Where you are Right Now

1 Corinthians 7:17 And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.

Where you are right now. Paul is talking about marriage here, and also station in life (slave or free), but this could apply to any part of our lives. We are always in a process of change -- life is a journey, not a destination -- but how much misery do I cause myself by tickling my imagination with being someplace else: someplace else in my career, or in a different career, relationship, city or community? This is idle fantasy. If I am really called to a certain change, it will come out of being exactly where I am right now. Only out of that full awareness and commitment does true change happen, that is, a real shift in my experience of my life, not just exchanging one circumstance for another one equally flawed.

When I went to Jerusalem four years ago, I gave myself the gift of believing that whoever I was with was the person I was meant to be with, that where I was was exactly where I was meant to be. It brought me to a presence with my experience that encouraged all of my interest and curiosity. It was some time after I returned that I realized I could give myself that gift all the time. It's what I try to remember when I get bored or annoyed: that there is something in this moment for me to give or receive. Then I use my mindfulness practice to be present. After all, I am here and not anywhere else; and I can only be here and not anywhere else, so I might as well fully be present with it.

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for this reminder to live purposefully as your disciple wherever I find myself. Let me live in such a way that through my actions, others may see Your Face. Amen

the Temple of God

1Corinthians 3:13 You realize don't you that you are the Temple of God, and God Himself is present in you?

What does it mean to be God's Temple? God is the source of the sacred fire burning within me that brings me life. But that fire must be tended, and the Temple cared for if it is to be a place where God's Presence can shine like a light into the world. So I need to tend to the fire, the spirit within, through all my spiritual practices -- like this reading and writing, like my contemplative practices and being part of a supportive community. And I need to tend the Temple by keeping it in good repair attending to its needs, providing the right fuel so all of its systems run effectively.

My church recently completed a renovation of our Parish Hall. It took literally years to get the right plan executed. At first the plans were grandiose--a big expansion of our footprint and a huge budget. What we ended up with was no increase in actual floor space, but a well designed much less expensive and more efficient use of the space we have. And now the electricity works, the systems are reliable, the windows open -- it's a beautifully designed but simply executed space that really addresses the congregations' needs. Our bodies are the same way. They need the right fuel -- good healthy food -- and environment -- physical and lots of fresh air -- in order to be healthy so that we can carry out God's work. We need to get our systems checked periodically and address issues before they get serious if we can. Our bodies are the Temples of God and need to be treated with respect.

Prayer: Dear God, Holiday times are indulgent times, yet I know that's not always best for my body. Help me keep in mind that I am your Temple when I make choices this holiday season. Amen

Faith expressed in Love

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.

Here we are finally in the New Testament and back to Eugene Peterson's vigorous translation, The Message. Since we are going through the Bible roughly in the order it was written, however, we are not starting with the Gospels, but with Paul's letters, which were the first Christian documents circulated. Galatians is understood to be the oldest.

Paul is telling us what freedom in Christ means. It doesn't mean doing whatever we want, licentiousness or seeking only our own pleasure, but it's not about the rules either. Rules can only affect our outward behavior, but faith in Christ changes us from within. This faith, expressed in love, then guides our actions, transforms our desires so that at times we joyfullly follow the rules as the best way to express that faith-love, and at times we break them to serve that same expression. It's no longer about the rules at all! We are driven by true freedom, a freedom to love extravagantly all whom we meet, a freedom that brings joy, serenity, loving compassion

Paul compares the results to the fruit of a well-tended tree (5:22), gifts that are the natural result of living a faith filled life. He also describes the dangers of a self-filled life (5:19-20) which in Eugene Peterson's vivid contemporary language sounds like a list of all the ills society now struggles with. In fact, he describes this life of "trying to get your own way all the time" (5:19) as a sort of compulsion, an addiction that wants more and more of whatever it is --- sex, food, drink, money or material goods -- compulsively, because these are not what is ultimately satisfying. The life of the spirit, lived in the freedom of Chirst, begets a life of peace, serenity and joy, precisely because it satisfies our deepest needs as human beings.

My son says -- he's 22 -- that in fact, it is therefore a selfish choice to follow Jesus, becuase it really is in my own best interest, and I would have to agree. It is the ultimate selfishness to live a faithful life, filled with joy and peace and community, but paradoxically, we achieve it by withdrawing from self-interest and pursuits of the fulfillment of our material appetities. It says in the prayer book about Jesus, "His service is perfect freedom." That is the central paradox of Christianity: submit to Christ and find true freedom. There's a Rumi ppoem that describes this paradox as a cool fountain on one side and a pit of fire on the other. Those who go into the fountain, find themselves inthe fire and vice versa. If we try to avoid what is difficult, surrender ourselves to rules and externals, even a person or leader, we only find ourselves in more difficulty. Of such leaders, Paul says, "They want to shut you out of the free world of God's grace, so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important." (4:17) All such submission is slavery and contrary to Christ's call.

Christ has set us free. Live life as a glorious dance with Spirit, faith expressed as love. By blessing others with our care and service, we send out waves of love that touch lives we don't even know about in a never ending cycle of love and compassion, bringing about the Kingdom of God right here on earth.

Prayer: Dear God, I am earnestly seeking my role in the establishment of Your Kingdom on earth. Guide me to that unique expression for which you have called me and teach me to surrender all that I am to that vision when I have found it. Amen.