They don't act like it

Hosea 8:2 Predictably, Israel cries out, “My God! We know you!” But they don’t act like it.

We all know people who profess to be “Christian”, but they don’t act like it. They’re mean, spiteful and judgmental. They hate their enemies and aren’t too crazy about their neighbors. They’re out for themselves, oblivious to the needs and experience of those around them. They’re the kind of Christians that give Christianity a bad name.

But then I have to ask, ‘What do people see when they look at me in the world?’ Do they see someone who is passionate about living out Christ’s call or someone who’s just as caught up in the pettiness of life as anyone else? I’d guess that what they see in large part depends on my mood that day. My rector likes to tell stories about moments when she is just about to unload all her annoyance and irritation on some service person or other, and they say something like, “Oh, I know you! You’re the rector at that church…” Then she has to think before she descends to hate and vitriol. It reminds her of who she is, of whose she is, and she chooses to address the situation differently. I wear a cross around my neck. Mostly it’s a witness to who I am, but I think also it’s a reminder that if I am to embody Christ in the world, I need to be accountable. That cross helps me; it lets other people see who I am trying to be, and as such it keeps me honest.

Prayer: Dear God, Help me remember whose I am when I walk around in the world, and that my purpose in life is to be Your Presence to others. Amen.

*I am off to a week in Mississippi working on houses for Katrina relief. Don't know if I'll be able to post while I am there -- it's a busy week! I'll be back the following week.

Recognizing God

Hosea 5:4b They wouldn’t recognize God if they saw me.

Do I recognize God in my life? Can I see the Hand of the Divine at work in my world? If God is everywhere, then God is always here with me now. What does it take to open my senses to God’s presence? Huston Smith, a religious scholar who has been interviewed frequently by Bill Moyers, wrote in one of his books that: Atheists believe there is no God, polytheists believe there are many gods, monotheists believe there is one God and mystics believe there is only God. Ever since I read that I’ve known that mysticism called to me. Einstein said that either nothing is a miracle, or everything is a miracle. It’s a choice, and I choose the wonder and curiosity of the miraculous every time. But choosing and living are not the same. How do I live the awareness of the Presence of the Holy One?

Karen Armstrong points out that the God of the mystics is approached primarily through the organ of the creative imagination, the image-making, non-linear side of the brain. In the book My Stroke of Insight, its author describes her experience of oceanic transcendence as a stroke put her linear, left brain out of commission. And what is the benefit? A sense of deep peace and connection with all that is, the life all around us: other people, other species and all of creation.

So today, my intention is to see God everywhere I look, in ugliness as well as beauty, in struggle as well as peace, in raucous activity as well as quietness. I can only do that by slowing down, breathing and taking each moment as it comes, encouraging myself to notice the silence between the words, the ineffable in everything I touch, and to behold it all with the heart of compassion.

Prayer: Dear God, I long to see Your presence and beauty every moment of my life. Open the eyes of my heart to better apprehend Your Divine Being all around me in the people and things of the every day. Amen.

You didn't notice me

Amos 4:10b But you didn’t notice me. You continued to ignore me.

Everyone wants to be noticed. One of the deepest human longings is to be seen by someone else, and that longing is what drives the quest for intimacy. It’s what children most desire from their parents and what partners most need from each other. Too often, the patterns of every day living, the small adjustments made to avoid conflict come between partners and get in the way of really seeing each other. Instead, I see the person who disappointed me or hurt my feelings, and slowly, incrementally, my reactions to past events block out the shape and essence of the person standing in front of me.

So how do we get back to really seeing each other, paying attention that is really giving each other our full attention the way we do in those first heady rushes of falling in love? How do I wipe the glass clear of the past so I can gaze without hindrance on the face of my beloved? Perhaps this can help: Can I see the other with the eyes of God? Can I see the face of God in my partner’s face and open my eyes to the wonder of who he or she is? Can I see anew with the eyes of Love?

Prayer: Dear God, As I struggle to move forward in a way that pleases You and honors us all, help me to use your eyes and heart to truly apprehend my partner, who he is and what he needs. Then give me clarity to properly discern my path. Amen.