Leviticus 11:44 Make yourselves holy for I am holy.
This seems such a good subject for Lent: what does it mean to be holy? The holiness code, found in Leviticus, is a catalog of all the things that are holy and unholy, from seafood and certain animals to insects to skin diseases and sexual behaviors. The implication is that some things, some actions, have an inherent holiness to them. But that doesn't seem to apply to people, because whether they are holy or profane depends, in Leviticus, on what they do. So there is also a list of all the things that people are to do to be holy, including washing and cleaning themselves, anointing with oil and making all kinds of sacrifices. Most of these are things we no longer observe.
God calls us to be holy, and these Old Testament codes are the path of the Law, one way to becoming holy. Holy means wholeness and also often refers to being set apart. God set apart the children of Israel from the other nations to be a holy people unto God, God's chosen; all the codes that are listed are some of the ways that the early Israelites kept themselves apart from the peoples around them. God wants us all to be set apart for God in some way. We do that with our rituals and traditions, like those illustrated here. Reading scripture, setting aside this time to write about it, these are acts of setting apart. Setting apart time in my day, days in my week, seasons in my year to especially attend to the things of God are also acts which support holiness; Sabbath time is one such practice, as are the disciplines of the season of Lent. These things become holy because we as a community set them apart, and because I create the space for them in my life, space when I am more open to God's presence and movement in my life, when I can listen without distraction to God's call. When that is planted in me, when it becomes part of my daily rhythms, I think it does become infectious like some of the skin diseases described by the Priestly writer here. It infects those I meet, and infects the world in ways I don't even know about, but ultimately that is the reason for holiness: to set us apart so that we might draw others to God.
Prayer: Dear God, I try to be faithful with my time and my intentions. Let me not be concerned with the outcomes--that is Your work. Let me be faithful and let that be enough. Amen.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
God as Mystery
Judith 8:14 You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or understand the workings of the human mind; how do you expect to search out God who made all these things and find out his mind or comprehend his thought?
In my quest to read the Bible through "in order" I have decided to include the Apocryphal books, which are canonical in the Jewish and Catholic traditions, but not in most Protestant traditions. We'll see how I do once the main Old Testament books are completed; that is, how long I am willing to delay my entry into the New Testament. So here I am at Judith, the story of a woman who defeats the army of Holofernes, who is holding siege to her town in Judah. Her wisdom is in evidence in this statement she makes to the leaders, who have made a rash promise to the people that they will surrender if God does not come to their rescue within five days. She takes matters into her own hands.
She is scolding them here for putting God to the test; what do you know of God's ways, she asks them. If human beings are a mystery -- and despite many advances in the area of psychology, I think it is fair to say that ultimately they remain very mysterious -- how much more so is God, the Creator of all that is. If he is the potter and we are the clay, as Jeremiah tells us, how can we even begin to understand what God is and what God is about? I often think this is a factor that is missing in our public conversations about God and religion these days. It seems to me that sureness is an enemy to entering God's presence and submitting to God's workings.
I make a distinction between this sureness, which is a sense of factual knowledge of God, and the conviction held by all people of faith. A conviction is a heartfelt truth informed by spiritual knowing, but is not a fact in that sense. It pretends no understanding of God, or who or what God is, simply the conviction of faith that something (or no thing) called God exists and is worthy of our honor and praise. That God's ways are far beyond human ways and are ultimately unknowable to us is implicit in that humbling awareness of having been touched by God. This is knowledge, but it is of an entirely different kind than that espoused by people who are convinced that God is seeking this or that outcome, that particular words of scripture mean one specific thing. To me is like saying, "I know what God is thinking." God as Mystery humbles us all before It. "Knowing" what God is thinking exalts our knowledge to be equal to that of God.
Perhaps what's missing in these discourses is humility, and maybe that's the point. If God can be figured out, that makes me the clever one, not God. Then I have the power. Humility reminds me of my true position in God's Creation: one humble element looking to find my proper place.
Prayer: Dear God, You show me humility in both my spiritual and professional lives. Show me when arrogance threatens my relationship to truth, and let humility in the face of life's mystery always inform my teaching and reaching out to others, so that they will not be impressed by my knowledge, but by Your Presence. Amen
In my quest to read the Bible through "in order" I have decided to include the Apocryphal books, which are canonical in the Jewish and Catholic traditions, but not in most Protestant traditions. We'll see how I do once the main Old Testament books are completed; that is, how long I am willing to delay my entry into the New Testament. So here I am at Judith, the story of a woman who defeats the army of Holofernes, who is holding siege to her town in Judah. Her wisdom is in evidence in this statement she makes to the leaders, who have made a rash promise to the people that they will surrender if God does not come to their rescue within five days. She takes matters into her own hands.
She is scolding them here for putting God to the test; what do you know of God's ways, she asks them. If human beings are a mystery -- and despite many advances in the area of psychology, I think it is fair to say that ultimately they remain very mysterious -- how much more so is God, the Creator of all that is. If he is the potter and we are the clay, as Jeremiah tells us, how can we even begin to understand what God is and what God is about? I often think this is a factor that is missing in our public conversations about God and religion these days. It seems to me that sureness is an enemy to entering God's presence and submitting to God's workings.
I make a distinction between this sureness, which is a sense of factual knowledge of God, and the conviction held by all people of faith. A conviction is a heartfelt truth informed by spiritual knowing, but is not a fact in that sense. It pretends no understanding of God, or who or what God is, simply the conviction of faith that something (or no thing) called God exists and is worthy of our honor and praise. That God's ways are far beyond human ways and are ultimately unknowable to us is implicit in that humbling awareness of having been touched by God. This is knowledge, but it is of an entirely different kind than that espoused by people who are convinced that God is seeking this or that outcome, that particular words of scripture mean one specific thing. To me is like saying, "I know what God is thinking." God as Mystery humbles us all before It. "Knowing" what God is thinking exalts our knowledge to be equal to that of God.
Perhaps what's missing in these discourses is humility, and maybe that's the point. If God can be figured out, that makes me the clever one, not God. Then I have the power. Humility reminds me of my true position in God's Creation: one humble element looking to find my proper place.
Prayer: Dear God, You show me humility in both my spiritual and professional lives. Show me when arrogance threatens my relationship to truth, and let humility in the face of life's mystery always inform my teaching and reaching out to others, so that they will not be impressed by my knowledge, but by Your Presence. Amen
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
A little mercy
Tobit 6:2 and the dog came out with him and went along with them.
In my quest to read the Bible approximately in the order that scholars say the books were written, I am including books that in my tradition we call the "Apocrypha". They are books considered sacred and canonical by the Jewish and Catholic traditions, but not my own. In the process, I have stumbled on the delightful book of Tobit, which is a story about righteous people encountering adversity; because they continue walking in God's ways, their difficulties are overcome. Tobit's son Tobias is heading off on a journey, and this charming detail is included. The dog went with him, presumably to keep him company in the way only dogs can. I don't know if we ever hear of the dog again, but here he is at the beginning of the journey, a small grace, a little mercy.
I have been going through a period of challenge. It's nothing big, no catastrophes or anything, but after a period where everything seemed to fall into place, it seems there is one little irritation, frustration, problem after another. If I believed in astrology, I'd say my planets were in retrograde. And I have been challenged to stay present without lapsing into depression or anxiety. So, there I am, yesterday, after a very busy day with some new challenges, arriving early for my dentist appointment. This means I have time to meditate, and I enter the parking lot which tells me I can post three hours in the meters, which are active 24 hours a day. So I pull into a spot, figure I'll need 2+ hours, get my quarters ready and proceed to empty them into the meter. Then two quarters in a row don't advance the meter past an hour. Huh? I look down the row up and down, and at the very end, I see a sign obscured by branches that says "1 Hour Parking" for the row that I am in. So, I've used up 2 quarters that won't buy me time, AND I'm going to have to move to another spot after my meditation/prayer, and use a bunch more quarters, even though my time here won't be up. "Shit!" I say aloud in my frustration. First, some nice gentleman in the next row asks if I need quarters, but I tell him, no, I just didn't realize this spot was only 1 Hour Parking.
OK. Time to sit in silence in my car. I am all stirred up with my frustration, and I start my meditation agitated. Then I draw on the wisdom of Centering Prayer. Just be present, I say to myself. Accept this. It's quarters, it's nothing, just accept that it happened, and be present. Accept that I am frustrated, that I can't accept this at this moment. Accept that this stuff happens. Accept that I made a mistake. I think this is the hardest piece. I should have looked more carefully, I should have seen that sign -- and this is coupled with self-justification: they should have made the sign clearer and less obscure, they should have let you know right at the beginning of the line, the implication being it's their fault!
And then it occurred to me. I have been coming through a time where I have felt God's grace everywhere. I have been in a place of trusting the next step, not over-worrying or over-managing, but knowing that I would be ready for whatever I had signed up for. With all my juggling, things seemed to fall into place. And each time something like that happened, it confirmed my sense that I was walking in faith with God. But who says that I am only walking in faith when things go well, when they turn out right effortlessly? Where does this idea come from (and keep coming back from) that life should be free of frustration and difficulty? That a walk with faith gives you some kind of free pass for the kind of daily "small stuff" nonsense that is just part of being a human being? So, I thought, that's it, I am walking in faith, in faith even when it's not so visible, even when I feel like I am running up against obstacles (small ones to be sure) at every turn. With that idea came lightness and freedom, and I passed the rest of my meditation in peace and acceptance.
So, when I finished my meditation, I again gathered up my quarters, pulled out into the lane and moved to another space, one with a 3 hour window. And as I parked my car, and looked at the meter I saw: it had 2 hours and 5 minutes on it, more than enough for my dentist appointment. And my heart was filled with thanks and peace. A little grace that turned my day around, a little reminder that God's presence is everywhere we look. Just like Tobias's little dog who runs out to be with him.
Prayer: Dear God, My mind knows that You are with me wherever I go, whatever I do, whatever is happening, no matter how far away You may feel. Open the eyes of my heart that I may see You in all things, challenges as well as strengths, difficulties as well as times when life goes smoothly, so that I may draw on the power of Your Presence, and walk with You in faith no matter what life brings. Amen.
In my quest to read the Bible approximately in the order that scholars say the books were written, I am including books that in my tradition we call the "Apocrypha". They are books considered sacred and canonical by the Jewish and Catholic traditions, but not my own. In the process, I have stumbled on the delightful book of Tobit, which is a story about righteous people encountering adversity; because they continue walking in God's ways, their difficulties are overcome. Tobit's son Tobias is heading off on a journey, and this charming detail is included. The dog went with him, presumably to keep him company in the way only dogs can. I don't know if we ever hear of the dog again, but here he is at the beginning of the journey, a small grace, a little mercy.
I have been going through a period of challenge. It's nothing big, no catastrophes or anything, but after a period where everything seemed to fall into place, it seems there is one little irritation, frustration, problem after another. If I believed in astrology, I'd say my planets were in retrograde. And I have been challenged to stay present without lapsing into depression or anxiety. So, there I am, yesterday, after a very busy day with some new challenges, arriving early for my dentist appointment. This means I have time to meditate, and I enter the parking lot which tells me I can post three hours in the meters, which are active 24 hours a day. So I pull into a spot, figure I'll need 2+ hours, get my quarters ready and proceed to empty them into the meter. Then two quarters in a row don't advance the meter past an hour. Huh? I look down the row up and down, and at the very end, I see a sign obscured by branches that says "1 Hour Parking" for the row that I am in. So, I've used up 2 quarters that won't buy me time, AND I'm going to have to move to another spot after my meditation/prayer, and use a bunch more quarters, even though my time here won't be up. "Shit!" I say aloud in my frustration. First, some nice gentleman in the next row asks if I need quarters, but I tell him, no, I just didn't realize this spot was only 1 Hour Parking.
OK. Time to sit in silence in my car. I am all stirred up with my frustration, and I start my meditation agitated. Then I draw on the wisdom of Centering Prayer. Just be present, I say to myself. Accept this. It's quarters, it's nothing, just accept that it happened, and be present. Accept that I am frustrated, that I can't accept this at this moment. Accept that this stuff happens. Accept that I made a mistake. I think this is the hardest piece. I should have looked more carefully, I should have seen that sign -- and this is coupled with self-justification: they should have made the sign clearer and less obscure, they should have let you know right at the beginning of the line, the implication being it's their fault!
And then it occurred to me. I have been coming through a time where I have felt God's grace everywhere. I have been in a place of trusting the next step, not over-worrying or over-managing, but knowing that I would be ready for whatever I had signed up for. With all my juggling, things seemed to fall into place. And each time something like that happened, it confirmed my sense that I was walking in faith with God. But who says that I am only walking in faith when things go well, when they turn out right effortlessly? Where does this idea come from (and keep coming back from) that life should be free of frustration and difficulty? That a walk with faith gives you some kind of free pass for the kind of daily "small stuff" nonsense that is just part of being a human being? So, I thought, that's it, I am walking in faith, in faith even when it's not so visible, even when I feel like I am running up against obstacles (small ones to be sure) at every turn. With that idea came lightness and freedom, and I passed the rest of my meditation in peace and acceptance.
So, when I finished my meditation, I again gathered up my quarters, pulled out into the lane and moved to another space, one with a 3 hour window. And as I parked my car, and looked at the meter I saw: it had 2 hours and 5 minutes on it, more than enough for my dentist appointment. And my heart was filled with thanks and peace. A little grace that turned my day around, a little reminder that God's presence is everywhere we look. Just like Tobias's little dog who runs out to be with him.
Prayer: Dear God, My mind knows that You are with me wherever I go, whatever I do, whatever is happening, no matter how far away You may feel. Open the eyes of my heart that I may see You in all things, challenges as well as strengths, difficulties as well as times when life goes smoothly, so that I may draw on the power of Your Presence, and walk with You in faith no matter what life brings. Amen.
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