Bonhoeffer, Palin, Barnes & Noble

The same shelf...really?

Psalm 15

LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?

Who may live on your holy mountain?

Those whose walk is blameless,

who do what is righteous,

who speak the truth from their hearts;

Who have no slander on their tongues,

who do their neighbors no wrong,

who cast no slur on others;

Who despise those whose ways are vile

but honor whoever fears the LORD;

who keep their oaths even when it hurts;

Who lend money to the poor without interest

and do not accept bribes against the innocent.

Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

Direction

"For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm" Proverbs 1:32-33

Waywardness and Complacency.

Directionless and Apathy.

Sometimes aimlessness is my only direction and complacency my only drive.

I am listening.

The Gift-Giving-Gizmo

In John chapter 14 Jesus says to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I don not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

The world gives under the constraints of a closed system. A system of scarcity in which there is only so much to go around; so much food, wealth, affluence, health, and power. As a result, the giving of this world has to be conditional.

You will receive these “gifts” if only the right conditions exist. Being born in the right place, going to the right schools, choosing the right line of work. The mechanism by which the world “gives” requires the proper investment and a little (or perhaps a lot) of luck.

Because this is the choice mechanism of “gift giving” in our world, in order to receive these gifts one must tirelessly pursue the “right avenues” in order to reap a benefit. In essence we become legalistic mechanics of the gift-giving-gizmo…making sure we’ve done everything possible so that we’ve postured ourselves to receive from the world. Maintaining the gift-giving-gizmo is tiring; maintaining the gift-giving-gizmo is, for all purposes, work.

That’s why we have phrases like, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Very few things in this world are given benevolently; they are earned through exchange or proximity. And so in this world the notion of a true gift is rare. That’s why when we see something or experience something beautiful, creative, and prophetic we stop in awe. We realize we were just witnesses, recipients, of a gift.

So when Jesus says that he does not “give as the world gives”, he is standing against the so-called gifts of our day. For Jesus, “gift” has nothing to do with human manufacturing or human achievement. Instead it is through love poured out on the cross and brought to power in the resurrection that gift is truly defined.

When Jesus tells those who are thirst to come and drink (receive the gift) he then goes on to say that anyone who drinks will have “rivers of living water” flowing from them (Jn.7:38). The beauty in this gift is as we participate we ourselves begin to pour out this love-gift to others. This gift is meant to be shared.

It cannot be earned. It can not be cozied-up to. No corporation can commodify it, no military regime can grab it, and no religious order can bestow it. This love-gift is given out of an over-abundance…plenty to go around; no scarcity here…a true gift.

As you go about your day, don't wait for the gift-giving-gizmo of this world to do something remarkable. Instead, give generously of the love-gift that has been given to you.

Animated Functions

How many of us move from one event to another, one conversation to the next, one text message to email, all without stopping to take a breath? To pause?

Our drive for efficiency does not sit well with schedules that are finite. We are in a continual race to get things done, keep up, and keep going. The treadmill never seems to slow down let alone stop.

This pace of living gives the illusion of life but is really nothing more than going through life as if we were unconscious; one thing to the next, without thought, without reflection, without pause. In this practice we become a true “busy-body”; an automated, animated, function.

This is not life. Yet we keep going, and our pace keeps us numb; numb from problem solving, creative thinking, and deep human interaction. In this space we find ourselves everywhere and nowhere…scattered.

Maybe it is time to stop.

Stop and remember that you were not created as a function, but enlivened by the breath of God.

Breathe.

Give focus to your inhale.

Give focus to your exhale.

Breath is the space in which awareness happens. Maybe the discovery is that the world is larger than your thoughts, or perhaps, smaller than you could hold. Your discovery could bring in to sharp focus the current moment, and how that moment will never be duplicated.

Amidst the pause and release, discovery of who we are, where we are, and what we are rises to the surface. In our breath we become conscious again. We begin to see our full self; our success and failures of the past, our practices and constructions of today, and our longings, desires, and fears for tomorrow.

When we breathe we steady ourselves. Our being is no longer thrown around and twisted up because of circumstance, but instead, we find ourselves anchored through the steadiness of God’s given breath. His life, his being, animating us, animating me, animating you. We no longer operate as functions; we live as children.

Today, before you read that email or send that tweet, breathe; be mindful of your true connection.

This afternoon, before you hurry in the house after you come home from work, breathe; be present for your wife and kids.

Tonight, before you tell you children to “quiet down" after dinner, breathe; be willing to engage in their play.

You are not a function. You are alive. Breathe.

"Thank You For this Chicken" pt. 2

A few posts ago I shared about our family's participation in a local farm. I came across this clip from Portlandia and had to share it.

Sit at the Welcome Table

In my church experience growing up, we took communion on the 1^st Sunday of each month. For a kid that meant that on those particular Sundays church would run 15 minutes longer and that I wouldn’t get to have any of the “snack” that the adults seemed to enjoy.

As I’ve grown and have strived to follow after Jesus, the participation in the Table has become more central to me.

The beauty of the Eucharist is that it has nothing to do with me. Christ’s work, his salvation, and his Lordship are independent of me. That is good news. I don’t have to “feel spiritual” for God to be close; the Table proclaims that he is. My theology of the atonement doesn’t have to be perfect for Christ to bring death to life; that’s what he does. This Table is marked by what God has done, is doing, and will do.

The Table could stop here; resting solely on God’s accomplished work and it would be complete. Yet the Table keeps going; the Table is an invitation.

At the Table I do not become a passive observer of God’s act, nor do I become a teller of some historical event. Instead I am invited to participate the work that God is doing; I have the joy to “proclaim” it for my life. Here, the Table has not just served as a symbol for Christ’s sacrifice, but a beacon; calling me to share in that sacrifice.

We have been doing a teaching series at Renovate (listen here) over that last few weeks on the Lord’s table. While we haven’t exhausted all aspects of what participating in this sacrament communicates, it has been a good primer for what we are “saying” each time we share of the bread and drink of the cup.

What has been your experience in participating in communion? How have you experienced Jesus? How have experienced the Church?

Downcast

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

- Lamentations 3:19-24

Pursuing Longing

Yearning and longing are not things I am particularly fond of. I would much rather rest in discovery and contentment. Something in my wiring tells me that if I am longing then there must be something wrong with me. Maybe it is my lack of appreciation for what I have (in relationships, accomplishments, and possessions) that keeps me on the unsettled path of longing. Sometimes I long simply for the longing to cease.

I recently began reading a book by Rabbi Irwin Kula titled, “Yearnings; Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life”, and have been thankful for the way in which Rabbi Kula has articulated the importance of our yearnings. In the introductory pages he writes, “Our yearnings generate life. Our desire animates us” (p.xiii). While our longings and desires can drive us mad, they are essential in our pursuit of discovery; discovery of self, discovery of others, and discovery of God. Maybe our goal should not be so much to squelch or subdue our longings, but rather to ask “What are these longings teaching me about myself? About God?”

Throughout the Scriptures yearning and longing fill the pages. God longs to create out of love, the Israelites long for freedom to become the people of God, Hannah longs for a child, Jesus yearns to do the will of the Father, Paul longs to see the Church form across cultural barricades, creation groans with yearning for renewal, and God longs for full restoration of all that he made. Longing and yearning give way to movement , expansion, and creativity; longing is an essential element to the God story.

As I personally yo-yo in and out of spaces of longing, contentment, and back to longing, I have tried to remind myself that yearning is necessary. Without our yearning we give way to the stale stagnancies of death. Maybe our prayers should not be, “God please take away this yearning”, but rather, “God may my longings be rooted in you and propel me further into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.”

This in some way echoes the words of Paul in Philippians, “I want to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil. 3:10-12).

These are words of longing, pursuit, and movement.

Maybe it is your longing for a healthy relationship with a loved one that will serve as the catalyst to help you love them more deeply. Maybe it is your longing of meaningful work that will cause you to spend extra hours dreaming and writing your next idea. And maybe it is your longing to be comfortable with your uncomfortable-self that will cause you to move closer to the one who created you.

Creator of all, Truth made known in flesh. May you become the craving of my heart and the yearning of my soul. On my journey grant me spaces of rest and encouragement that I may appreciate the fullness of all you have done in life around me. And before I become too complacent, nudge me and unsettle me, that I may never give up my pursuit to follow after you. Amen.

Key Chain

Lilly came up from the craft room (hard at work with glue, glitter, and scissors) and presented me with the best key chain ever. If she keeps this up she may just get anything she asks for.