A Place for Both

A few lines from "Echo of the Soul" by J. Phillip Newell has generated more than just a little time spent on reflection.  By the time someone has gone some ten years into the season of retirement, it would seem that everything has been figured out.  The truth is that the farther I go on the journey and the deeper I go into the years, the more there is to ponder.  The quote from Newell reads, "Genesis celebrates the goodness of creation at its birth and the sacredness of humanity made in the image of God." 

 

It was this kind of theological thinking that put the Celtic spiritual community at odds with the established Roman Catholic Church.  It all came to a head in the year 664 at the Synod of Whitby.  The organized church was infused with the doctrine of the total depravity of humankind and there was no room for the view held forth by the Celtic way of thinking.  There was no room at the table for both and with the Augustine view prevailing, Celtic spirituality was pushed so close to the edge it nearly disappeared completely.

In these years it is no longer so easy to simply accept what has been taught since before I started the experience of learning.  It seems that there is room for both.  Neither has to be denied in order for the other to exist.  After the comment about the goodness  of creation and the sacredness of humanity, Newell went on to write, "It (Genesis) also speaks, however, of sin 'lurking at the door.' " (Genesis 4:7)  The moment of conception is surely more a moment of God touching humanity with a hand that enables His holiness to be imprinted on new life than it is a moment of that new life being afflicted and tainted with an uncontrollable evil.  Perhaps, the Genesis story of life in the Garden of Eden is more of a prototype of the human experience and predicament than we realize. 

The Place of Identity

In a book which births and develops an understanding of Celtic spirituality, J. Phillip Newell takes his readers into what is unchartered territory for most as he writes about the Garden of Eden.  "In the Biblical tradition, the Garden of Eden is our place of deepest identity.  It represents our genesis in God and the essential goodness of our origins.  It is not a place from which we are separated in space and time.  Rather, it is dimension within us from which we have become divorced....Our place of profoundest identity has not been destroyed.  Rather, we have become fugitives from it.  ("Echo of the Soul") 

 

What Newell writes is a long way from where I started.  When I first started reading the Word, the Garden was a place on the map.  After some time I realized that there would not be an archeological find called Eden because Eden was not about humankind building monuments to itself, or shrines for God.  God was instead present and revealing Himself in the midst of the cathedral of His creation.  With the unfolding of the years came thinking that Eden spoke of a time of perfection, but then there was the lurking and tempting serpent. 

The images that Newell's book draws forth from within us speak to the search of our soul for home.  There is ground to which I feel rooted.  When I stand in that place where my DNA has been shed into the soil through sweat and blood, where ancestors have lived, created new life, and died, and where those who belong to me go to be home, there is a strange sense of being where I am defined.  If such is true in this physical realm of life, how much more true it must be for a soul that yearns and longs to be where there is an overpowering sense of having arrived at the place of its identity. 

Corn and Gnats

It was a typical early summer afternoon around here today.  The temperature was hot.  Muggy hot.  So muggy and hot that walking outside guaranteed a wet shirt.  And there I was out there with a bushel of fine looking silver queen corn to shuck.  Seeing that corn coming out of the lush green shucks and onto the table was pure pleasure.  Already I had rescued a couple of ears from the boiling pot.  As I was enjoying the sight of perfect ears of corn and the remembrance of a tasty meal, a thousand black gnats descended on each one of my ears.  It seemed they were hunting a landing zone and my ears appeared most inviting. 

 

Anyone who has been around these parts at this time of the year knows about the constant buzzing and the incessant sense of being a landing zone.  Life is like silver queen corn in the hand and annoying black gnats in the ears.  The good and the bad always seem to get mixed up in our life.  Jesus told a parable about the kingdom of heaven to illustrate this life phenomena.  "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away."  (Matthew 13:24-25)  This blend of good and bad has so permeated life that even the kingdom of heaven is described in such a way as to indicate that it is not perfected on the earth, but simply on its way toward perfection.

I cannot figure out why those pesky gnats have to be a part of the good stuff of life.  My inability to figure it out changes nothing.  They were here today and will be tomorrow.  I just waved at them with hands sticky from the milk of corn and blew as best I could out the corner of my mouth.  Finally, it was an evening breeze off an approaching storm which sent them on their way and brought a season of cool refreshing over me.  Help in dealing with black gnats came from a storm this afternoon.  God sure has strange ways of rescuing us from our troubles.  But, He does. 

The One Meandering

A recent read which has spent more than a few paragraphs creating some interesting images about the Garden of Eden has set me out to meander around in Eden for a bit.  I have been wondering how the ancient couple experienced God there in that place of beginning.  From what I have read about God in the Word, it is unlikely they were having a face to face encounter.  Such is taboo.  It is one of those things which the Word talks about as a dangerous thing to do.  So, how did Adam and Eve know God was present with them?

 

Verse 8 of that third chapter of Genesis points us away from what cannot be seen to what can be heard.  "They (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze..."  It was not in the seeing with eyes that God was encountered, but in a seeing made possible through the senses.  What could not be seen was heard.  We might wonder what kind of sounds the Lord God made when He was walking in the Garden.  Most likely it was not the sound of feet thudding on the ground, but some other sound which was a part of creation. 

 

Around here the evening is a favorite time for being in the garden.  The work is done.  The sweat has dried and has become a forgotten memory.  The hands have been cleaned of the dirt accumulated during the day's digging and working.  The evening is not so much a time for working as it is for walking and looking and listening to the sounds that come when the heat of the day has passed.  It is a time for letting a softer part of the day wash over you to cleanse and touch parts that belong to the realm of the soul.  It is not the seeing and the doing which is important, but the awareness that all of the senses are alive and receptive to whatever it is that is out there, or Who is meandering around out there with you.   

The Gift of Discernment

As we learn to listen for the voice of God, we also find ourselves dealing with the issue of discernment.  Not every thing we hear being spoken from within originates with the Creator.  The Word of God does speak of a spiritual gift which tends to take us in that direction.  In I Corinthians 12:10 there is a listing of spiritual gifts which is likely not an exhaustive list, but one which points us toward the many gifts which come from God and in that listing we find ",,,the discernment of spirits." 

 

This particular passage does seem to point us toward a Holy Spirit given ability to tell the difference between the presence, the works, and impact of good and evil spirits.  And, as such it is a valuable gift from God, but to speak of discernment in a broader sense may open up our understanding to include the whole of life and not just a part of it.  As we speak of discernment in the context of listening for the voice of God, we are reminded that there are many voices out there as well as within which seek to be heard.  What one of us has not prayed and prayed so hard that we became convinced that the object of our praying was the will of God only to realize later it was more about what we wanted instead of what God wanted for us? 

 

Listening for the holy voice requires being able to discern when it is our own voice, our own desires, and our own agenda that is speaking to us.  Many a person and many a religious community has gone down a dead end street due to an inability to discern between a voice that came from our ego and one that came from the Spirit.  As we begin to learn to listen, we must be open to the trial and error of discernment.  And, like any lesson learned from trial and error, mistakes will be made.  But, the important things will not be the mistakes, but the lessons learned. 

The Inner Ear

Listening is difficult for most of us.  Even when it is our turn to listen in the flow of a conversation, we often quit listening and start the process of formulating our response when the other person stops talking.  It may appear that we are paying attention to what is being said, but we are paying more attention to something waiting to said.  And, even when we do manage to listen to what is being said, it has to pass through our own set of filters which may allow for distortion, or a wrong interpretation.

 

If listening to what another person is saying to us is hard, think for a moment about how much harder it is to listen for what God might be saying to us.  Of course, the first hurdle in that process is accepting the possibility that God speaks to us.  A second hurdle has to do with understanding that listening for His voice is to listen for a voice that is not spoken.  His voice is not heard with our ears, but with our senses.  It is as if our senses become inner ears tuned to hear what is not spoken and what cannot be heard.

     

And, of course, this takes us to the third hurdle in the discipline of learning to listen for the voice of God.  We do not trust our senses.  We have been taught to trust what we can see and what we can hear with the two ears God has given us.  We have lived a life time practicing the discipline of being logical and trusting only those things which can be objectively proven to be true.  Learning to trust our senses can only happen through a trial and error process which some might speak of as discernment.  But, more than anything else, learning to listen for the voice of God with this inner ear is going to require both faith in God and faith that He really does desire to speak to us through everything which is a part of our life. 

The Eternal Gift

We all walk in a field of blessings.  It is certain that we walk in fields that look differently, but no matter how it might seem, they are all fields of blessing.  It is not always easy for us to see that we walk midst a shower of blessings being poured upon our way and upon our heads.  We become so caught up seeing the things that bring us trouble that we begin to think that the only thing around us is today's trouble instead of today's blessing. 

 

Sometimes it takes some major change in our life to open our eyes.  It took retirement for me to realize how little I had been seeing.  We see the external things around us with the eyes given to us at birth, but those eyes are often blind to seeing the things the external things are showing us about our life and our walk with God.  Not everything is visible at first glance.  Seeing with the eyes of our spirit requires learning how to wait with patience, learning how to see the things which cannot be seen, and learning to recognize that everything holds some manifestation of the Holy One. 

 

The Apostle Paul obviously understood this reality since he wrote that verse which declares, "...give thanks in all circumstance; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  (I Thessalonians 5:18)  One of things not seen in a lifetime is the reality that gratitude come naturally as we come to understand that we do walk in a field of blessings.  The circumstances may be hard.  They may seem like impossible obstacles in our life.  Circumstances, however, do not alter the fact that life is filled with blessings.  They really are constantly being given to us by the Creator.  No matter how difficult the road is before us, it still leads us through fields of blessing.  It is God's ongoing and eternal gift to us. 

Blessed Beyond Measure

I am blessed beyond measure.  Late today between getting the cow troughs full and feeding the chickens, I sat for a quiet moment to marvel at the unique beauty of a lacecap hydrangea bush and the towering glory of a neighboring agapanthus.   A short walk took me into the garden where I spied the first cucumber of the season which will be a part of tomorrow's home grown salad.  Corn is silking.  The dirt under the potato bushes is overflowing with red potatoes and the first cup of blueberries for the year was picked, bowled, and taken into the house for an evening treat.  On the porch were fresh peaches left by an extended family member who came while no one was home.  I am blessed.  Beyond measure.

 

While the lifestyle of country living is not for everyone, I am grateful to have it as a part of my journey home.   Being able to share in growing what I eat makes me aware that what comes to the table does not come as easily as a trip to the grocery store might make it.  Somewhere back up the road there are people bending over with their hands in the dirt doing hard work from before sunrise to after sunset.  When what shows up on the table leaves the farm it goes through hands of food processors, truck drivers, and workers at the grocery store who keep the shelves stocked.  From beginning to end, it is hard work.  And each day we are blessed  beyond measure by the work of those we never see.  

 

Of course, the Creator has a hand in all of this.  He always has.  Out of what we cannot fathom, He not only created the dark dirt but bestowed upon it life giving power.  Anyone who has ever thrown a seed into the ground, covered it up with dirt, and waited has had the opportunity to share in one of the great miracles of the Creator God.   Waiting, watching, and finally seeing the seed break the ground brings to each one of us a moment of being blessed beyond measure. 

Conformity or Individualism

The church is always more comfortable with conformity rather than individualism.  The church seems to work best when everyone embraces the same theological position, lives according to the same values, and mimics all the rituals without any questioning spirit.  Individualism breeds a questioning attitude, thinking outside the church box, and freedom from having to be like everyone else.  The conformist who toe the line of the status quo are easier to control while the individualist are often just dismissed as impossible people.

 

It is a strange reality given the fact that Jesus was a revolutionary.  His spirit of non-conformity was a constant challenge to the status quo of the religious community of His day.  It was one of the things which caused Him to be hung on a cross.  Individual thinkers are often crucified.  And, if not crucified, they are severely persecuted until they see things the way those in control want them to see them.  I remember one woman who was a member of another brand other than Methodism who often visited with us on Sunday evening until she was finally told by her pastor that she could not worship in her church on Sunday morning if she continued the practice.  She was exposing herself to false teachings was the reason.

There is always room for thinking.  If someone tells us we need to leave our brain at home on Sunday morning, we need to run away from them as fast as possible.  We were created with the ability to reason things in our mind, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to aid us from within in our search for truth, and we are trusted by the Creator to walk a road which leads to an understanding of who we are and who the Creator created us to be.  The church may not always show appreciation for it, but the truth is, we are all created individually and so are we called to live. 

A Source of Truth

While I was not the most disciplined Bible reader in those days when I was a boy working on becoming a man, it was during those years that I started a more regular reading pattern.   I had two Bibles, one was the King James Version and the other one a New Testament put together by J.B. Phillips.  Oddly enough, I still have both of these rather somewhat used books packed away.  What I find interesting in these days about my memories of those days is the way some passages were such standouts that the reading of them back then in remembered even now.

 

What I later learned to call the Paraclete sections of the gospel of John are remembered in such a way.  A couple of those standout verses are John 14:26 which says, "But, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything..." and John 16:13 which sounds a similar note as it reads, "When the Spirit of truth comes. He will guide you into all truth..."  It was tempting back then to jump to the conclusion that this made book learning unnecessary, but obviously that was a road not taken.  More recently it has caused some reflection that would not have occurred to me back then.

First, what we know and believe is that the promise of Jesus is true.  The Holy Spirit does abide and dwell in us.  And secondly, the Holy Spirit can be trusted to do exactly what Jesus promised He would do.  He is a dependable source of truth.  Certainly, what this means for us is that while we may learn many facts from our book learning, we can depend on Who is within us to guide us into truth about ourselves, God, and the way He seeks to be present in our lives.  Of course, we are often afraid to look inward for truth and we are even more frightened to trust others to find their truth in the same place.  We would like for there to be more conformity in our truth finding, but  as long as the truth we find within is affirmed by the life and teachings of Jesus, we are surely on a path that leads us toward God. 

Our True Self

One of the hardest things we ever do is to try to be someone else.  It takes a lot of effort.  It takes every waking moment to model our lifestyle after another and at the end of the day we are worn out from walking in shoes that do not fit.  Trying to be someone else is an unnatural thing.  Even as one pine  tree in a forest cannot be like any other pine tree, neither can anyone of us be like someone else who is walking the road alongside of us.  No matter how hard we try, and no matter how much we might want to be like another, it is simply an impossible task. 

 

We were not created and made to be duplicates of another.  Each one of us is uniquely created and uniquely sent on our journey.  The Word says, "For it was You who formed my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  (Psalms 139:13-14)  Long years ago I remember a bumper sticker which read, "God don't make no junk."  Perhaps, it was inspired by the Words of the Psalmist, but whether it was or not, it is a contemporary word which gives us assurance that each one of is special and important in the eyes of God.  We are indeed wonderfully made!

Why any of us would want to model our life after the life of another is an exercise in the theatre of the impossible.  What is natural and divinely intended is for us to know the purpose for which we were created and then live into it.  While some might stumble in trying to discern that purpose, the way forward is found in the life and teachings of Jesus.  As we seek to walk on the road He has set before us, we not only are able to see Him modeling life before us, but we are also putting ourselves in a place where we can be guided into knowing our true self. 

The Coming of the Invisible

I knew something was out there even when it was invisible.  The first moment of awareness was subtle, superficial, and experienced at a sub-conscious level.  I heard a sound of something stirring in the tops of trees across the hayfield down in the branch.  As my mind began to recognize that something was coming, there was a quick cooling of the air, the taste of moisture in the air, and the feel of water falling on the back of my neck.  Only after I had  experienced the coming of the invisible through my senses did I actually see the drops of rain shining in shafts of sunlight. 

 

 Out of the realm of the invisible God comes making Himself known to us.  It happens through the ordinary moments of our life.  When we find ourselves standing in the threshold of glory about to break in upon us, it often is something which is first experienced more by our senses than anything which points to logic.  We are mostly skeptical of what cannot be understood, what cannot be seen clearly, and what is seen first by the eyes which are open to what cannot be seen.  Even as those who go out looking for love may not find it as quickly as those who are willing to wait and let love come to them, overwhelm them, and sweep them away, so is the hovering Spirit of the holy known in our lives.

 

It is always true that the Spirit of God dwells in us.  The Word makes it clear that there is something about our inner being which is a comfortable and desirable place for God's Spirit, but it is also true that the Spirit Who is within is  out there, beyond where we are, and invisible to eyes dulled by seeking only the things which promise much and give little.  As sure as the rain is heard in the distant trees announcing the invisible is coming, signs and sounds abound providing us with the awareness that the Holy One is drawing near.

Strange Methods

When persecution fell hard upon the early church as it was coming together in those days after Pentecost, believers were scattered into the regions of Judea and Samaria.  Those in authority intended for the persecution to bring an end to the Jesus movement, but God had another plan.  He used the scattering to make missionaries and evangelists out of those fleeing in fear for their live.  It had never been His intention for the gospel to find a comfortable home in Jerusalem.  It was meant for all the world.

 

If this sounds like an unusual strategy, how much stranger was the choice of Saul of Tarsus to be the chief advocate of the gospel.  When Stephen was stoned, Saul held the coats of those who threw the stones.  The Word says, "And Saul approved of their killing him."  (Acts 8:1)  And then the next Word about Paul tells us, "But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house...dragging them to prison."  (Acts 8:3)  And later when he went to Damascus, he went, "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples..." (Acts 9:1)  Saul of Tarsus certainly does not sound like the one in whose hands God would choose to place the bulk of the missionary and evangelism work of the church, but He did.

God not only used the persecution to spread the gospel, but He also used a product and ringleader of the persecution as well.  God is not predictable.  He is not bound by what seems logical.  He does what works for His purposes even though it involves strange choices and unusual circumstances.  In the Old Testament there is such a Word proclaimed by Isaiah, "Thus says the Lord to His anointed to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him..." (Isaiah 45:1)  Cyrus was not the first unlikely one God chose to do His work and Saul of Tarsus was not the last since He has also chosen the likes of you and me.

The Strange Way

Something earth shattering and history changing took place on the day Stephen was stoned to death.  (Acts 7:60)  Stephen is remembered as the first martyr of the Pentecost created church.  The thing which happened at his death is reported in the first verse of the next chapter of the book of Acts, "That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered  throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria."  At first glance it would seem that the Apostles had become content with church life in Jerusalem.  The Words of Jesus about going and making disciples of all nations had been put on the back burner.  (Matthew 28:19)

 

What pushed the gospel of Jesus out into the world according to His command was not the faithful attention of the Apostles to the Words of Jesus, but a terror which settled down hard on the Christian community.  It was such a terrible thing the faithful believers were pushed away from all that was familiar and into the strange and uncertain world out there beyond them.  Judea and Samaria were not a far piece from Jerusalem, but what Jesus wanted to happen was beginning.  Persecution drove it. 

Of course, God did not send the persecution.  Evil rose up to take one more swipe at the Jesus folk whose number was growing.  But, no evil is beyond the power of God to take it in His hand and bring some good to bear in the world.  If evil men were going to do their thing, then God would take what they meant for evil and use it for good.  It is something He has done since the beginning.  As we read about the way God worked in the midst of such trouble for the church, it certainly gives us assurance that no trouble of our day is beyond His ability to work good in our lives and in the life of the church. 

The Price of Preaching

One of the characteristics of the early church was powerful preaching.  When the wind and fire settled down a bit on the Day of Pentecost, Simon Peter picked up the mantle of preacher and by the time he finished preaching about Jesus an estimated three thousand people had become new baptized believers.  Reading about this preaching event does indeed raise the wonder level.  It also raises questions about the preaching of today. 

Of course, to preach on a day like Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was roaming all over the place would make even the most mediocre preacher an exceptional one.  But, then we can make an excuse for mediocrity out of the unusual nature of the day, or we can make it a source of inspiration which does not let us be satisfied with the normal Sunday stuff.  What we see immediately as we read Peter's sermon is that it was about Jesus.  Nothing else.  Jesus crucified and raised from the dead.  It was also intentionally persuasive.  It left people wanting more.  No one was lamenting the amount of time given to preaching.  "What should we do?" they asked.  (Acts 2:37)

And, of course, it was also preaching that was birthed from a season of waiting and praying.  If there is anything which today's pulpit needs it is more praying.  The preacher needs to do more praying and the people who listen to the preacher need to do more praying for the preacher and the preaching.  When either is lacking, the power of the preaching is bound to be diminished.  The preacher should not complain about people not listening if the sermon has not been soaked in prayer.  And, the people should not be looking for a better preacher until they have baptized the one before them in prayer.  It is certain the church needs more powerful preaching.  And there is a way to have it.  Or, maybe it should be said that there is a price to pay for it.

A New Future

What is happening in the church today is unprecedented.  None of us have ever lived through a time when the church doors were closed to those who would come and worship on Sunday.  The pulpits are gathering dust.  Musical instruments have been silenced.  Pews are empty.  And, offering plates are not being passed from one person to another.   However, like all things, these days will  pass.  The church will once again be opening its doors and inviting those on the outside to come once again. 

 

Once the green light is given by governmental officials, health experts, and church leaders, there will surely be a rush to dust the sanctuary, and, of course, disinfect it as well.  As slow as the social distancing thing might make it, the goal will be to get back to doing all the things once done as quickly as possible.  One of the mistakes the church might make in these days is to assume that what was should be again.  These days of the forced closings could be something like a pause which the church could use to look seriously at how it might move forward without the burden of what has always been. 

As is so often the case, there is a New Testament Word which speaks to the church at the juncture when "pushing the pedal to the medal" might seem to be the thing to do.  It is found at the end of the gospel of Luke where an about to ascend Jesus says to His disciples, "...stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."  (Luke 24:49)  In another place in the beginning of the book of Acts, the Word reads, "...He (Jesus) ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father..." (Acts 1:4)  Even as we gather, it might be that waiting would be a more appropriate spiritual response than worshipping.  We are likely to try to shape the future God is unfolding according to the past instead of giving Him room to take us to a different and new place.  The future is in the hands of God and the church will be better served by seeking that future instead of the one we would re-create. 

Models for Ministry

Every now and again when I was giving leadership to the church, I would meander off in the realm of trying some experiment.  There were numerous ones which centered on prayer.  One of the ones which worked better than I imagined it would had to do with inviting people to rise on Sunday morning at 5:00 am to pray for the worship service.  Of course, no one went to the sanctuary as each one prayed from their home.  It was not a large group which joined this holy experiment, but it did have far reaching effects. 

 

Another one which did not end so well centered around I Corinthians 12:7.  In this section on spiritual gifts, there is this Word which reads, "To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."   After reading and figuring on this Word, the conclusion was reached that the Spirit can be trusted to provide for the church individuals with spiritual gifts necessary for that church to do and be faithful to the purpose for which God called it into being.  So, after spending several months on a church wide study about spiritual gifts, we suspended all program committees for the year depending on the Spirit to equip and lead us into whatever ministries He desired.  It sounded better than it worked.  One thing it really did do well was drive all the control people up the wall! 

Maybe the Biblical models are harder for us because we have become so indoctrinated by the way our culture says we should do business, even if it is God's business.  Culture tends to point us toward what is logical, what makes sense, and what is economically feasible and the Biblical models usually point toward exercising faith in God to do what He has promised to do.  As the organized church moves away from this season of people being separated from everything that has been normal in the life of the church, we can only wonder and hope that those giving leadership may point us toward Biblical models where faith is actually a factor for the ongoing life of the church.     

Simplicity

It did not take long for the early church to start behaving like an institutional church, but it did not happen immediately.  The early pictures we see in the pages of the book of Acts describe a church filled with powerful Christ centered preaching which was so blessed by the Holy Spirit that lives were changed by the thousands.  Of course, with that many people becoming followers of Jesus, the Apostles were led to provide a nurturing leadership.  We hear a word about how the thousands were nurtured in Acts 2:42, "They devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers."

 

Some might say that the ecclesiastical water got muddied by the time we were ready to wade into it.  No one today would figure that a church could survive by focusing only on those four things.  Things like child care programs, choirs and hand bells for all ages, special ministries for special groups, providing transportation for ski trips, building bigger buildings, and, of  course, strong financial programs are surely necessary for survival.  Back in the days of Peter and John, no one would have thought to model the church after the pattern of a small, and in some cases, not so small business, but such is where we have gone today. 

 

It may be that these days of being separated from the church building and its ministries will sift and shake the institutional church in such a way that a ministry pointing toward simplicity will take hold.  It may also be true that those who sought the anonymous kind of membership in the larger church will find themselves seeking out the smaller gatherings where people in the pews can be known and where there might be a greater sense of being in a safe place.  Much remains to be seen, but one thing is certain.  As the church moves forward, it would be a blessing if it took the spiritual priorities of Acts 2:42 with it.     

The Spiritual Community

The future of the church is certain.  There can be no other conclusion when we read words spoken to Simon Peter by Jesus.  "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it..."  (Matthew 16:18)  Taking this passage seriously takes away any fear that the church will disappear.  It is here to stay.  There have been times throughout its history when persecution has driven it out of the visible busy mainstream into the hidden places out of sight.  But, no matter how deeply underground it is driven, it like its Master rises with power.

What has changed and can be expected to change again is its form, its expression, the way it is present in the world as the Body of Christ.  The institutional structure may become unrecognizable due to the pressure placed upon it as it tries to be a part of the economic driven world, but the church is not really a small business struggling to survive in difficult times, but a spiritual community whose light can never be extinguished.  Invisible before the Incarnation, it will forever remain visible, present, and powerful until the day it is brought completely into the heavenly eternal realm.

A very basic affirmation of the people of the church is that the church is of God.  It is always wrong to think of it as ours.  It is not.  It is His.  It does not belong to us, but to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  It is in a sense the dwelling place of the Triune God we worship.  It is a community where our God is worshipped, where we hear Words from Him that give shape and direction to our life, and where we gather to remember what He has done for us through the sacrifice of His precious Son.  It is our inner being that rises up when the spiritual community expresses itself in the world.  The church is a place which points us to God in the world and a place where our soul receives the care it needs for living now and throughout eternity.   

The Tension

While it is true that many churches have some version of Matthew 28:19 (Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...")  as their stated purpose, it is also true that the real purpose is self preservation.  The church is a kind of two minded body.  One is the institutional mind.  The other is the spiritual mind.  There always is a tension between the two which brings to mind what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans, "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do..." (Romans 7:19) 

 

Some might say it is a healthy tension for the church, but for all practical purposes the tension is pushed far beneath the surface so that the institutional mind can direct the affairs of Jesus without an overriding sense of guilt.  Seldom do those of us on the membership rolls of the church receive letters from our leaders inquiring about the condition of our prayer life, but when the treasury gets low, we can count on some note encouraging us to give generously to God.  Giving generously to God is institutional talk for giving to take care of building maintenance, salaries, and indebtedness.  In these days when Sunday morning gatherings are taboo out of health concerns, the institutional mind is likely experiencing its own version of insanity.

Of course, this is not a condition peculiar to these days.  It is easy to remember the church of Martin Luther's day and the scandal of indulgences.  Going even further back is the sixth century theologian, Pelagius, who lost favor with the Vatican in part because of his call to affluent Bishops and church dignitaries to be attentive to the need for redistribution of wealth.  The institutional mind of the church is always concerned about self-preservation.  The struggle between the institutional mind and the spiritual mind can be seen in the record of the church in Acts as well as on the street corners of today. 

Sifting and Shaking

There are two churches that exist in a kind of parallel relationship in the world.  One is the institutional church and the other is the spiritual church.  One is of man and the other is of the Kingdom of God.  The institutional church is built and sustained by the externals which have been birthed by the pillars and the keepers of this church.  The spiritual church was called into existence by Christ and was birthed by the power of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. 

 

As we read the Scripture we hear Jesus saying to Simon Peter, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church..."  (Matthew 16:18)  Peter was the man bent toward the externals.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter, James, and John experienced heaven breaking in upon the earth.  As Moses and Elijah appeared there with Jesus, Simon Peter responded by saying, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  (Matthew 17:4)  Peter with his institutional bent was ready to do some building, ready to create shrines, and maybe, even provide places where people could in later days make pilgrimages. Who knows what might have happened had Jesus given a green light to Peter! 

The institutional church is always dependent on the external things like prestige and power, buildings and programs, gathering crowds and raising money.  When these things are no longer nurturing the church so dependent on them, it will inevitably suffer a kind of atrophy.  The institutional church cannot survive without a steady diet of this external nurture.   For those whose kingdoms are built around the institutional church these days must indeed be frightening.  It must seem urgent to get back to a place where going forward like it used to be is imperative.  There is no room to consider that these days may be a divine shaking and sifting of the contemporary church leaving it bearing little resemblance to what it has been in the past. 

The Horse to Water

One of the amazing things about memories is that there are so many of them lurking around in the old gray matter.  It is curious what prompts some of them to come to the surface after decades of being invisible and alive only as something forgotten.  A friend who shared an important memory in her life caused me to think about something I have not thought about in years and years.  While some memories we might wish could be forgotten, even those have a way of lingering.  Perhaps, memories are not just images that hang around in the recesses of our subconscious, but gifts from God.

 

When I was exploring the teenage years, I lived in Alamo, Georgia.  My Dad was the pastor at the local Methodist Church.  Every Sunday night the youth of the church gathered for Methodist Youth Fellowship, or MYF as it was known.  At the conclusion of each session we all gathered in a circle and spoke into existence a prayer from Numbers. 6:24-26:  "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord makes His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."  While I do not remember if I actually knew it was from the Old Testament, I do know it became such a part of my spiritual life that it has not been forgotten.

 

I have always been a big believer in the power of spiritual osmosis.  Some things are received not because we set out to receive them; instead, we receive them in an inadvertent way through a kind of soaking.  Being soaked with spiritual stuff when I was growing up certainly did not hurt me.  There were times when I was not paying attention and there were other times when my rebellious spirit refused to give credibility to what I was hearing.  Nonetheless, I was soaking up more than I realized at the time.  And while everyone's experience cannot be like mine, I have always been a big fan of bringing the horse to water.

The Hands of God

One thing which did not change when I retired was working with holy stuff.  Back in the days of working as a pastor, my hands were constantly handling what is regarded as the holy.  While so much of the work of the church is about maintenance and propping up its institutional life, there is still ample opportunity to handle the spiritual matters which give life to the soul seeking God.  The liturgy of the church has a way of keeping those within the church grounded on spiritual things as does the worship life and sharing of the Holy Sacrament.

 

In the years of actively working within the church, it often seemed that I was surrounded by the holy.  As I walked into retirement, I did not realize how little this would change.  It took some time to see, but as I walked deeper and deeper into a way of life so rooted in the creation, I began to see that the holy was not bound within the walls or the ministry of the church, but was, in fact, once again surrounding me.  I have come to understand how dependent life is on the dirt of the earth, the wind in the air, and the life giving rain of the heavens.  I am beginning to sense and experience the holiness of God in so many ordinary things of the creation around me. 

 

What makes for something being holy is not the prayers of the preacher, but the hands of the Creator.  This has not really changed.  I suspect that many have walked through the created order like I have done for so long.   Walking and being blessed, but not seeing is one way to describe the journey of so many like me.  One of the blessings of being where I have been placed is the blessing of having eyes opened to the way we walk not a step in this life without being surrounded by what is holy because everything around us, before us, and behind us has passed through the hands of God. 

God Revealings

The rising full moon which awaken the darkness last night seems to have disappeared.  It is nowhere to be seen.  But, of course, it is still there.  It is just invisible to the eye tonight.  Somewhere on the other side of the thick cloud cover which hangs heavy in the sky the same revealing light is shining.  Nothing changes that reality of the creation.  What has been since the beginning and will be until eternity takes hold of the universe to make it into something new that will have no end will continue to be. 

 

And in much the same way we look upward or outward or inward looking for God.  Sometimes we see Him, experience His presence, hear His voice and sometimes we do not.  What we see and experience does not change the reality of His revealing presence in our world.  What keeps us from seeing and knowing Him as yesterday may be something other than a covering of cloud.  It may be a heart that is turned in another direction, a spirit that has gone after its own way, or the overwhelming sense of overcoming circumstances.  Whatever it is, what has changed is not Him.  He is always faithful to be consistently and eternally who He has always been and will forever be. 

 

The revealing light of the rising moon will not be seen this night.  At least it will not be seen in this moment.  But, not seeing it does not mean it is not there and not shining with all its radiance.  What is also known is that there will be another night, another moment, when its glowing radiance will warm my spirit and send my soul soaring in delight.  The God who sometimes is not seen and known is always there to be seen and known in the moment that is before us, or just beyond us.  As sure has the moon has graced the night sky since the beginning of creation, so has God graced the lives of people like you and me through times when it seemed that He was forever invisible and not to be seen and known again.  Some things like moon risings and God revealings never cease. 

A Time for Dancing

It is a shame so many miss things like full moon risings.  Sunrises send glorious shades of orange and red across the gray morning sky.  The moon is more subtle.  It does not command attention.  It just quietly breaks the edge of the place where earth meets sky and begins its work of shedding light in the midst of the growing darkness.  When watching the full moon's movement away from the edge of the earth into the field of stars above, it is no surprise to know that some have danced with hands waving in the air as they beheld its revealing glory.

 

And while there have been some in centuries past who have wrongly worshipped this rising heavenly orb, there is no doubt that it has the power to bring those who watch into a spirit of worship and adoration for the Creator who brought the rising moon into existence.  If creation does indeed have the power to point us toward the Creator and if it does have the ability to speak a word from the heart of God, then, perhaps, dancing in the moonlight is not such a far fetched idea. 

 

Certainly, the light of the full moon brings to mind the presence of the Light of the World and the words of the gospel writer John who wrote about Him, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:5)   It is more than just the darkness of the night that this light of God penetrates and overcomes.  It is a light that has such power that the deepest  most unknown sin and the most overwhelming sense of guilt has no power to destroy our life.  This darkness which sometimes fills our spirit and seems to have the upper hand in everything we think about doing has no power at all when the heart is opened before the Christ who has come to shine the light of His love, His forgiveness, and His mercy upon it.  Maybe there is, after all, reason for dancing, if not in the fields, then in the sanctuaries. 

The New Holy

Retirement some ten years ago took me out of the church and into the world.  It took me out of a handmade sanctuary and into a God created cathedral.  Ever so slowly I began to realize I had been too critical and skeptical of those who chose the outdoors on Sunday morning instead of the pews in front of my pulpit.  And while their insistence that God could better be worshipped on the river might have had an ulterior motive which had nothing to do with God, the setting of creation can indeed be a place where God can be powerfully experienced and known.

 

This truth came to me unexpectedly in those early years of living on the farm surrounded by things made by the Creator instead of things made by the hands and dreams of other humans.  The fields and trees and landscape of the farm became a holy cathedral where walls were defined by the places where earth met sky.  I had often spoken of the sanctuary as being a holy place inside a secular world.  In retrospect it was such a narrow view.  The sanctuary is indeed a place made holy by the prayers and the rituals intent on declaring some spaces holy and set apart for use by God,  but it stands midst a creation that is holy.

Living midst the creation day after brought me to the realization that every inch of ground and every bit of matter and life created by God is holy not because we have declared it to be holy, but because it has all passed into existence through His creating hands.  It often seems that our culture is intent on hiding what is holy by covering it with concrete, asphalt, and towering structures, but the holiness of creation remains. Perhaps, it is becoming harder for us to see, but everywhere our eyes look and everything our hands touch bears the marks of the holy.  It has always been this way.  One of the gifts of retirement was a new awareness of the holy all around me. 

The New Symbol

It is closing in on ten years now since I retired, left what had been mostly an urban life for a long time, and moved to what amounted to a small farm which in some ways was like a baptism that has changed everything about my life.  Even the things I figured to be nailed down beyond being pulled up have been pried lose for another look.   After taking the ordination papers off the wall, I still preached and served in a nearby small membership church for a little over four years, but that came to end leaving me with what was here where the road had brought me. 

While I could imagine some of the ways life would be different after retirement, what I could not have imagined was the way it opened up a new season of spiritual searching.  All my life my understanding of God and my experience of His presence had been connected to the church.  All that changed here.  I realized how completely was the change one day when I was out in the woods trying my hand at calling a turkey.  Every part of me was intent on scraping the box and listening for a distant gobble.  While I was listening for what was out there, an owl landed quietly in a tree behind me.  How long he sat there watching me before filling the air with a loud announcement of his presence, I do not know, but I do know it became a moment which made me literally fall off the bucket on which I was sitting.

It was also the first moment of realizing that the God who I had known mostly as the God of church was the God of creation.  It was a moment of knowing that God was present with me in the new place and in the new season.  I had not been forsaken.  It was also a moment when I came to understand that the owl was a new symbol for the revealing presence of the Holy One in the midst of my new life.  Even now when I hear the hooting of the owl in the darkness, I am reminded that God is always out there somewhere, but never far. 

Watch out for Snakes

A few years ago a family from New Hampshire became our nearest neighbors. Of course, nearest is relevant.  Their house is actually across a five acre hay field, on the other side of the branch, and through the woods which puts them about a half mile away.  Their house is slightly visible only when winter strips the trees of any hint of foliage.  The other day their children found some wild blackberries growing up a piece from their house.  A little later one of them showed up with his Dad to bring  us a container filled with ready to eat, delicious blackberries.  Unknown to them they not only brought blackberries, but they also brought a memory.

 

When I was a little younger than they are now, my mother would take me and my sister out in the country to visit uncles and aunts.  Just before we got to the old Strickland  home place, we would often stop and pick blackberries growing on the fence row next to the dirt road.  When we got out of the car to pick, she would always say, "Ya'll watch out for snakes now."  It is kinda hard to pick blackberries while watching for snakes, but we still managed to pick enough for eating then and a pie later.

 

When she told us, "Ya'll watch out for snakes now," she taught us a life lesson.  The letter Paul wrote to the Roman Christians says it with different words as it says, "...evil lies close at hand..."  (Romans 7:21)  As wonderful as is the creation and as marvelous is life, neither is empty of danger, temptations to make wrong choices, and things that threaten our existence.  Neither my Mother nor the Word of God say a word contrary to this truth.  Some things just happen.  A peaceful walk in the woods can end up with a tree limb breaking and falling upon us.  Midst bright sunny days tornadoes come and go.  When we least expect it, the evil one shows up to push us away from the walk of faith.  The good news is that a light has come into the world through Jesus Christ and no darkness can stand with lasting power against it. (John 1:5) 

Cow Troubles

Anyone who keeps cows needs fencing.  Anyone who has fences with cows on the inside will have to learn how to mend fences.  The past couple of weeks there has been more than a little fence fixing going on around the farm.  As cows will do, one found a weak fence post, pushed it over, and tried the grass on the other side.  Hardly had the cow been enticed back inside the fence and new posts put in the ground when beavers in the neighbor's pond decided to cut down a tree and, of course, it fell across the fence causing more fence work. 

 

While I found the beaver break before the cows, a few days later I heard a bovine ruckus on the bottom side of the pasture next to the branch.  By the time I got to the place where a big limb had fallen out of the tree and onto the fence, several cows had meandered into the woods outside the fence line.  More cow calling and more fence fixing ensued.  What happened was the wind blew, the limb fell, and the cows got out once more.  It has just been a week or two of unexpected cow troubles.

 

Life is like a limb falling over the pasture fence.  Some times bad things just seem to happen.  It has nothing to do with what we do or have not done.  Things just happen.  Toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke of what comes to both the wise and the foolish.  "The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house..."  (Matthew 7:25, 27)  While one house stood and one house fell, the stuff no one would choose came to both.  It just works that way.  When things just happen, they do so in an indiscriminate way.  The difference is in the one to whom it comes.  The difference is in Who the one to whom the bad stuff comes depends.

A Favorite Word

All of us have Scripture verses which we might call favorite ones.  Some like the 23rd Psalm have been with us a long time.  Others have come to us during different seasons of our life, but are remembered for the way they comforted us, or enabled us to make the journey from where we were to where we are.  Some of the ones we count as favorites come and go with the passing moments of our days.  And some, of course, stay with us and are words to which we go back to from time to time in the ordinary moments of our life.

 

Romans 8:11 is a word which came to me some years ago and which is kept on the front side of my memory.  It says, "The spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you...." While there is more to the verse than just this phrase, it is this simple word which has sustained me through many days.  Like the doctrine of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is often difficult for us to understand, or define.  But, this verse from Romans tells me truths that overwhelm and keep me going.  It  is a word which tells us that one of the works of the Holy Spirit was to raise Jesus from the dead.  Jesus walked into the morning of the resurrection because the power of the Spirit was unleashed in that dark tomb. 

 

As amazing as is that truth, how much more amazing is the truth that this same all powerful, life giving, dead raising Holy Spirit has taken up residence in our heart.  Hardly had the work of grace and faith done the work of bringing light to a dark sinful heart when the Holy Spirit moved to begin a work which only ends when the last breath of earth's air is breathed.  The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in us.  He works in us to shape our inner being into the image and spirit of the Christ.  It is amazing that such a One would choose to do such a work in the likes of me and you.