You have need of nothing

2 Maccabees 14:35 O Lord of all though you have need of nothing, you were pleased that there should be a temple for your habitation among us.

The Supreme Lord has need of nothing. God is Presence everywhere and doesn't need a roof, a place to sleep, a place to hang out. We build our temples, our churches, our mosques, for ourselves, to set aside sacred space apart from our daily lives so that we can take the time and the space necessary to experience the Presence of God. Even though God is with us always, as close as our breath, that realization, that understanding, is hard to stay connected with in the hustle and bustle. So we set aside space and time to put away all our material cares and needs and allow ourselves to be Present with God.

The danger is that we begin to mistake the place that we have put aside for God, for God Himself. We start to treat the temple, the church, the mosque as the Divine Presence Itself. It is there to remind us, to support us in opening up to Presence. It can never stand in for it. Yet this is a mistake people make over and over again. In Islam, they don't allow any representations of human beings or animals in their mosques for fear of just this error. The iconoclasts of early Christianity destroyed icons because they felt the icons were themselves being worshiped. Icons are meant to be windows opening to the divine; it's not the window that is important, it's what the window allows you, or invites you, to see. The Buddhists say that their teachings are a finger pointing to the moon. We get caught up examining the finger and what it means instead of following its direction and looking at the moon it points to. So with all discussions, explanations and representations -- even this blog! None of it has value in itself, but only insofar as it draws us toward a realization of the Divine Presence that is always available.

Prayer: Dear God, I thank you for this forum to speak of you to others. Let me never be confused about where Truth lives and mistake the messenger for the Message. Amen

The spirit was rekindled

1Maccabees 13:7 The spirit of the people was rekindled when they heard these words.

What a difference a few words of encouragement can make! In this instance, Simon was encouraging the people of Judah, after the death of his brother Jonathon, the second Maccabee brother to take the leadership position and die trying. He has just reassured them that he will carry on the work of his family.

I have experienced a rekindling of my spirit lately. I have been working to increase my practice through some outside marketing, and I am not the world's best businessperson. I find it easy to become discouraged or confused or overwhelmed -- it is just not my bailiwick! Several weeks ago, I was finding myself dreading Monday mornings, not experiencing the usual uplift I do after my Sunday Sabbath rest. I was feeling the pinch of needing to generate more income, along with a feeling of hopelessness that I could actually accomplish this task. I have set off on marketing junkets before, but they have never gotten very far. This time, I was referred to a group, the Job Club, which was meeting at a nearby Church. I was intimidated the first couple of meetings, but several weeks later, I am feeling energized, and capable, and more than that, I am actually getting some stuff done! There is nothing like going into a room with a tentative idea, offering it up and getting back, "That's a great idea!" along with 10 tactics for moving it along. WOW! I have been running like crazy (mostly on my computer), busy creating and checking off lists of tasks, and really moving the whole process forward. What's more, I am eagerly looking forward to the next step! That tells me I am finding the right focus, that the Spirit is energizing me because my purpose is in line with my spiritual purpose, with God's purpose for me. I welcome my day of rest, but also wake on Monday excited about the week to come, all God wants me to offer the world and the various ways I am figuring out to let people know about it. And a great deal of the credit goes to this small, faithful community that has gathered around me (as I have gathered with them for each of us), where I have learned I have something to offer others in their pursuit of work and purpose, as well as coming to understand what God calls me to give to the world. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for the faithfulness of this small community, for their support in helping me move my business forward in such a positive way. As I seek to live more and more in Your Kingdom, I ask your continued guidance that the choices I make, the services I offer will further your work in the world. Amen.

They did not believe

1Maccabees 10:46 When Jonathon and the people heard these words, they did not believe or accept them because they remembered the great wrongs that Demetrius had done them in Israel and how much he had oppressed them.

These Maccabees -- it's just battle after battle! This little turn of events interested me, however. The Israelites have just received an amazingly generous offer from one of their enemies seeking an alliance. He wants no tribute, will free all captives and offers to pay for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. But the Jewish people don't buy it. History tells them they can't trust these honeyed words. And it turns out, they are absolutely right!

How often am I taken in by sweet words, promises about the future that don't reflect the reality of past behavior? Or just by stuff that sounds too good to be true? It's not that people can't change; they can, but it's hard and incremental, and until you can see the changes in someone's behavior, even the beginnings of changes, all the promises in the world are just smoke.

And am I guilty of the same behavior? Making promises, even with the best of intentions, that I can't deliver on? Saying what feels good, or makes me looks good, or appeases others, but not what I really mean or believe or can actually make happen? I know that I believe too easily in others' good intentions, but perhaps I also believe too easily in my own. Can I be straightforward and honest at times it would be easier just to go along with the momentum? Or do I set other people up to be exploited, or disappointed, by my too glib promises?

Prayer: Dear God, Help me discern a person's genuine capacity to follow through on their commitments. At the same time, make me more honest in my own promises and commitments. Help me resist the easy promise that doesn't fit with my actual desires or intentions. Make me fearless in speaking the truth, the truth tempered with compassion. Amen

Let us make a name for ourselves

1Maccabees 5:57 So they said, "let us also make a name for ourselves: let us go and make war on the gentiles around us."

1Maccabees was written in the second century B.C.E. and describes the revolt of the Jewish people under the leadership of Matathias and his five sons, the most famous of whom is Judas Maccabeus. The soldiers speaking in the above quote have been duly impressed by Judas' astonishing victories over forces five to ten times as numerous as his own. They are stirred to imitate him. Unfortunately, their intentions are way off. They are not following God, but instead seeking their own glory. As a result, they are doomed to failure.

I think I spent the first half of my life going after the glory. It wasn't fame per se, necessarily, that I was aiming for. I was never particularly ruthless in my ambition, and I imagined there would be benefits to others, but it wasn't about them, it was for me. It was to gratify that inner longing to be seen and recognized. What I didn't understand, and am now just beginning to, is that seeking one's reknown, seeking to be known by the world, seeking to be seen and acknowledged by the people around us does not lead, ultimately, to the most rewarding life. I am very impressed when I come across younger people who have already figured this out. The most rewarding life, the one that Jesus of Christianity calls us to, is to live in service to God, to seek first His Kingdom.

I am reading a wonderful book by the Quaker Richard Foster on The Freedom of Simplicity. One point he makes is that outward simplicity begins with inner simplicity and it is this call to seek God first in all things which moves us toward that inner simplicity. If I have one call, one passion, one direction, that is, to seek God's will for me, rather than my will for myself, to seek His Kingdom first and foremost, that is a point of clarification. What things are unnecessary in the light of that intention? What things lose their importance in the light of that one, sacred purpose? He talks about obedience being the avenue to develop true humility, which leads us to the Joy and Peace that Jesus promises us, that God promises us. I don't think it was an accident that the biggest achievement of my career came after I returned to my faith. And even with that grounding, achieving what I had longed for was often powerfully able to pull me off my intentions, to push my focus away from where God was calling me. It's not that we achieve perfectly our purpose; that, frankly, is impossible. It's that, as Thomas Merton says, "I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you." It's an uncertain path, leading through dark woods, but we are led by the light of faith, and in that we must find hope and contentment.

Prayer: Dear God, I have been stumbling and losing my way. The requirements of life, the needs of the world have pulled me away from reaching toward You. Help me to keep my focus clear. Give me the tools to be mindful of You and where You are calling me. Give me insight to discern where I am serving Your Purposes, and where I am not, and give me the strength to say no to all that pulls me away from Your Path. Amen.