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?
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Sunday, March 8, 2020
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:
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?
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.
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?
Sunday, March 1, 2020
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:
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.
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.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Transfiguration Sunday and Two-by-Fours
I have heard people say "God had to use a two-by-four to get my attention." Of course, a two-by-four up aside the head is not God's standard methodology. God is not a violent God in spite of what is recorded in the Hebrew scriptures. The meaning of the statement is some disruptive experience (generally a traumatic, painful experience) caused the person to see things differently. It was as if they woke up to a new way of thinking.
Waking up to see things from a different perspective is a normal experience on the spiritual journey. Spiritual progress involves learning to think differently - from God's perspective rather than a human perspective, from a grace-based perspective rather than a merit-based perspective, from a faith perspective rather than a fear-governed perspective. (See "by the renewing of the mind," Romans 12:2; also Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10.) The Greek word that is translated repent actually means "to think from a different perspective," literally, with a different mind. Waking up involves moving beyond the way I normally think. It involves understanding and embracing spiritual truth, taught by the Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 2:11b-16.)
As I read the account of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8), I see Peter, James, and John having this kind of two-by-four experience, calling them to wake up ... to move beyond their self-focused way of thinking ... to see things from a spiritual perspective.
The Transfiguration experience is tied to what we call The Great Confession in which Peter acknowledges that Jesus was the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-17). Jesus affirmed Peter's understanding. The problem was Peter's understanding of what the Messiah was to be and do was not Jesus' understanding. Peter thought from a human perspective. He assumed Jesus would be a conquering hero who would defeat the enemies of Israel and establish Israel as the dominant nation of the world. (Of course, that meant Peter would receive a high ranking position in the new order.) Peter thought from the world's perspective regarding power: power used to dominate and control others for one's personal advantage. This assumption is reflected in the interchange between Jesus and Peter in Matthew 16:21-23. When Jesus began to explain that being the Messiah included suffering and death, Peter rebuked Jesus and attempted to correct him. Jesus then rebuked Peter, telling him he was thinking from a human perspective, not a spiritual perspective (see Matthew 16:23).
The Transfiguration experience called Peter beyond his way of thinking to embrace a different, spiritual way of thinking about the Messiah and power. In the Kingdom, power is used to serve others, even at great cost to self.
In the experience, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured from his normal human appearance to one filled with light and energy. It was as if the veil separating the spiritual realm and the physical realm was pulled back so they could see the fuller reality. Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, were a part of the experience. Their presence indicated the new way of thinking they were being taught was in harmony with the teachings of scripture. Then a light and energy-filled cloud representing the presence of God engulfed them. The metaphor is clear: they were in the presence of God. And a voice - the voice of God - spoke to them: "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well-pleased" (Matthew 17:5). The voice was the same voice Jesus heard at his baptism. The voice said to them the same thing that was said to Jesus at his baptism. The statement affirmed (1) Jesus was the Messiah, just as they had perceived: "This is my Son, the Beloved" from Psalm 2, the coronation psalm. It also communicated (2) a different understanding of the Messiah's role. "With whom I am well-pleased" was from the Servant Songs of Isaiah. The Messiah was the Suffering Servant, not a conquering hero-king like David. And then came the two-by-four: "Listen to him!" God called Peter, James, and John to be willing to hear a different way of thinking, to accept a new understanding of the Messiah's role. God called them to allow Jesus to teach them. God called them to be willing to learn. God called them to move beyond their old way of thinking to embrace a new way of thinking, taught by Jesus. Listen to him!!!
At the heart of the spiritual journey is learning to think and live from a different perspective. It involves recognizing and moving beyond our old way of thinking. It involves learning the think from a spiritual (Kingdom) perspective. It involves learning, embracing, and living the ways of God Jesus taught.
Thus, an essential attitude for the journey is one of being teachable - the willingness to learn - the willingness to think and explore a different way of understanding life. Apart from being teachable, some kind of two-by-four will be needed to get our attention.
Could this teachable attitude be the true attitude of Lent?
Waking up to see things from a different perspective is a normal experience on the spiritual journey. Spiritual progress involves learning to think differently - from God's perspective rather than a human perspective, from a grace-based perspective rather than a merit-based perspective, from a faith perspective rather than a fear-governed perspective. (See "by the renewing of the mind," Romans 12:2; also Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10.) The Greek word that is translated repent actually means "to think from a different perspective," literally, with a different mind. Waking up involves moving beyond the way I normally think. It involves understanding and embracing spiritual truth, taught by the Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 2:11b-16.)
As I read the account of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8), I see Peter, James, and John having this kind of two-by-four experience, calling them to wake up ... to move beyond their self-focused way of thinking ... to see things from a spiritual perspective.
The Transfiguration experience is tied to what we call The Great Confession in which Peter acknowledges that Jesus was the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-17). Jesus affirmed Peter's understanding. The problem was Peter's understanding of what the Messiah was to be and do was not Jesus' understanding. Peter thought from a human perspective. He assumed Jesus would be a conquering hero who would defeat the enemies of Israel and establish Israel as the dominant nation of the world. (Of course, that meant Peter would receive a high ranking position in the new order.) Peter thought from the world's perspective regarding power: power used to dominate and control others for one's personal advantage. This assumption is reflected in the interchange between Jesus and Peter in Matthew 16:21-23. When Jesus began to explain that being the Messiah included suffering and death, Peter rebuked Jesus and attempted to correct him. Jesus then rebuked Peter, telling him he was thinking from a human perspective, not a spiritual perspective (see Matthew 16:23).
The Transfiguration experience called Peter beyond his way of thinking to embrace a different, spiritual way of thinking about the Messiah and power. In the Kingdom, power is used to serve others, even at great cost to self.
In the experience, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured from his normal human appearance to one filled with light and energy. It was as if the veil separating the spiritual realm and the physical realm was pulled back so they could see the fuller reality. Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, were a part of the experience. Their presence indicated the new way of thinking they were being taught was in harmony with the teachings of scripture. Then a light and energy-filled cloud representing the presence of God engulfed them. The metaphor is clear: they were in the presence of God. And a voice - the voice of God - spoke to them: "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well-pleased" (Matthew 17:5). The voice was the same voice Jesus heard at his baptism. The voice said to them the same thing that was said to Jesus at his baptism. The statement affirmed (1) Jesus was the Messiah, just as they had perceived: "This is my Son, the Beloved" from Psalm 2, the coronation psalm. It also communicated (2) a different understanding of the Messiah's role. "With whom I am well-pleased" was from the Servant Songs of Isaiah. The Messiah was the Suffering Servant, not a conquering hero-king like David. And then came the two-by-four: "Listen to him!" God called Peter, James, and John to be willing to hear a different way of thinking, to accept a new understanding of the Messiah's role. God called them to allow Jesus to teach them. God called them to be willing to learn. God called them to move beyond their old way of thinking to embrace a new way of thinking, taught by Jesus. Listen to him!!!
At the heart of the spiritual journey is learning to think and live from a different perspective. It involves recognizing and moving beyond our old way of thinking. It involves learning the think from a spiritual (Kingdom) perspective. It involves learning, embracing, and living the ways of God Jesus taught.
Thus, an essential attitude for the journey is one of being teachable - the willingness to learn - the willingness to think and explore a different way of understanding life. Apart from being teachable, some kind of two-by-four will be needed to get our attention.
Could this teachable attitude be the true attitude of Lent?
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Inside Out
The spiritual journey is an inside out journey. What is on the inside (the interior dimension) determines what is on the outside (relationships and behavior).
This truth is central in Jesus' teachings. Jesus challenged his religious culture's focus on the exterior, i.e., right behavior. He rejected their behavior-based distinctions between clean-unclean. Instead, he focused on the interior dimension of life, what he called the heart. "It is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come ... (they) come from within" Mark 7:21, 23. He taught us to be aware of and to deal with this interior realm. "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye," Matthew 7:3, 5. When we are blind to what is in our hearts, we are critical and judgmental of others, Matthew 7:1. Facing and dealing with our own issues frees us to be compassionate with others. Inside out: what is in our heart governs how we view and treat others.
Following Jesus, walking the spiritual journey leads us to growing awareness of the inner realms of our life. We learn to recognize our attitudes, our emotional reactions to others and to life's events, the spirit out of which we live, our moods, our needs and desires, our longings and fantasies. This awareness positions us to deal honestly with what is in our heart. It becomes the invitation to open ourselves to the Spirit's transforming work. Self-understanding and self-awareness lie at the core of the spiritual journey. They are the path that leads to spiritual growth.
This kind of self-awareness has to be cultivated. The demands and responsibilities of family and career easily distract us. We get caught up in providing for material needs, dealing with schedules, pursuing career advancement, accumulating wealth, coping with all that life throws at us, and just surviving. Any and all of these realities invite us to cultivate self-awareness, but we are generally too busy (or exhausted) to do the self-reflection that is needed. Instead, we cope by seeking comfort, escape, control.
When we neglect the interior focus of the spiritual journey, we generally substitute a different focus in our religious life. We focus on what to believe (right and wrong) and on what to do or not do (behavior, morals). We focus on beliefs and behavior because they can be measured and evaluated. We use them to reassure ourselves that we are "right" and "good." We buy into the faulty thinking that Jesus challenged: a focus on externals. A focus on externals (right beliefs, behavior, ritual) emphasizes obedience. It produces conformity. But the focus on externals can only produce surface appearances or pretense. It cannot produce the kind of spiritual growth that leads to the transformation of the heart.
It strikes me how little the interior journey is a part of popular religious life. Yet, the spiritual journey is an inside out journey. Its focus is on what's on the inside ... in the heart. The spiritual journey is about the transformation of the heart and mind through the work of the Spirit in our lives.
May it be so for us!
This truth is central in Jesus' teachings. Jesus challenged his religious culture's focus on the exterior, i.e., right behavior. He rejected their behavior-based distinctions between clean-unclean. Instead, he focused on the interior dimension of life, what he called the heart. "It is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come ... (they) come from within" Mark 7:21, 23. He taught us to be aware of and to deal with this interior realm. "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye," Matthew 7:3, 5. When we are blind to what is in our hearts, we are critical and judgmental of others, Matthew 7:1. Facing and dealing with our own issues frees us to be compassionate with others. Inside out: what is in our heart governs how we view and treat others.
Following Jesus, walking the spiritual journey leads us to growing awareness of the inner realms of our life. We learn to recognize our attitudes, our emotional reactions to others and to life's events, the spirit out of which we live, our moods, our needs and desires, our longings and fantasies. This awareness positions us to deal honestly with what is in our heart. It becomes the invitation to open ourselves to the Spirit's transforming work. Self-understanding and self-awareness lie at the core of the spiritual journey. They are the path that leads to spiritual growth.
This kind of self-awareness has to be cultivated. The demands and responsibilities of family and career easily distract us. We get caught up in providing for material needs, dealing with schedules, pursuing career advancement, accumulating wealth, coping with all that life throws at us, and just surviving. Any and all of these realities invite us to cultivate self-awareness, but we are generally too busy (or exhausted) to do the self-reflection that is needed. Instead, we cope by seeking comfort, escape, control.
When we neglect the interior focus of the spiritual journey, we generally substitute a different focus in our religious life. We focus on what to believe (right and wrong) and on what to do or not do (behavior, morals). We focus on beliefs and behavior because they can be measured and evaluated. We use them to reassure ourselves that we are "right" and "good." We buy into the faulty thinking that Jesus challenged: a focus on externals. A focus on externals (right beliefs, behavior, ritual) emphasizes obedience. It produces conformity. But the focus on externals can only produce surface appearances or pretense. It cannot produce the kind of spiritual growth that leads to the transformation of the heart.
It strikes me how little the interior journey is a part of popular religious life. Yet, the spiritual journey is an inside out journey. Its focus is on what's on the inside ... in the heart. The spiritual journey is about the transformation of the heart and mind through the work of the Spirit in our lives.
May it be so for us!
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Seeing My Enemy as My Brother
When I look in the face of my enemy
I see my brother.
These words struck me as we sang them in worship today. They stirred my thinking.
What makes someone an enemy? And how do I see "my enemy" as my brother?
An enemy is someone we view through the lens of fear - someone we see as a threat. An enemy is someone who has hurt us and has the power to hurt us again, maybe even destroy us, OR someone we think will hurt us or destroy us. We view them as a danger to us, to our position, to our status or standing, to our way of life, to me & mine. We view them as the means by which we will experience loss.
An enemy is someone we relate to out of fear. Fear shapes how we think about them and talk about them. We are critical of them. We not only criticize what they do, we criticize who they are. We think of them as wrong, flawed, no good. We depersonalize them, taking away their humanness. We see them and what they do as evil. Thus, we are justified in withholding our compassion or care or concern or any attempt to understand them.
An enemy is someone whose power intimidates us, stirring feelings of being powerless and out of control. So we keep them at a distance. We have nothing to do with them. We build walls to protect ourselves against them.
So what makes someone an enemy? Is it who they are and what they do? Is it how they use their power against us? Or is it the fear that shapes how we view them and relate to them and exclude them?
What makes someone my enemy? It seems to me that what makes someone my enemy is the fear-based way I view them. I make them my enemy by how I think about them. OUCH!
If my thinking is correct, then I have an answer to my second question: how do I see "my enemy" as my brother? The answer is in changing the way I see "the other" - changing my perception of them. Rather than seeing them through the lens of fear, I/we view them through the lens of compassion. Compassion: to feel with.
To see "the other" with compassion is to see beyond the surface, beyond the behavior, beyond what they do or how they treat us. To see with compassion is to see what motivates their behavior: their fear, their pain, their struggle, their woundedness. It is to see them out of who you know yourself to be: an imperfect, struggling human being who wants what every person wants and needs what every person needs. It is to see them as yourself.
To say the same thing in a different way: to see "the other" with compassion is to move beyond reacting to what they say or do. It is to respond out of who we are as a beloved child of God. (A reaction is unconscious, automatic, unthinking. A response involves a conscious choice.) We live out of who we are, not in reaction to who the other is or to what the other does. As long as we react out of fear of "the other," we give the other power over us, leading us to use our power against them. To live out of who we are as God's beloved child is to use our power to manage ourselves and our fear which frees us to view and relate to "the other" differently, maybe even as a brother.
Viewing the other with compassion, managing myself and my fear, responding out of who I am as a follower of Jesus rather than reacting to what the other says or does - each of these three choices requires emotional-relational-spiritual maturity. In other words, to see "the other" as my brother is only possible through the transforming work of God in my life. I/we cannot do it in our own strength. Only the Spirit can change what is in our hearts. Only the Spirit can move us beyond the paralyzing power of fear. Only the Spirit can lead us beyond being critical to being compassionate. Only the Spirit can empower us to love as Jesus loved.
We live in a time of extreme polarization, in our nation and in The UMC. That polarization indicates we a living out of our fear, viewing the other as an enemy, reacting to what the other says or does. This time of high anxiety calls for emotional-relational-spiritual maturity. It calls for a Spirit-empowered response to the other. It calls us to see our so-called enemy as our brother.
Merciful God, may it be ... in me ... in us ... in your people! By your grace, may it be!
I see my brother.
These words struck me as we sang them in worship today. They stirred my thinking.
What makes someone an enemy? And how do I see "my enemy" as my brother?
An enemy is someone we view through the lens of fear - someone we see as a threat. An enemy is someone who has hurt us and has the power to hurt us again, maybe even destroy us, OR someone we think will hurt us or destroy us. We view them as a danger to us, to our position, to our status or standing, to our way of life, to me & mine. We view them as the means by which we will experience loss.
An enemy is someone we relate to out of fear. Fear shapes how we think about them and talk about them. We are critical of them. We not only criticize what they do, we criticize who they are. We think of them as wrong, flawed, no good. We depersonalize them, taking away their humanness. We see them and what they do as evil. Thus, we are justified in withholding our compassion or care or concern or any attempt to understand them.
An enemy is someone whose power intimidates us, stirring feelings of being powerless and out of control. So we keep them at a distance. We have nothing to do with them. We build walls to protect ourselves against them.
So what makes someone an enemy? Is it who they are and what they do? Is it how they use their power against us? Or is it the fear that shapes how we view them and relate to them and exclude them?
What makes someone my enemy? It seems to me that what makes someone my enemy is the fear-based way I view them. I make them my enemy by how I think about them. OUCH!
If my thinking is correct, then I have an answer to my second question: how do I see "my enemy" as my brother? The answer is in changing the way I see "the other" - changing my perception of them. Rather than seeing them through the lens of fear, I/we view them through the lens of compassion. Compassion: to feel with.
To see "the other" with compassion is to see beyond the surface, beyond the behavior, beyond what they do or how they treat us. To see with compassion is to see what motivates their behavior: their fear, their pain, their struggle, their woundedness. It is to see them out of who you know yourself to be: an imperfect, struggling human being who wants what every person wants and needs what every person needs. It is to see them as yourself.
To say the same thing in a different way: to see "the other" with compassion is to move beyond reacting to what they say or do. It is to respond out of who we are as a beloved child of God. (A reaction is unconscious, automatic, unthinking. A response involves a conscious choice.) We live out of who we are, not in reaction to who the other is or to what the other does. As long as we react out of fear of "the other," we give the other power over us, leading us to use our power against them. To live out of who we are as God's beloved child is to use our power to manage ourselves and our fear which frees us to view and relate to "the other" differently, maybe even as a brother.
Viewing the other with compassion, managing myself and my fear, responding out of who I am as a follower of Jesus rather than reacting to what the other says or does - each of these three choices requires emotional-relational-spiritual maturity. In other words, to see "the other" as my brother is only possible through the transforming work of God in my life. I/we cannot do it in our own strength. Only the Spirit can change what is in our hearts. Only the Spirit can move us beyond the paralyzing power of fear. Only the Spirit can lead us beyond being critical to being compassionate. Only the Spirit can empower us to love as Jesus loved.
We live in a time of extreme polarization, in our nation and in The UMC. That polarization indicates we a living out of our fear, viewing the other as an enemy, reacting to what the other says or does. This time of high anxiety calls for emotional-relational-spiritual maturity. It calls for a Spirit-empowered response to the other. It calls us to see our so-called enemy as our brother.
Merciful God, may it be ... in me ... in us ... in your people! By your grace, may it be!
Speaking a Different Language
Most of us have experienced the challenge of attempting to communicate with someone who speaks a different language. Without a common language, communication is limited, at best. More often than not, communication does not happen.
I resonate with this metaphor of speaking with a different language. In different Christian settings, I often sensed I was speaking a different language from others. You would think that, as all of us were self-identifying as Christian, we would speak a common language. But such was not the case. It was as though we were each coming from a different perspective, thinking from different paradigms, and pursuing different agendas. Those differences made it difficult to understand one another.
This struggle to communicate most often came from people who thought from what my professor called man-centered Christianity. In this view of the Christian life, we are the central focus. Everything is about us. It begins with our sin. Because we had sinned, God had to do something to save us. Jesus' death on the cross was about paying off our debt so God would forgive us. The goal was to save us so we could go to heaven. Being a Christian meant being a member of a church, believing certain facts, and living a moral life. It meant measuring up to a rigid standard of expected beliefs and behavior. This kind of Christianity relies on self-effort. Guilt and the fear of judgment are common motivators.
Man-centered Christianity is a what's-in-it-for-me version of Christianity. It is the version of Christianity proclaimed by self-identified evangelicals. As a result, it is the common understanding in Western Christianity.
In my mind, this man-centered version of Christianity misses the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. (See, there is an example of speaking a different language. Most people talk about being a Christian or a church member. I talk about being a follower of Jesus. In my mind, being a Christian or church member does not automatically translate into being a follower of Jesus. I've encountered too many people who identify themselves as a Christian or a church member whose lives reflect the culture in which they live rather than the teachings of Jesus. But I digress.) One of the many fallacies of man-centered Christianity is it is about us. It begins with us and is focused on us. It revolves around meeting our need so we can enjoy our reward. In this version of Christianity, the life and ministry of Jesus are boiled down to his death on the cross for our sins. It celebrates Good Friday (Jesus' death) more than Easter (Jesus' resurrection). A central fallacy is that it reflects merit-based thinking that makes our relationship with God a transaction: "if we will ..., then God will ..."
In contrast to man-centered Christianity was what my professor called God-centered Christianity. This kind of Christianity begins with God and focuses on God. It is rooted in and grows out of the character of God. Jesus came to reveal God to us. His life, ministry, and teaching are as vital as his death and resurrection. His death was not to change God's mind about us so God would forgive us. Rather, his death was to change our mind about God. Jesus came to invite us to live in relationship with God as beloved children. The Spirit teaches us the ways of God that Jesus taught (the Kingdom) and helps us grow in our ability to live them. The goal is a transformed life that is conformed to the image of Jesus, not just going to heaven when we die. Being a follower of Jesus means living the ways of God, helping to bring the Kingdom on earth, here and now. This growing and living is the Spirit's work within us and through us, not the result of self-effort. In this view of Christianity, salvation is a gift of grace. It is God's work from beginning to end. "Deserving" is not even in its vocabulary. Love permeates this version of Christianity: love as the essence of God's nature, God's love for us expressed in grace and forgiveness, and our response of love to God. The Spirit helps us to fall in love with who God is and with the ways of God.
The contrast between these two versions is stark. One is about us (what's-in-it-for-me); the other is about God. One reflects the merit-based thinking inherent to our human nature; the other, the grace-based ways of God. In one, we create God in our image; in the other, God is recreating us in God's image. One is about beliefs and behavior; the other, about relationship and a transformed life.
When we listen to another, we listen from our understanding and perspective. We also listen for our understanding and perspective. We listen for that which we already think and believe. When we don't hear what we already think and believe, it is difficult to hear what the other is saying. It is as though the other is speaking a different language. What they are saying is foreign to us. It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't fit into our paradigm of thinking. It is difficult to understand.
When we have difficulty communicating (for example, the polarization in The UMC), the difficulty suggests we are each coming from a different perspective, thinking from different paradigms, and pursuing different agendas. We are speaking language that is foreign to the other.
So, what religious language do you speak?
I resonate with this metaphor of speaking with a different language. In different Christian settings, I often sensed I was speaking a different language from others. You would think that, as all of us were self-identifying as Christian, we would speak a common language. But such was not the case. It was as though we were each coming from a different perspective, thinking from different paradigms, and pursuing different agendas. Those differences made it difficult to understand one another.
This struggle to communicate most often came from people who thought from what my professor called man-centered Christianity. In this view of the Christian life, we are the central focus. Everything is about us. It begins with our sin. Because we had sinned, God had to do something to save us. Jesus' death on the cross was about paying off our debt so God would forgive us. The goal was to save us so we could go to heaven. Being a Christian meant being a member of a church, believing certain facts, and living a moral life. It meant measuring up to a rigid standard of expected beliefs and behavior. This kind of Christianity relies on self-effort. Guilt and the fear of judgment are common motivators.
Man-centered Christianity is a what's-in-it-for-me version of Christianity. It is the version of Christianity proclaimed by self-identified evangelicals. As a result, it is the common understanding in Western Christianity.
In my mind, this man-centered version of Christianity misses the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. (See, there is an example of speaking a different language. Most people talk about being a Christian or a church member. I talk about being a follower of Jesus. In my mind, being a Christian or church member does not automatically translate into being a follower of Jesus. I've encountered too many people who identify themselves as a Christian or a church member whose lives reflect the culture in which they live rather than the teachings of Jesus. But I digress.) One of the many fallacies of man-centered Christianity is it is about us. It begins with us and is focused on us. It revolves around meeting our need so we can enjoy our reward. In this version of Christianity, the life and ministry of Jesus are boiled down to his death on the cross for our sins. It celebrates Good Friday (Jesus' death) more than Easter (Jesus' resurrection). A central fallacy is that it reflects merit-based thinking that makes our relationship with God a transaction: "if we will ..., then God will ..."
In contrast to man-centered Christianity was what my professor called God-centered Christianity. This kind of Christianity begins with God and focuses on God. It is rooted in and grows out of the character of God. Jesus came to reveal God to us. His life, ministry, and teaching are as vital as his death and resurrection. His death was not to change God's mind about us so God would forgive us. Rather, his death was to change our mind about God. Jesus came to invite us to live in relationship with God as beloved children. The Spirit teaches us the ways of God that Jesus taught (the Kingdom) and helps us grow in our ability to live them. The goal is a transformed life that is conformed to the image of Jesus, not just going to heaven when we die. Being a follower of Jesus means living the ways of God, helping to bring the Kingdom on earth, here and now. This growing and living is the Spirit's work within us and through us, not the result of self-effort. In this view of Christianity, salvation is a gift of grace. It is God's work from beginning to end. "Deserving" is not even in its vocabulary. Love permeates this version of Christianity: love as the essence of God's nature, God's love for us expressed in grace and forgiveness, and our response of love to God. The Spirit helps us to fall in love with who God is and with the ways of God.
The contrast between these two versions is stark. One is about us (what's-in-it-for-me); the other is about God. One reflects the merit-based thinking inherent to our human nature; the other, the grace-based ways of God. In one, we create God in our image; in the other, God is recreating us in God's image. One is about beliefs and behavior; the other, about relationship and a transformed life.
When we listen to another, we listen from our understanding and perspective. We also listen for our understanding and perspective. We listen for that which we already think and believe. When we don't hear what we already think and believe, it is difficult to hear what the other is saying. It is as though the other is speaking a different language. What they are saying is foreign to us. It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't fit into our paradigm of thinking. It is difficult to understand.
When we have difficulty communicating (for example, the polarization in The UMC), the difficulty suggests we are each coming from a different perspective, thinking from different paradigms, and pursuing different agendas. We are speaking language that is foreign to the other.
So, what religious language do you speak?
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