Missing the Point

1Timothy 6:21 People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith.

When I was studying the history of the Church in the four year Bible study known as Education for Ministry, our class often remarked on how these guys (and they were all guys) would get so hung up on some point of theology -- like "Did the bread physically become Christ's body, like at the molecular level, or was this a more spiritual or metaphorical truth?" -- and the next thing you know, war has broken out! It's hard to imagine anything more opposed to the Christian message than war, and yet these guys really believed they were fighting for the Truth, the Soul of the Church. It seemed to us like they were missing the point on a grand scale.

So what is the point? Paul says it earlier in 1Timothy (verse 3) "The whole point of what we're urging is simply love" and later tells Timothy "Teach believers with your life" (v. 12). That is what faith is about, living a life grounded in the love of God, expressing that love to all God's creation. It's not for me to judge others, only to love them. It's not even for me to save others, just to love them. Self-examination is essential, so that I can form my life with Jesus at the center, but it must be a self-examination grounded in love, gentle, caring, encouraging, not harsh and cruel. I've noticed that people who are harsh and cruel to others often are subject to an Inner Critic harsher and crueler than the behavior they exhibit. So loving ourselves is part of the equation. And that only comes from experiencing the love of God. That is the foundation, the starting point of the life lived in faith. Know this. God is good; God is love. God loves you, right here, right now, just the way you are. That's basic.

Prayer: Dear God, I pray for those who have not yet received the comfort of Your Love and Mercy, who suffer the pain of feeling worthless and useless, victims of hate and spreaders of hate. Touch their hearts, open their hearts, to Your Love. Use me as an instrument to open hearts to Your Love that have been mired in fear, self-loathing and oppression, that all might experience the joy of living in your Heavenly Kingdom, right here on earth. Amen.

Put yourself aside

Philippians 2:3-4 Put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

This has got to be some of the most counter-cultural advice ever given! In our achievement obsessed culture, where "greed is good", and the game is played precisely to get your own advantage, the suggestion that you "forget yourself" is blasphemy. Helping others get ahead is helping the competition get the better of you. Corporations keep their advances secret so that, with the element of surprise, they can catch their competition flatfooted and race ahead. Yet here we have again one of the many paradoxes of Christian faith, of the spiritual path: that by helping others, you yourself will gain what is of most value, a life to treasure.

I have really been experiencing this lately. Ever since I began to think of my mission in the world, and not just the purpose of my business, I have been energized, seeing opportunities everywhere, and finding so much satisfaction in what I do! In Benjamin and Rosamond Stone Zander's fabulous book, The Art of Possibility, they speak of how seeing things in terms of "Making a Contribution" can bring energy to an otherwise mundane or difficult task. If I see myself as making a contribution, my vision soars beyond the horizon of my own life, I gain a perspective as wide as the world, and there is a glimpse of eternity in that. Paul talks about God being the energy that enters in to fuel the task when we are looking to serve others, and that's about as good an explanation as any. It's energy that charges the ignition, lights the creative fire, gets the juices flowing in a way, for me, that just doesn't happen when it's only about my little business, and making money and getting "what's mine". This element of service brings me into communion with a larger Presence, a greater whole than just my life, or even my family, or even my church community. It somehow places me on the map of all humanity for all time -- and though that is a humbling context to see myself in (VERY humbling! I'm no Catherine of Siena, or even Mother Theresa!) the inspiration of spirit I receive to pursue my very humble purpose brings at once the energy to do what needs to happen, and a sense of gratitude for the very opportunity to be of service, to bear witness. And that gratitude may be the greatest incentive of all.

Prayer: Dear God, I am so grateful for the inspiration to serve You and to serve the world with the skills You have led me to develop. I pray to be worthy of the opportunities You provide, that I not have concern over my own advancement, but only the advancement of Your Kingdom. Amen.

Love like that

Ephesians 5:2 Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us, but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

Love like that, with everything you have. I truly feel this is the road God is bringing me to -- there's a definite theme happening here! -- a process of expressing love in all that I do, a place where my main occupation is sharing that love with the world: in my work with clients, in my friendships, with family members and in my volunteer activities. And in that process, I am hoping to equip people so that they can extend that same love to the lives that they touch. When I am aware of this, when I am fully connected with that sense of purpose, it is the most satisfying, quietly thrilling way I can imagine spending my life! Through it all I get to experience that same love and nurture but because I don't hold on to it but allow it to flow through me, it never gets stuck, stopped up or stagnant. It is the abundant life Jesus talks about, the living water that continually rises up because I am connected to the source; I am living out of that source, the way appliances are fueled when they are plugged into the electrical grid. And it's enough, it's all I need, and I find myself daily truly grateful and content.

Prayer: Dear God, This is a day for joyous thanksgiving for the gifts that you have inspired me to share with the world you love. All I ask is that you continue to renew the joyful gratitude I feel in my heart today. Amen

What we are living for

Ephesians 1:11 It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.

This is certainly where my faith journey has brought me. Lately I've been thinking a lot about my purpose, my mission in life. Working on marketing my business, I have discovered that when I am connected to a purpose, one that goes beyond being successful or not, I get a lot of energy. I think this is what Paul's talking about. Through this process of faithful living, of following Jesus, we find out who we are in Jesus, and what we are living for, that is, how we are engaged in building the Kingdom of God, what part of this huge project of reaching out to the suffering of the world my particular skills fit me for. Now that I am getting a sense of that -- for me it's related to these contemplative practices I love so much, and I would say it's something like inviting people into the dance of life, that is into a deeper, richer and more connected experiencing of their lives -- now that I know what that is, I wake up every morning full of ideas, looking for opportunities, thinking about whose life I can touch today. I understand, now, how in His service is perfect freedom. It makes life so rich! And joyful.

Prayer: Dear God, I thank you for where you have brought me, that you have equipped me to respond to suffering and are providing opportunities to touch people's lives. Truly, my cup runneth over. Amen.

Not "doing" anything

Romans 10:12 You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation.

What does it really mean to be saved? I think this is something that off and on puzzles me. This word, "salvation" is not one we use much these days. I suppose a lot of people use it to refer to life after death, but I want to know what it means right here and now, in the life I have on earth. It doesn't mean we won't encounter difficulty or challenges, or that bad things won't happen to us or to those we love. It doesn't mean we don't have to do stuff, take care of business, work hard, be responsible. It doesn't even really mean we won't sin anymore, make mistakes that may have real and even terrible consequences. Paul tells us here that salvation is calling out to God, to Jesus, and trusting. Makes me think of the trust exercise they do on a lot of team building retreats: one person closes his/her eyes and falls back, trusting that the other person/people will catch him/her before hitting the ground. Jim Finley, in his talks about Contemplative prayer and mystic experience, talks about an endless tunnel -- a little like Alice falling into Wonderland -- where you continue falling, endlessly falling. When you stop, it's actually because you've hit a snag! Then you can fall back and trust again. It's a weightless feeling, but also that sense of all that troubles you falling away. Letting go. Trusting. Surrender. This is a daily, hourly process.

Of course, not "doing" anything may be one of the hardest things for people to do in our American culture. Maybe it's hard in other cultures, but I don't know. Give it a try. Just try to sit and do nothing. Trust me, it's hard! I start thinking, or I get bored, or I get an idea I want to follow through on, or I fall asleep, or just about anything to avoid doing nothing! I am what I do in this country, which is really hard for all those people who are unemployed. Learning to do nothing, just to be, opens up space for me to experience myself in a new way: not as the center of a vortex of energy and activity, but as a still, quiet place that flows out into eternity.

How does that save me? I'm not sure I understand it exactly, and it often seems counter-intuitive, but when I am able to practice that surrender, regularly, life seems possible, even right in certain kind of way. Even though nothing has changed, everything falls into place. What was out of joint, out of alignment, fits smoothly and seamlessly together. I'm not getting in my own way anymore. So maybe saving has to do with saving me from myself; maybe surrender is about letting go of me, of all my ideas about what is right or isn't right, what should or shouldn't be, of all my plans and ambitions and desires and falling into what's real.

What's real? God, the gound of being, what Buddhists call Basic Goodness, that is the foundation of life. My life. Everyone's life. But until we let go, we don't see it, we don't feel it, we don't experience it. We think it's all about what we are doing. Some people talk about "the Universe" which is simply all that is. It's really a mystery how all that is came to be, despite what the physicists can tell us about it. It's a mystery how life came to arise. Human beings are a mystery. As long as I keep trying to figure it out, like some kind of puzzle, I don't really get anywhere. It's when I can surrender to the mystery, let go of my attempts to understand and allow that Ground of Being to make itself known to me in the magic of the present moment, then suddenly life is. And that is all that's necessary.

Prayer: Dear God, Let me trust in your saving grace this day and every day as I deal with all the challenges life brings. Thank you for life and all its blessings. Help me remember that You are in charge, and that, with You in this present moment, I have all that I need. Amen.