Jonah did not think that this purchase of a ferry ticket in any way paid the cost of his attempted escape from the will of God, but when I read it this phrase started me thinking about the cost of running from God. The more I think of it the more I realize that what we see as the total cost is really only a down-payment.
For Esau, it was the cost of a mess of pottage. For Jonah, it was the price of a ferry ticket. What is it for you?
Some random thoughts from this first chapter of Jonah
1. For Jonah, it was all down hill after he paid the fare.
- He went down to Joppa
- Then down into the boat
1:11 - Then it grew more and more tempestuous
1:13 - the sea grew more and more stormy against them
- Until finally, it was down into the belly of the whale.
He got all of this for the price of admission to a ferry.
Are you wracked on the storms of your life? Is it because you are running from what God has asked you to do?
2. Interestingly, while Jonah was running from God, he was able to salve his conscience by keeping a proper theology.
- In Chapter 1:9 he says, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
- In Chapter 2:9 he prays, “Salvation is from the Lord”
- In Chapter 4:2 he continues, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”
All of this paints a great picture of God - the Creator, the Redeemer, and the compassionate, forgiving One. This is an outline that any evangelical preacher would recognize as fodder for a great message. And yet, here was Jonah, running from God … to do who knows what.
3. Jonah was able to fall asleep. Again, I know this was from physical exhaustion, but it is also a picture of one who has become spiritually non-responsive. God says “Nineveh”, but I think Tarshish is just as good. God says “east”, but I’ll choose west. God says “Preach” but I choose to sleep.
The “sleep” is a picture of a good conscience, but this illustration shows us that the conscience - by itself - cannot be trusted. In I Timothy 4:2, Paul talks about teachers “whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”
The cost of running from God
The price of a ticket is just a down payment
From there we go down, down and still down
Until finally our conscience can no longer be trusted
Is it any wonder we cannot hear his voice?
Thursday, October 20, 2005
You want me to join a church?
Church Membership - a case of “collective hearing”
It has often been said that when men get married, they get a case of “selective hearing.” In other words, they hear what they want to hear, and conveniently miss what they want to miss. (In defense of married men, I’d like to say that’s not true. I’d like to … but…that’s probably best left to another article)
I’ve been thinking about Church Membership this week. (On Sunday, our church is receiving eight new members - an exciting day for a small church.) Today, in conversation with my secretary, it came to me that church membership is a case of “collective hearing.” There are many leadings of God we miss when we depend on our own understanding. But when all of the ears of a group of people listen intently, collectively they hear it better.
No church is perfect. No church has all the answers. And to a great extent, the idea of church membership has fallen into disfavor. But I want to say that one great advantage of commitment to a church through membership is this - you develop collective hearing.
It has often been said that when men get married, they get a case of “selective hearing.” In other words, they hear what they want to hear, and conveniently miss what they want to miss. (In defense of married men, I’d like to say that’s not true. I’d like to … but…that’s probably best left to another article)
I’ve been thinking about Church Membership this week. (On Sunday, our church is receiving eight new members - an exciting day for a small church.) Today, in conversation with my secretary, it came to me that church membership is a case of “collective hearing.” There are many leadings of God we miss when we depend on our own understanding. But when all of the ears of a group of people listen intently, collectively they hear it better.
No church is perfect. No church has all the answers. And to a great extent, the idea of church membership has fallen into disfavor. But I want to say that one great advantage of commitment to a church through membership is this - you develop collective hearing.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Putting Things in the Right Place
THE “LORD’S PRAYER” AS OUR MODEL
Our small group Tuesday night meeting this fall has been filled with lively discussion and no small amount of introspection as we walked through the model prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray. As we prayed it together, we found it is much more than a litany of oft-repeated words. It helps us to put our life in the right order.
It is a good model for prayer. By that, I mean, it is meant to be prayed in the order it was given. For example, when I pray by jumping in the middle (“Give me my bread”), I am quite likely to be selfish in my requests. On the other hand, it seems that when we do step one seriously, an honest look at step two is more apt to follow. Step three naturally follows step two, and so on until the end.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Step One - “PUTTING GOD IN HIS PLACE”
I say this carefully, but this phrase puts God in His place. Not, of course, in the manner in which we often think of “putting so-and-so” in their place … in fact it probably would be better if I said that this phrase recognizes the place of God. The Heavenly Father. The Holy Heavenly Father. A holy God who desires family relationship … with me! Our God is an awesome God, He reigns in heaven above with wisdom, power and love. Our God is an awesome God.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven
Step Two - “GOD PUTS ME IN MY PLACE”
When I dare to pray this, and listen while I pray, it is as if I hear God whisper to me, “You’re kidding, right?” And of course, I piously answer, “No.” Then he gently (sometimes) shows me that if I really mean that, I must stop worrying about his will in the world, and be serious about attending to his will in my life.
Give us this day our daily bread
Step Three - “PUTTING MY DESIRES IN THEIR PLACE”
This is a dangerous part of the Lord’s Prayer, if we have not been serious about step two and three. The idea of a Christian with an elevated view of self, and a diminutive view of God’s role is quite laughable. Can you not see how childish it looks to the Heavenly Father? “Dear God, give me this and this and two of those. And while I have you on the line, perhaps you could get tomorrow’s things together and hand them through the drive-through window. I will be in quite a hurry, you know. Thanks for everything. Bye. And, oh, by the way, couldn’t you do something about the Tsunamis and hurricanes. The never-ending requests for help are becoming quite overbearing.”
Our intercession changes dramatically when we have taken time to acknowledge the rightful place of God, and allow him to place us in our place. The shopping list of selfish requests is left outside the prayer closet. In fact, there comes a time when we are concerned more about others heart aches than even the necessity of our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Step Four - “PUTTING MY ATTITUDE TOWARDS OTHERS IN ITS PLACE”
This step of forgiveness is not quite as altruistic as it seems. I think God instructs us to do the hard work of forgiving others, because it is good for us. (In fact, I think most of God’s instructions are for that purpose. For example, the goal of the Ten Commandments is not to keep us from everything that is fun; it is to protect us from everything that is dangerous. But that’s another lesson.) Non-forgiveness brings ulcers, it robs us of sleep, and it steals the energy that could be used in many other ways. In effect, the person we do not forgive is elevated to a place where he is allowed to come between you and God. Do you really want that person to have that power over you? “Forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - for Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory - forever
Step 5 - “PUTTING SIN IN ITS PLACE”
Tonight we discovered several Scripture verses that could be used as positive affirmations to remind us that Christ has given us victory over sin, and thus his power and glory are at work in our lives.
Our small group Tuesday night meeting this fall has been filled with lively discussion and no small amount of introspection as we walked through the model prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray. As we prayed it together, we found it is much more than a litany of oft-repeated words. It helps us to put our life in the right order.
It is a good model for prayer. By that, I mean, it is meant to be prayed in the order it was given. For example, when I pray by jumping in the middle (“Give me my bread”), I am quite likely to be selfish in my requests. On the other hand, it seems that when we do step one seriously, an honest look at step two is more apt to follow. Step three naturally follows step two, and so on until the end.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Step One - “PUTTING GOD IN HIS PLACE”
I say this carefully, but this phrase puts God in His place. Not, of course, in the manner in which we often think of “putting so-and-so” in their place … in fact it probably would be better if I said that this phrase recognizes the place of God. The Heavenly Father. The Holy Heavenly Father. A holy God who desires family relationship … with me! Our God is an awesome God, He reigns in heaven above with wisdom, power and love. Our God is an awesome God.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven
Step Two - “GOD PUTS ME IN MY PLACE”
When I dare to pray this, and listen while I pray, it is as if I hear God whisper to me, “You’re kidding, right?” And of course, I piously answer, “No.” Then he gently (sometimes) shows me that if I really mean that, I must stop worrying about his will in the world, and be serious about attending to his will in my life.
Give us this day our daily bread
Step Three - “PUTTING MY DESIRES IN THEIR PLACE”
This is a dangerous part of the Lord’s Prayer, if we have not been serious about step two and three. The idea of a Christian with an elevated view of self, and a diminutive view of God’s role is quite laughable. Can you not see how childish it looks to the Heavenly Father? “Dear God, give me this and this and two of those. And while I have you on the line, perhaps you could get tomorrow’s things together and hand them through the drive-through window. I will be in quite a hurry, you know. Thanks for everything. Bye. And, oh, by the way, couldn’t you do something about the Tsunamis and hurricanes. The never-ending requests for help are becoming quite overbearing.”
Our intercession changes dramatically when we have taken time to acknowledge the rightful place of God, and allow him to place us in our place. The shopping list of selfish requests is left outside the prayer closet. In fact, there comes a time when we are concerned more about others heart aches than even the necessity of our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Step Four - “PUTTING MY ATTITUDE TOWARDS OTHERS IN ITS PLACE”
This step of forgiveness is not quite as altruistic as it seems. I think God instructs us to do the hard work of forgiving others, because it is good for us. (In fact, I think most of God’s instructions are for that purpose. For example, the goal of the Ten Commandments is not to keep us from everything that is fun; it is to protect us from everything that is dangerous. But that’s another lesson.) Non-forgiveness brings ulcers, it robs us of sleep, and it steals the energy that could be used in many other ways. In effect, the person we do not forgive is elevated to a place where he is allowed to come between you and God. Do you really want that person to have that power over you? “Forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - for Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory - forever
Step 5 - “PUTTING SIN IN ITS PLACE”
Tonight we discovered several Scripture verses that could be used as positive affirmations to remind us that Christ has given us victory over sin, and thus his power and glory are at work in our lives.
- Phil. 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength
- I John 4:4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
- Romans 8:36-39 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- James 4:7-8 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you
- Psalm 18:29 - with my God I can scale a wall.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Don't Epect Too Much
“Life is meant to be managed, not cured.”
Dr. Phil
I like that. It doesn’t mean we have to fatalistically accept everything that comes our way, but it does mean we will be much more contented if we make the best of every adverse situation. This morning on the news I saw a beautiful teen-age girl. She had just been crowned the home-coming queen for her school, and was celebrating with her friends. She was an accomplished artist - one of those girls that seemed to succeed at everything she did. It was exciting to watch.
Oh … I forgot to mention that the 17 year old has Cerebral Palsy, and has been in a wheel chair all her life. Her paintings are created with a brush in her mouth, and everything she does takes all of her energies. Her speech is slurred, but her smile is beautiful.
Life is meant to be managed, not cured
Dr. Phil
I like that. It doesn’t mean we have to fatalistically accept everything that comes our way, but it does mean we will be much more contented if we make the best of every adverse situation. This morning on the news I saw a beautiful teen-age girl. She had just been crowned the home-coming queen for her school, and was celebrating with her friends. She was an accomplished artist - one of those girls that seemed to succeed at everything she did. It was exciting to watch.
Oh … I forgot to mention that the 17 year old has Cerebral Palsy, and has been in a wheel chair all her life. Her paintings are created with a brush in her mouth, and everything she does takes all of her energies. Her speech is slurred, but her smile is beautiful.
Life is meant to be managed, not cured
Sunday, October 09, 2005
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