Live out your God-created identity

Matthew 5:48 In a word what I'm saying is "Grow up!" You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your god-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others the way God lives toward you.

In the familiar verses of the Sermon on the Mount, Eugene Peterson's The Message paraphrase just pops with freshness and vitality. This whole verse shows up in the NRSV as "Be perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect" and look at the way Peterson connects the dots for us. Who on earth is "perfect" and what does that even mean? But if we look at God, and how God is, in particular how God deals with us, we get some idea: God treats us with kindness and mercy, and that is how he expects us to deal with our fellows.

This verse is the culmination and summary of the command to love your enemy. Peterson shows us how this call to love one's enemy takes us out of the usual tit for tat way of doing things, the usual way of trying to get back at those who harm or try to harm us. Jesus here calls us to a higher purpose -- to love as God has loved us, in the face of and in spite of all the unloving things that we have done, and that others have done to us. We are to act as if we were perfect in that way, even though we will never be. We are to take that generous gift of mercy and grace and pass it on to others regardless of their worth or lack thereof. We are to pour out the overflowing cup of God's love and compassion to all of this broken world mired in hate, hurt, fear and pain. That is both God's call and God's promise. That is how the world is transformed; that is the Kingdom of God on earth.

We have been reading Jesus Freak at my church. In it, the author Sara Miles describes a food pantry that has no lists or criteria, no requirements, but that people show up and ask. They rain food on the just and the unjust alike and don't question whether the people showing up are "really" poor or "deserve" to get free food or not. When it's a gift, no one can take advantage of you! This is the kind of free giving Jesus talks about. People cheat because they haven't experienced generosity of spirit, because they live in a world of scarcity rather than God's world of abundance. Experiencing that kind of giving can really call people into a new life. It's infectious, a virtuous cycle that begets more giving, more love, more generosity of spirit. And that's something I want to be part of!

Prayer: Dear God, You have shown me a vision of your Kingdom through Jesus's words. Help me to give generously to all, and to live in the freedom of abundance which is your Kingdom on earth. Amen.

Bring them here

Matthew 14:17-18 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said. Jesus said, “Bring them here.”

I know, I know, I am jumping around again, but in a sermon on Sunday I heard such a new take on this story, I had to share it. This is, of course, the famous feeding of the 5000 (men that is, more if you count the women and children). There are only five loaves and two fish, but everyone eats his or her fill, and there are 12 baskets of leftovers. It’s a miracle. But the preacher on Sunday said that if you only think of this as a miracle you’re missing the point. The point is to bring what you have to the table. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t seem like enough; it will never be enough. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly what to do with it, or how to use it, just bring it to the table, and let it be transformed by God, and watch what happens.

For some reason, this was a real aha moment for me. I spend a lot of time thinking and wondering about what I am doing with my life: is it what Jesus wants of me; what are the gifts I have to offer; what should I be doing with them; how should I be offering them. And this simple point seemed to cut through all that wondering and worrying, because none of that really matters. What I need to do is just to step up and offer them, bring them to the table, and let them do as little or as much as they can, and letting God do the rest. It seems to me it really delineates who’s responsible for what. I am responsible for offering. I can’t solve all the world’s problems; what I can do is offer. All the rest is up to God. Mother Theresa said it this way: “Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the best you've got anyway.”

This requires stepping forward not knowing what will happen, offering without a plan. That is scary. I’m used to figuring things out, having a plan, moving forward, monitoring the results, making adjustments, but all that is the way of the world, the way of self-sufficiency, of achievement, of “I am in charge”. The key that is so hard to keep remembering is that I am not in charge; everything is in God’s hands. I have no idea what God is going to do with what I offer, and in a funny kind of way, it’s not my business! That’s God’s business. I just need to offer and trust. This is the way of faith.

Prayer: Dear God, When I offer my gifts, I know I am still looking for results, to see the effects of my actions. Help me remember that You are in charge, give me the faith to trust that You will use my gifts to further Your plan, and teach me to be content with the offering, even if “nothing happens”. Amen

Your everyday, ordinary life

Romans 12:1 So here’s what I want you to do. Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

I know, I know, I’ve skipped to Romans, and I’ve been in Isaiah, but I decided today I wanted to talk about an amazing process of listening to scripture called Lectio Divina. I was in a small group for about 15 years, and it became the main focus of our time together. We would choose the Gospel passage that was going to be preached on the following Sunday, and went through this process with it. So here is how it goes in a nutshell:

1. Someone reads the passage and everyone else listens. Then, after a brief silence, and going around the group starting with the person on the reader’s right (it’s important to have a plan for how to share, what the plan is is less important) people share what word or phrase stood out for them, or they say “pass”.

2. Someone reads the passage a second time and everyone listens. This time, they listen for how the passage touches their life, for some kind of sensory or emotional connection they make, putting themselves into the passage. When they share, they might answer the question: what do you feel, taste, see, experience? Or they say “pass”.

3. Someone reads the passage a third time and everyone listens. This time, they listen for an invitation for the next few days, something they are invited to say or do. They share that invitation, or say “pass”.

4. Everyone prays silently for the person on his/her right for 3 – 5 minutes.

OK, I’m sharing this with you because I have had the most extraordinary experiences listening to scripture in this way. I use a similar process with my reading – I notice which verse or verses stand out for me – but because I’m reading larger chunks of scripture I don’t read it 3 times. I also find it’s quite a different experience listening rather than reading. At my last, new small group meeting almost 2 weeks ago we used a passage from Romans that included this verse, and when the invitation step came around, this was what jumped out.

So I did it. For the next almost week, every morning as I sat in silence (my meditation time) I remembered to offer my ordinary life to God. Sort of a, “This one’s for you” thing. And what was amazing was the extraordinary peace and contentment I experienced during that time. It was enough! My life, just as it was, was sufficient, fulfilling, satisfying and rich. Now, I was on vacation, on a trip, but some of the circumstances were very trying, believe me!!! And, it’s also not that I haven’t found a level of peace and contentment in my life anyway, but somehow this just increased it to a new level. And helped me enjoy my trip even more, and the people I was with, and the circumstances surrounding it, and even the frustrations were much less aggravating.

What I’ve found particularly striking about my experience doing Lectio in groups is how often people will hear entirely different things! Now, that’s not always the case; sometimes, we’re all on a wavelength, and the invitation in the passage hits us in a similar manner, but often people are hearing wildly different things, things that are specific to their own lives. And when you approach this process with quiet and a sense of the presence of the Spirit, scripture can become your own personal Spiritual Director, addressing the particular needs of your current circumstances, and drawing you toward God, and an increasing awareness of God in your life, that can be quite extraordinary. I invite you to try it.

Prayer: Dear God, I have heard Your call recently to share the contemplative gifts You have brought into my life. I thank You for this call, and the encouragement You offer me. I offer up this blog, and my work and my relationships and my ordinary, everyday life to You as an offering of love, honor and joy, in gratitude for all You have blessed me with. Amen.