5th Sunday of Lent: Anticipating Resurrection from the COVID19 Pandemic

Life as they had known it came to an abrupt end. Everything that gave structure to their life was taken away from them, destroyed, along with everything that gave their life meaning. They loss every material possession they had ... homes, land, wealth, even country. They now lived with a new reality in a place that was foreign to them, unfamiliar and strange.

Such was the reality for the people of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 C.E. Having been defeated by the Babylonians, the people were taken against their will to Babylon. Someone else dictated their lives and determined their reality. They lived as refugees in exile.

The experience of defeat and loss created a spiritual crisis in the life of the nation. The question "Why?" filled their thinking. They were a covenant people, God's chosen. Why did God let this happen to them? And the LORD had made a covenant with David that one of his descendants would always rule as king. Had God gone back on that promise? Could God not be trusted? Was Yahweh their God weak and powerless? Had Yahweh been defeated by the gods of Babylon? Or, worse, was Yahweh just a figment of their imagination, the product of wishful thinking?

Their spiritual struggle led to a variety of responses.

Some of the responses were predictable - the kind of responses we have today. "God doesn't care. He isn't interested in what is happening to me." "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God'?" (Isaiah 40:27)

Another predictable response, also heard today, was to say God was punishing them for their sins. This response is seen in the five laments found in the book of Lamentations. This understanding was embedded in a history of the nation written during their years of Exile. This history is found in our Bibles in the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings. It has been called Deuteronomistic History because it is based on the teachings of the book of Deuteronomy. "If you do forget the LORD your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD is destroying before you, so shall you perish because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). This kind of if ... then thinking is a normal pattern for us as humans. We commonly make relationships conditional, including our relationship with God. It is not surprising, then, that the people viewed their experience of Exile as God's judgment.

This if ... then thinking gave birth to another response: the resolve "to get it right," to be faithful. They resolved to keep God's law so they would never experience God's judgment again. They began to collect the stories of their history and their laws so that they could know and follow God's laws. This collection became our Old Testament. A group of scholars developed around this effort, copying and interpreting those stories and laws. In the time of Jesus, this group was known as scribes. A new religious sect, committed to faithfully living God's laws, came into being. The called themselves "the set apart ones." In the time of Jesus, this group was known as the Pharisees. An interesting side note: after the Exile experience, there is no record of the people of Israel ever worshiping other gods again.

Beyond these predictable responses were some out-of-the-box conclusions. These understandings represented new ways of thinking. They led to deeper spiritual insight.

For the first time in their history, the people began to think of God as more than the God of Israel. They began to see God as the Creator and the Lord of history. Read Isaiah 40-55, looking for references to God as creator and Lord of history. Such references do not occur before this time period. The great creation poem found in Genesis 1 came out of this period of Exile. In describing creation, the poem proclaimed how God works creatively in the midst of chaos to bring forth order, in the midst of emptiness to bring forth fullness. It reassured the people living in Exile that God works in the midst of life's challenges to bring forth that which is good.

Another understanding had to do with suffering. It was common to view suffering as God's judgment on sin. (The book of Job was written to refute this misconception.) An unknown poet in the Exile went beyond this common understanding to suggest one person's suffering could be redemptive for others. This understanding is seen in Isaiah 53, a text we Christians associate with Jesus' suffering and death.
   "He was wounded for our transgressions,
   crushed for our iniquities;
   upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
   and by his bruises we are healed.
   All we like sheep have gone astray;
   we have all turned to our own way,
   and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5).
This great poem ends with a hint of resurrection, a concept that was unheard of in that day.

The New Testament writers built upon this redemptive understanding of suffering. They taught God uses times of suffering and pain to mature us spiritually.
   "We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us" (Romans 5:3-5).
   "We know God works in all things for good to those who love him" (Romans 8:28). That good is defined in verse 29 as growing us up spiritually so that we are "conformed to the image of his Son."
   "Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2-4).
   "Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children ... he disciplines us for our good in order that we may share his holiness" (Hebrews 12:7, 10).
In addition, the New Testament writers understood that death and resurrection was the spiritual pattern embedded in all of life.

The COVID19 pandemic has disrupted our lives. Our experience of disruption is not to the degree the people of Judah experienced in their experience of Exile, but the disruption is real, none-the-less. As I write this blog, we do not know how long the disruption will last. Nor do we know the long term results of it. We can see the devastating loss of life it brings. Some in leadership positions view the pandemic as a threat to our economic well-being and, thereby, as a threat to our strength as a nation. Some fear it opens the door to authoritarian policies and will lead to the destruction of our democratic way of life.

Some of the ways people are responding to the pandemic are predictable. The uncertainty we are experiencing stirs fear, our most basic human reaction to any threat. The fear of scarcity and rationing has led to stock piling and hoarding of certain goods. (For the first time in my memory, shelves in grocery stores are empty.) This practice reflects a a me-and-mine mentality, driving us further into us-them thinking and functioning. Such reactions, driven by fear, are not surprising.

But what other, less predictable ways of thinking and responding might come out of this experience? Could different ways of thinking and responding be possible? Could new, creative ways of doing things come into being? Could new thinking and policies develop? Could a different set of values begin to shape how we function as a nation or, at least, our individual lives? Could we learn to view others beyond the value of what they can contribute to the economy? Might we even be more open to the ways of God and the ways of the Kingdom because of this experience?

Such new thinking and functioning will not come out of fear-based thinking. Nor will it come out of seeking to protect and hold onto an old way of doing things. It probably will not come from our elected leaders whose identity, position, and power are tied to the status quo.

Hopefully, new ways of thinking and functioning will come from us, the followers of Jesus. We are the ones who believe in resurrection. In the face of challenge and chaos, even death and loss, we can move beyond fear-based thinking and reacting because we believe in a God who brings life out of death, good out of evil. We understand death and resurrection is the spiritual pattern of life.

And so, in the midst of the death and destruction being wrought by the pandemic, we anticipate God's redemptive work. We anticipate resurrection. 

4th Sunday of Lent: In Response to the COVID19 Pandemic

Our culture's attention is currently dominated by the pandemic associated with the COVID19 virus and its wide-ranging impact. Earlier this week, I posted the following thoughts on Facebook. I have adapted and expanded those thoughts for this blog.

We are dealing with two viruses that threaten us. The first, of course, is the COVID19 virus. The second is seldom recognized, much less discussed. The second is the virus of fear-based thinking. In my mind, this second virus of fear-based thinking presents the greater threat. It seems to spread more rapidly than the COVID19 virus, infecting almost every person.

The capacity to experience fear is a gift that protects us (as I say in my upcoming book). However, it has a downside. Fear is a gift when it helps us recognize and react to a threat in the present moment, whether real or imagined. It protects us. But fear can be destructive when it takes control of us. We harm, even destroy, ourselves when we live in fear, out of fear, with fear. Fear was never intended to be a disposition out of which we live.

The COVID19 pandemic presents a real threat to our health and to the normal pattern of our lives. But this threat can be dealt with. Specific, clearly defined steps can be taken to protect ourselves from the virus. Such precautionary steps, we are told, will protect us from infection and prevent the spread of the virus in our society. In other words, as we follow these precautionary measures, the threat associated with COVID19 is reduced. We do not have to be afraid. 

But what about the threat associated with the second virus of fear-based thinking: living in fear, out of fear, with fear? Fear-based thinking creates fear-based reactions which produce chaos. The chaos, in turn, stirs more fear-based thinking which creates more fear-based reacting which compounds the chaos even more. Fear-based thinking creates a vicious cycle of more fear-based thinking.  

Fear bypasses our thinking. When we are afraid, our brain is literally off line. We simply react - automatically, without thinking. That is part of its gift. But when we live in fear, out of fear, with fear, our ability to think clearly and reasonably is thwarted. We react emotionally rather than choosing how to respond out of clearly defined principles. Fear controls what we think and do: fear-based thinking and reacting.

This displacing of clear, reasoned thinking by emotional reactivity is evident throughout our society: in the hoarding-oriented buying that is happening, in the scarcity thinking that drives the hoarding-oriented buying, in the me-and-mine mentality that turns a blind eye toward others during this time, in the polarization of the left and right in our nation, in the polarization within The UMC over LGBTQ+ issues, just to name a few.

When emotional reactivity dominates, our functioning becomes more and more immature. Polarization along with bubble-oriented thinking grows. We reject anything that does not agree with how we already think and what we already believe (confirmation bias). We become less compassionate or understanding. We are quick to judge and condemn and reject. Knee jerk reactions, quick fixes, and party-line answers become the norm. Our anxiety blocks any ability to think outside the box for creative solutions, much less bipartisan solutions. In other words, our reactivity compounds whatever problem triggered the reactivity. Einstein is credited with saying "The thinking that created the problem cannot produce the solution." Emotional reactivity keeps our thinking stuck. Fear-based thinking will not resolve any problem. It will only compound the problem. 

Rabbi Ed Friedmann was known to say the impact of any challenge is determined more by OUR RESPONSE to the challenge than by the challenge itself. We often create our own trauma by our reaction (as opposed to response) to it. 

When our inner disposition is driven by fear, we live as though we are powerless - like victims. We surrender our power. Our greatest power, perhaps our only real power, is over ourselves. The Apostle Paul called this kind of power self-control. I speak of it as self-awareness that leads us to self-management. The Spirit empowers us to live out of self-control. The Spirit moves us beyond fear-based thinking with its emotional reactivity into peace, thus empowering us to respond in ways that are healthy, mature, and life-giving.

The Psalmist said: God is our refuge and strength, a well-proven help in times of trouble. Therefore, we will NOT fear. (Psalm 46:1) We will not live in fear, out of fear, with fear. Through the power of the Spirit, we will manage ourselves, moving beyond fear-based thinking and emotional reactivity, so that we live out of God's peace. Only then can we be a part of the solution. 

(In my book The Fruit of the Spirit: the Path That Leads to Loving as Jesus Loved, I describe the Spirit-directed process of moving beyond fear-based thinking and emotional reactivity into God's peace.)  

3rd Sunday of Lent: Spring and the New Creation

This week marks the beginning of spring as the earth continues its annual wobbling back and forth. Temperatures are warming. Hours of sunlight are lengthening. Trees and plants are beginning to bud and green. The "dead" of winter is giving way to the rebirth of spring.

This annual rebirth of creation invites us to lift our eyes beyond the physical realm to the spiritual, specifically to the new creation that lies at the heart of the spiritual life.

In writing to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul proclaimed the new creation: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18a, NRSV). The original seems to shout good news: "if anyone is in Christ, new creation!" New creation is described as the old having passed away so that everything has become new. Christ brings new creation!

What is this new creation that is reflected in the coming of spring? What is the new that Christ brings? The larger passage (5:16-21) answers the questions.

The new creation is the Spirit's transforming work in us. An old way of thinking and relating is set aside for a new, Spirit-shaped way of thinking and relating, verse 16. The old way of thinking and relating was to see others from a human perspective. It was to see them as "other," not like me. It was to judge them by my expectations and standards. The old way was to find fault, condemn, and exclude any who were not like me, who did not think like me. For Paul, that old way of seeing included seeing and judging Jesus and his followers through Paul's biases. But all of that changed for Paul when he encountered the Living Christ. Paul became a new creation ... as do we!

The Spirit's work of new creation in us leads us to see each person from a spiritual perspective, that is, through the eyes of God. We learn to see and relate to each person, not as "other," but as a beloved child of God. Rather than judging, condemning, and excluding, we accept and embrace those who before we would have judged and rejected.

The Apostle is clear that this work of new creation is God's work: "all this is from God" (5:18). The change in us is the result of the Spirit's work. No amount of self-effort or resolve can produce such a change of heart and mind. The new creation is the work of God.

As with all of God's work, this new creation in us does not come fully mature. It takes place in us through a Spirit-orchestrated process of transformation and growth. However, we are not passive recipients of God's work. We are active participants in the process. The transformation happens in us as we respond to the Spirit's guidance. The Spirit teaches and directs, but we must choose to act on the Spirit's guidance. We choose, relying on the Spirit's power to do what we cannot do in our own strength. In doing so, we are co-creators with God in creating this new creation in us.

God's new creation in us leads to a second dimension of the new creation in Paul's thinking: a new creation in the world of human relationships. Reconciliation displaces alienation and division, leading to peace (shalom). Jesus' term for this new creation was the Kingdom of God. Because of the new creation happening in us, we become God's partners - Paul's word: ambassadors (5:20) - in the work of reconciliation that leads to peace.

The Lenten journey invites us to actively set aside the old. Just as we respond to the coming of spring by cleaning out flower beds, raking dead leaves, and pruning away dead wood, so we respond to the Spirit's work of new creation in us by cleaning out what is old, dead, and lifeless. We set aside old attitudes, old viewpoints, old hurts, old resentments that keep alienation and division entrenched. And just as we plant seeds and set out new plants with the coming of spring, so we embrace the life-giving ways of grace and forgiveness, reconciliation and peace as God's partners and co-creators in the new creation of the Kingdom.

We are half way through this Lenten journey. What of the old needs to be put aside so that God's work of new creation can blossom and bloom in us and, through us, in the world? Who might you see differently, setting aside judgement, criticism, and rejection?

2nd Sunday of Lent: Spiritual Formation is NOT an Elective

Every degree program - from high school to post-graduate studies - has two kinds of studies: a core curriculum and electives. The core curriculum consists of required courses. These studies are the heart of the degree program. They present the essential knowledge and skills every person is to possess when they earn the degree. As such, these core studies are clearly identified. They are required of everyone who pursued the degree. Electives, on the other hand, were "in addition to" the core studies. They were studies each student chooses in order to enrich and personalize the core studies. They are needed to fulfill the required number of hours for the degree. These additional studies are based upon each student's personal interests. Whereas core studies are required of everyone, electives are different for each student.

For those of us who are followers of Jesus, spiritual formation is the core curriculum, not an elective. And not just a part of the core curriculum, but the core curriculum itself! Spiritual formation lies at the heart of being a follower of Jesus. It is the essence of being a disciple. It is not an elective, something "in addition to."

Spiritual formation is about being formed spiritually by the Spirit. It refers to the process of spiritual growth by which we are transformed into the likeness of Christ. My favorite Biblical metaphor for spiritual formation is found in Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:9b-10. The author(s) used the image of changing clothes to speak of the spiritual journey: put off the old self, put on the new self. At the heart of this changing of self is the renewing of the mind - learning the ways of God Jesus taught.

To be a follower of Jesus is to be enrolled in a life-long degree program of learning the ways of God and allowing those ways to shape our hearts and minds. The result of this process is on-going spiritual growth leading to ever-increasing Christ-likeness. This transformation of heart and mind, resulting in a radical change of life, is the core curriculum of being a follower of Jesus. It is not an elective to be chosen or ignored!

And yet, it seems to me, spiritual formation is often treated as an elective in today's church life. Rather than permeating every aspect of church life, it is offered as an "additional" study, one of many offerings from which to choose. It targets a select few interested individuals rather than being what every follower of Jesus is engaged in. It is only emphasized at certain times of the year, such as Lent.

Treating spiritual formation as an elective is devastating to one's spiritual life and to the life of the church. Consider what happens:

• Belief and morals, rather than transformation of heart and mind, are viewed as the essence of the spiritual life.
• We study the Bible looking for validation of what we already believe and think rather than allowing the Spirit to use scripture to challenge and shape what we believe and how we think. (Consider how the Bible is being used in the current controversy in The UMC over LGBTQ+ issues.) 
• We avoid the difficult teachings of Jesus, rationalizing why they are not practical or possible, excusing ourselves from having to follow them. Consequently, ...
• Our beliefs and lifestyle reflect our culture, wrapped in a religious veneer, rather than reflecting the ways of God (the Kingdom).
• We recreate God in our likeness rather than allowing the Spirit to recreate us in God's likeness.
• We seldom experience authentic repentance that leads to a radical change in how we live. 
• Our spiritual life becomes devoid of spiritual growth that leads to discernible spiritual progress. We become spiritually stagnant. 
• We become spiritually complacent and self-satisfied.  
• We react to life's challenges and crises out of fear rather than out of faith. Our default human nature, rather than a Christ-like spiritual nature, governs how we react. As a result, we miss how God would redeem the challenge and crisis for our good. We miss the opportunities to grow spiritually found in life's challenges. 
• We rely more on our own wisdom and abilities to deal with life's challenges rather than turning in glad dependency on God for the Spirit's guidance.
• Church involvement is substituted for living in a personal relationship with God. Church activities are substituted for living in authentic relationship with spiritual friends. 
• Our relationships in church life become more social than spiritual, more superficial than authentic and vulnerable. 
• Church life becomes institutionally based rather than relationally centered, program oriented rather than oriented toward spiritual progress. 
• We segregate ourselves from those we view as "other," associating only with those like us. 
• We would rather be "right" than live in relationship with those who think differently. (Consider the upcoming division of The UMC.) BTW: whenever our "right" theology does not lead to loving as Jesus loved, it is wrong. 
• We become issue oriented rather than Kingdom focused and discipleship driven. 
• Our efforts at mission and ministry seldom involve personal, on-going relationship with those we "help" or address the systemic issues that created their need. Our helping fails to empower the powerless, leaving them in a dependent, one-down position in relation to us. 
• Our impact on society as salt and light (Matthew 5:13-14) is impotent, at best, maybe even nonexistent. (Consider how the church has lost its standing and voice in society, i.e., the end of the era of Christendom and the rise of the NONE's.) We become spiritually anemic and impotent. 
• We become more concerned about institutional survival than spiritual impact in society. Being God's partners in bringing the Kingdom into reality on earth is not a part of our thinking. Consequently, we fail to be co-creators with God. 
• We loose self-awareness and become spiritually blind to the condition of our spiritual life.  

These descriptions are symptoms of a deeper issue: the neglect of spiritual formation in our personal spiritual lives and in the life of our churches. Making spiritual formation the core curriculum of our personal lives and in our churches would eliminate all of these symptoms of spiritual anemia.

What would church life be if spiritual formation were the core curriculum? What kind of studies would be included in that core curriculum? How might worship and the liturgical calendar be used for spiritual formation? How might mission involvement be a dimension of spiritual formation? How might pastoral care in times of crisis transform the crisis into a resource for spiritual growth?

What might be the result if spiritual formation were not just an elective?

1st Sunday of Lent: Don't Preach That, Amos!

As I was reading the book of Amos recently, I came across this complaint against the people of Israel: "You commanded the prophets, saying, 'You shall not prophesy'" (Amos 2:12). The lead priest at Bethel (the primary place of worship in the Northern Kingdom) commanded Amos to stop prophesying judgment against the nation (Amos 7:12-13). "We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple" (verse 14, Jerusalem Bible).

The reason these verses caught my eye is because I have experienced something similar in my ministry. In four of the seven churches I served, I was specifically told not to preach about certain topics. In addition, I received complaints about my preaching being too political or too liberal or too left wing. The complaints were another way of saying "don't preach that!" People found other ways to say "don't preach that:" no longer attending worship, withholding giving, seeking to get me moved (fired), finding another church where the preacher preaches the way they believe.

Intrigued by Amos' experience (as well as my own), I sought to identify what the command and the complaints were really saying. Here's some of what I came up with:

• Your preaching makes me uncomfortable. It is disturbing. It disrupts my comfortable world. This message was what the priest of Bethel told Amos. See Amos 7:10ff. 
• I don't agree with what you are saying. 
• You're wrong, i.e., I'm right. 
• Preach what I already believe. Preach what I think.  
• Don't challenge us to think or grow or change. We like things the way the are. 
• My mind is made up. Don't try to change it! 
• Preach something that makes us feel good about ourselves. Tell us how good we are doing. Tell us that God approves of how we are living. (Amos did just the opposite. He challenged and condemned how Israel was living - during one of the most prosperous, stable periods in the nation's history!) 
• Who do you think you are? How dare you?! 
• I really don't want a word from God if it means I have to change the way I think or how I live. 

The demand "don't preach that" is a reflection of our human condition: we resist thinking and belief that is different from our own. It is something we all do. This innate resistance is so common sociologists have given it a formal name: confirmation bias. Confirmation bias means we listen for that which supports what we already believe while rejecting and discounting that which challenges it.

In last week's blog (Transfiguration Sunday and Two-by-Fours, February 23, 2020), I made reference to Peter's reaction when Jesus began to teach suffering was a part of the Messiah's role. Peter rebuked Jesus (Matthew 16:21-23). Peter was saying to Jesus, "Don't preach that!" He was acting out of confirmation bias.

At the heart of the spiritual journey is the renewing of the mind - allowing the Spirit to shape what we think so that how we live is patterned after the ways of God. We only make progress spiritually as we learn to think differently - as our thinking is shaped by who God is: the merciful and gracious God, the God of self-giving, servant love.

In order to learn and embrace the ways of God Jesus taught, we must recognize and deal with our resistance to that which challenges how we think. Maybe that's why the prophets preached "Repent!" Remember: repentance is about thinking, not behavior. It means to think "with a different mind."

I suggest a central attitude of the Lenten journey is teachableness - the openness to hear what the Spirit would say, the willingness to learn what the Spirit would teach, the courage to align our thinking with the mind of Christ.

What if, for Lent, we gave up our resistance to thinking that challenges what we think?

As we walk the Lenten journey, may our hearts and minds be open to the Spirit's teaching.