Pursue Peace

Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
- Hebrews 12:14

When Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, it was not just for our neighbors' sakes that he commanded it, but for our own sakes as well. Not to help find some way to feed the children who are starving to death is to have some precious part of who we are starve to death with them. Not to give ourselves to the human beings we know who may be starving not for food but for what we have in our hearts to nourish them with this to be, ourselves, diminished and crippled as human beings.

- Frederick Buechner
from Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons

God's lessons are usually immediate, if not soon. After I finished an argument with my niece, I checked Sojourners Verse and Voice and these were the verse and quote above. Well...I had not chosen the way of peace and had, instead, spoken in anger to my niece in the throes of her teenagerness. Maybe I lost my temper because I don't have children so have not have the daily opportunity to practice patience and mature discourse in the face of what I felt was adolescent scorn.

This niece/aunt argument was a first and there in lies the problem. The first argument with a trusted adult (and hopefully the last argument we'll have) is always the most devastating...sometimes lingering in a child's memory for years. From a human and sociological perspective, my reaction could be seen as right. But even if I am right theoretically, even my apology for responding in anger won't mend the loss of emotional trust. My worry is I burnt a much needed and well-worn bridge.

Happily, there is good in all things. This incident is a good lesson. I may know God's love but I was brought face to face with the fact I'm a very imperfect instrument through which love is brought into the world. The verse in Hebrews is right...we are the first glimpse of Christ many see (or don't see) when we chose to love others through Jesus Christ. Despite our failings we are still a manifestation of God's Light...no matter how dimly it shines at times.

Bonhoeffer on Love

From "The Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard p. 237

"Because Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ, it is a spiritual and not a psychic [merely human] reality. In this it differs absolutely from all communities...Christian brotherhood ( and sisterhood) is not an ideal that we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it."

The quality of love in the prayerful community is radically different from the highest form of human loves, according to Bonhoeffer:

"Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ's sake. Therefore, human love seeks direct contact with the other person; it loves him (or her) not as a free person but as one whom it binds to itself...It desires to be irresistable, to rule. Human love has little regard for truth. It makes the truth relative, since nothing, not even the truth, must come between it and the beloved person."

Truth must yield to desire, which drives the psychic community. By contrast, in kingdom love

"Jesus Christ stands between the lover and the others he (or she) loves...Because Christ stands between me and others, I dare not desire direct fellowship with them. As only Christ can speak to me in such a way that I may be saved, so others, too, can be saved only by Christ himself. This means I must release the other person from every attempt of mine to regulate, coerce, and dominate him (or her) with my love...Thus this spiritual love will speak to Chirst about a brother (sister) more than to a brother (sister) about Christ. It knows that the most direct way to others is always through prayer to Christ and that love of others is wholly dependent upon the truth in Christ."

Quotes from "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoefffer (1954) pp. 30 - 31

Weapons of Mass Distraction

In response to Mary Nelson's blog http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2007/07/mary-nelson-love-the-hell-out.html

Perhaps it’s long been a human tendency to avoid big, hairy problems by using meaningless minutiae as a weapon of mass distraction. Sadly, such means of distracting the masses seem to be the primary tools used by "The Powers That Be" to accomplish whatever mysterious plans they have - or - don't have - or do they? After listening to hours of cheerfully blatant misinformation and mind-bending spin, it's hard to tell what is really going on in the United Corporations of America. Maybe that's why so many political news analysts and computer bound, armchair pundits chose to carry on agitated arguments about the meaning of meaningless things.

Is that a judgment? Certainly. Even though Christians are warned not to judge others, we are also taught, by Christ's example, to be discerning. When one discerns a truth, it is most loving to speak out in support of that truth. Of course we could also argue about what constitutes “truth”, but I’d rather not.

Moving forward…as Gandhi and Martin Luther King demonstrated, passive resistance is a way we can stand lovingly in acknowledgment of Truth, against the onslaught of unrighteousness, for the sake of our brothers and sisters. Christ is the author of passive resistance. Out of love, he stood between humanity and their eternal separation from God. He died in Truth and conquered death in order to allow us to eternally live in Love. If, by surrendering to God's will one is filled with the Spirit of Love, then one is enabled to see and experience the power of Love.

As Ms. Nelson suggests, there is, indeed, real power in Love. This doesn’t make sense to many people because loving others with Godly Love is not a rational act. It is irrational to turn the other cheek to your enemy. It is irrational to forgive someone who hurts you. And yet, it is through the irrational, topsy-turvy, heart-centered, spiritual reality of Love that mankind can see the Truth about evil and forgive and overcome deep-seated fears and rituals of revenge. Yes, in Godly Love it is possible to “love the hell out of someone”. Therefore, peace is possible because Love desires reconciliation and reconciliation opens our hearts to redemption. As we grow in redemptive Love, we are creators of “the beloved community” wherein all men are already brothers and all women already sisters.

Drafting

Hebrews 12: 1
...let us throw off anything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Remnants of this verse popped into my head the other day when I was trying to find my way back to a sense of peace I found at the ocean during a recent visit to Monterey.

While I was in Monterey, I relaxed into a peace and blissful warmth I had not experienced since childhood. Once you feel that kind of healthy relaxation you don't want to lose it. On the road back, when I got my first work related phone call of the weekend and felt all my nerve endings alert, I took a deep breath and tried to visualize the peaceful scenes and feelings I had just enjoyed. It worked. I was able to disengage from the problems of others and renew my inner balance. That's when bits and pieces of verses about "running races" began to emerge in my mind.

Once we find our direction and a healthy way of being, it takes concentrated effort to stay on course. It is kind of like running a "race". We get tired. We "hit the wall". The road levels out for a while. We think the rough patches will never end. The hills are steep. Other runners out pace us. And yet, the thing we are traveling too is so beautiful, whole and real that, if we can hold onto the memory of it, we want nothing else but to reach our destination. This longing for and memory of true Love, Joy and Peace can sustain us through any trial and give us the courage to persist in holding on to our sense of inner harmony/Love.

As I drove down the freeway, I mulled over anything I know about racing. I used to date a competitive bicyclist/triathelete and was his "handler" during some of the races. I remember he and his friend's discussion of "drafting" one day. It amazed me riders took turns riding in front of each other to block the wind or "draft" for their partner. He explained, it was a way to reduce fatigue and help the team ride faster. I guess competitors also use drafting in foot, car and horse racing as well. As I thought more about drafting, some people I'm praying for came to mind. I realized that pray is a kind of drafting. When we pray for others we are spiritually holding their hands, pulling them up, being a guiding light and, sometimes, we're drafting for them when they get tired and discouraged. The best thing is, like a team, we can take turns drafting for each other.

Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth - 1 John 3:18

The Divine Conspiracy

Excerpt from "The Divine Conspiracy" by Dalla Willard (p. 183)

[Out of living union with God we discover] love as a life power that has the marvelous many sided expression spelled out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. But this beautiful statement by Paul is commonly misunderstood in exactly the same legalistic way as is Jesus' Discourse on the Hill.

Love, Paul tells us, is patient, kind, free of jealousy and arrogance, is not rude or self-seeking, is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs, takes no joy in things that are wrong but instead in what is true. It always protects, always accepts, always hopes, and endures everything. And it never quits (1 Cor. 13:4-8) People usually read this, and are taught to read it, as telling them to be patient, kind, free of jealousy, and so on - just as they read Jesus' Discourse as telling them not to call others fools, nor look on a woman to lust, not swear, to go the second mile, and so forth.

But Paul is plainly saying... it is love that does these things, not us, and that what we are to do is to "pursue love" (1 Cor. 14:1). As we "catch" love, we then find that these things are after all actually being done by us. These godly actions and behaviors are the result of dwelling in love. We have become the kind of person who is patient, kind, free of jealousy, and so on...[However, it is very hard to dwell in love] if you have not been substantially transformed in the depth of your being, in the intricacies of your thoughts, feelings, assurances, and dispositions, in such a way that you are permeated with love. Once that happens [loving others] is not hard. What would be hard is to act the way you did before.

[Jesus] calls us to him to impart himself to us. He does not call us to do what he did, but to be as he was, permeated with love. Then the doing of what he did and said becomes the natural expression of who we are in him.

Cognitive Christianity

In my teens and twenties I was a Cognitive Christian. I still fall into that trap. Back then, I learned the "lingo", became adept at talking the walk and enjoyed and prided myself on being able to "hold my own in deep philosophical and theological discussions". Indoctrinated from birth in a personality centered Evangelical community, I knew the routine by heart and walked through each Sunday comfortably embraced in my warm sense of cliquish inclusion. With my young peers, I looked askew at unbelievers and feared fallen Christians and members of religions I had been taught were "cults" so much I felt uncomfortable even talking to them casually. Looking back, I didn't understand I was judging people, Christian and non-Christian alike, more than I loved them. I guess, at that point in my life, Christian was just a lifestyle, not a state of being. I believed I was a "devout kid". I had a real desire to seek the truth. When I made a sincere decision to be baptized at twelve years old, I claimed to believe in Jesus Christ. Truth was, I did believe in God and a spiritual reality, but I didn't feel confident Jesus was God. I was told by others doubt was normal and faith was just a way Christians were able to live with doubt. The closest I could come to faith was hope. I hoped Jesus was God. I now know I had not surrendered my heart to Jesus as my master.

Actually, there were a lot of inconsistencies in my understanding of Christianity. I believed in the concept of God's unconditional love, but my Love relationship with Him was conditional and didn't include Jesus. I was kind to others, but I had never deeply experienced Godly love so I didn't have the experience, courage or compassion to truly love people. Because I hadn't surrendered to and embraced God's Love, I didn't have real faith or confidence in God's existence. I felt uneasy and insincere, but I figured I'd be able to figure it out some day when I got older. However, in college, after a serious examination of religious theology, I realized I couldn't logically prove God existed. The religious constructs I had built in childhood began to crack. Doubts about Christian theology multiplied as I studied church history. The hypocritical behavior of fellow Christians began to weigh heavily on my mind and I became more and more cynical and frustrated. Eventually, I could no longer honestly say I was a Christian. Since I had no real faith, and felt the Christians I knew weren't demonstrating Christ's love, I chose a rational course of non-belief. I remember the day I made a conscious choice to reject Jesus and God. I struggled all night with God and he finally let me go.

Personally, I think that is where unchecked Cognitive Christianity often leads... to conscious or subconscious disbelief, disillusionment and rejection of spiritual reality. Why? Love is not rational.

Did I go astray? My rejection of God was tragic. Indoctrination and intellectual pride blinded me and, in that close minded state, I couldn't think "outside the box" and remain a Christian. I completely rejected everything. Foolishly, I allowed my belief, or disbelief, to be based on rational thinking and on the behavior of others who called themselves Christians. I sometimes wonder what my life would be like now if I had stayed faithful to God in my thirties. Praise God, there is good to be found in all things. By honestly accepting and exploring my feelings I did come to realize I am not in control of my life and God is bigger than my ability to understand Him rationally. By objectively experiencing different religions and belief systems without fear I saw good, as well as hypocrisy and inconsistancy, exists in all men's search for God. It is, indeed, foolish to base our beliefs solely on the behaviors and beliefs of others, but we can learn from observing and reading about other Believers. Lately I've realized there are many examples in the Bible of God Worshippers (Noah, Abraham, Lot, etc.) who were the only Believers in One God in their entire community. These stories illustrate we can trust our relationship with God whether we are alone in that belief or are blessed to be in a body of people who share the Spirit of Christ's Love.

Another thing I've learned lately is it is right to look for God's Love reflected in the Body. We are asked to remain open to God's Love light shining through us for the healing of others. Even in part, Christ is evident in all who have been transformed by the Spirit. It is the Spirit of Love that stirs hope and desire. There is no compromise...our hearts either fly to it or flee from it. But once we are open to Christ within us his Love becomes the pattern through which we can truly accept human weaknesses. He gives us the courage to love ourselves and others with His unconditional compassion.

Christ's Love is a gift. I know I cannot under my own volition overcome my many weaknesses - pride, cynicism, fear, etc. - and truly Love other beings without God's help. I am grateful God created a situation that compelled me to accept the imaginative, intuitive and irrational reality of Christ's redemptive Love and forgiveness. Mysteriously, it was only after my will/mind completely submitted to God's will through Jesus Christ that I was able to participate more fully in Love relationship with Him. In as much as I remain open hearted to growing deeper in Love with God through the power of the Holy Spirit, I am able to truly Love in return.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. - Titus 5:3

God help me staying focused on walking every day, step by step, in your Love.

Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied with the richest of foods,
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Conscious Consumerism

To me, practicing mindfulness in the act of consuming is the basic act of social justice.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Interview by Catherine Ingram, In the Footsteps of Gandhi.

I agree. Buying conscientiously is an effective form of passive resistance/social protest. In a capitalistic society the only real power citizens have is the manner in which they consume goods. Since the country is governed by a need for constant consumption, lack of consumption, as opposed to vocal exhibitions of moral outrage or demonstrations in the streets, will better get the attention of those in power. If a large percentage of citizens stopped buying from a specific company for a month that company could be thrown into bankruptcy.

Inner Beauty

Inexplicably, my mom recently bought me a magazine that featured all the modern things women can do to maintain their youthful appearances. This has been an issue for me lately because I've been applying for jobs in which there is fierce competition with younger applicants. Yes, Virginia, age discrimination does exist in the public school system. Well, I've had my moments of frustration and panic as I've seen the first signs of aging this year. I've been lucky to stay young looking in my 40's and so the sudden weight gain (and redistribution), graying hair, and first real "wrinkles" have taken some getting used to. After reading this mag, however, I realized, with various medical procedures, I could easily recreate and prolong a very youthful appearance well into my 50s. The question is should I join that mad world?

Today I read this excerpt from a daily e-devotional.

“Beauty is simply ‘Reality’ seen with the eyes of love.” - Evelyn Underhill

Thomas Aquinas, a renowned scholar and philosopher, wrote in the 1200’s “The being of all things is derived from divine beauty.” He went on to later say that the characteristics which define beauty are, “wholeness, harmony, and radiance.”

As the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it within us or we find it not.”

When Jesus came to earth, He didn’t come bringing a new cosmetic formula; a new weight-loss program; or a new hair color. He came offering to transform us from the inside out. He came to touch, to heal, to change and to renew our hearts. And as we let the handiwork of God take place on the inside, others will look at us and see His reflection in our eyes.

As George Macdonald so perfectly penned, “God’s fingers can touch nothing but to mold it into loveliness.”

Something to think about...

The Man Who Loved Women

“It was Christ who discovered and emphasized the worth of woman. It was Christ who lifted her into equality with man. It was Christ who gave woman her chance, who saw her possibilities, who discovered her value.”

~Arthur John Gossip

"Mavis Sanders wrote, “Many people entertain the idea that a woman does not achieve acceptance, respect, dignity and status unless or until she becomes a wife and mother. Jesus Christ does not make such distinctions. He confers no second-class citizenship. In Christ all men and women are set free to seek the abundant life. They need only to acknowledge His Lordship.”

We see this principle displayed beautifully in the life of Mary of Bethany who Jesus commended for putting Him first in her thoughts and life. Unrestrained by the Jewish traditions that taught that spiritual study was best left to men, Mary placed herself at the feet of Jesus as a willing student and disciple – a follower who embraced her Heavenly teacher, and in the end, showed that her understanding and comprehension of Jesus’ mission on earth was one of the greatest of any of those closest to Jesus as she was the one person who anointed and praised her Saviour before His death."

~Dorothy Valcarcel

In the Garden

- Words and Music by Charles Austin Miles, 1913

Miles gave the background to this beautiful hymn in his own words: "I read the story of the greatest morn in history. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet very dark, unto the sepulcher. Instantly, completely, there unfolded in my mind the scenes of the garden, where out of the mists comes a form, halting, hesitating, tearful, seeking, turning from side to side in bewildering amazement." Falteringly, bearing grief in every accent, with tear-dimmed eyes, she whispers, 'If Thou has borne Him hence.'" He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing. He said to her "Mary!""Just one word and forgotten are the heartaches, the long dreary hours, all the past blotted out in His presence."

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
and the voice I hear falling on my ear,
The son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and he talks with me
And He tells me I am His own,
And the Joy we share as we tarry there
none other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of his voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
and the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

And He walks with me, and he talks with me
And He tells me I am His own,
And the Joy we share as we tarry there
none other has ever known.

I'd stay in the garden with Him
tho' the night around me be falling,
but He bids me go through the voice of woe;
His voice to me is calling.

And He walks with me, and he talks with me
And He tells me I am His own,
And the Joy we share as we tarry there
none other has ever known.

This hymn played in my mind this morning as I was trying to recapture the peace and incredible serenity I experienced by the Monterey Bay this weekend. Now that I know what God's sweet peace feels like I can seek it and be comforted by it when I find myself in less than peaceful surroundings. To find my way back into balance thoughout the day, I need a point of focus I feel comfortable with. Thank You God for giving me that focal point.

The Power of Humble Love

At some thoughts one stands perplexed, above all at the sight of human sin, and wonders whether to combat it by force or by humble love. Always decide 'I will combat it by humble love.' If you resolve on that once for all, you can conquer the whole world. Loving humility is a terrible force: it is the strongest of all things, and there is nothing else like it.

- Starets [Elder] Zosima, from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Living Joy

We have all known persons who have lost everything and have not lost the joy of living; persons who are imprisoned unjustly and do not lose their peace and tranquility; persons who live in misery and take in orphans; persons who have suffered injustices and seek to reestablish justice with no desire to revenge.

- Segundo Galilea

The Sound of Trees

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=601660&fr=

Live Earth

I admire Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring attention to climate issues at a time when both he and issues of climate change are ridiculed in certain conservative circles. In the 1960's, I remember the book "Silent Spring" hitting the book stores and causing a similar maelstrom of controversy and concern about pesticides and pollution. Advocacy groups worked to change industry standards, the organic movement started and there was some improvement in farming methodologies.


It's hard to understand how easily we forget previous evils and fall into complacency. Those who place profit margins over human life and well being count on our forgetfulness. Maybe, today, it's our frenzied lifestyle coupled with lack of education and first hand experience with nature that allows a large percentage of the population to fall prey to corporations who intentionally try to lull us into a false sense of security about environmental dangers.

Small Town Fireworks

Well...our 4th of July was eventful. Gramp went with us to the graveyard access road where we and the rest of the locals "in the know" know there is a good view of the annual fireworks "extravaganza". Once there, we tried to get Gramp to flirt with two older women on the other side of our car, but when he heard they were knitting he immediately lost interest. During a lively discussion about people who talk too much about themselves (hmm?), Gramp had a premonition about his close proximity to a large white truck parked next to our car. He suggested switching chairs with my mom and moved to an old canvas chair to the right. As he gingerly sat his 97 year old frame on the canvas seat it immediately ripped out. Luckily, Gramp was OK. My dad promptly brought another chair from the house. Finally, safely seated, we ate Kettle Corn and drank water. To Gramps consternation, I accidentally drank from his water bottle as we waited and waited for the show to start. He did not drink from it again. Finally, at 9:30 pm, a string of lone, generic explosions appeared. About 15 mins into the town's typically wimpy fireworks show a 3 year baby leaned over the ominous truck tail gate next to us and projectile vomited on my mom. Yep!

Guarding Democracy

But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

- Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776.

Forgiveness

“When the thought of God does not remind us of our sin but that it is forgiven, and the past is no longer the memory of how much we did wrong, but of how much we were forgiven – then we rest in the forgiveness of sins.”

Soren Kierkegaard

Serving Outside the Box

Our pastor talked today about how God often asks friends to encourage and help each other even if it requires one to do something unconventional or move out of our comfort zone. He mentioned the biblical story of the friends of a paralyzed man who broke through the roof of the house Jesus was healing people in so they could ask him to heal their friend. Even though their friend was not convinced Jesus could heal him, his friends' dramatic act of faith in the face of social decorum opened a way for him to be healed. One of the points of this story is while others may discourage us from defying social convention, God often asks us to do the unexpected.

Jesus almost always served others from "outside the box" of social norms. He looked into the heart of each person and saw them authentically in the light of Truth. Responding in love to their unique needs, he always did what needed to be done according to God's will and not the will of man and society. He ate with untouchables, honored both women and men, choose uneducated laborers to be his disciples, gathered food and healed people on the Sabbath, questioned religious authority, taught that we are the temple of God and he, the proclaimed Son of God, is the way to achieve complete salvation by faith and not works. To top it off, Jesus knew full well that what he and his disciples were saying and doing would eventually lead to their deaths. Stranger still to those in Jesus's day, he and his followers did not fear physical death. Jesus taught and demonstrated God offers the gift of eternal life to those who surrender to God's will. This truth changed the world. I think we forget sometimes that we worship a radical non-conformist.