Friday, December 6, 2013

Experiencing God - Unity vs Uniformity 120

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
Gospel of Mark


Rick Warren wrote a best selling book called "The Purpose Driven Life".  Many of you have probably read it.  In this book, Warren presents all kinds of sayings and expressions which could be easily memorized.  One that caught my attention when I read it was:  "God does not want uniformity.  God wants unity". 

What is this uniformity that God does not want?  In simple terms, it means not turning everyone into a carbon copy of ourselves.  That would be unhealthy for oneself and the church which needs a diversity of gifts and strengths to build Christian community.

But unity is different.  To be united would be life giving.  To be united is to share that commonality of faith in Christ.  To be united is to share in Christ's purpose, mission, and service.  When people are united around a common faith in Christ, and fulfilling Christ's mission, there is a willingness to overlook differences in views, differences in personalities, differences in weaknesses and strengths.  There is a desire to work together and bring to the table that which can be used to fulfill the intended purpose.

When does this not happen? 
1.  When there is competition in the performance of certain roles
2. When there is insistence that everyone have my point of view
3. When everything has to be done a certain way which is usually my way. 
When these conditions exist, disunity will result.

In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul observed disunity.  He accuses them of "still living by the flesh". 

"For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving according to human inclination?"

Does this condition exist in the Church today?  I think we can all agree that, to some extent, it does.  What can we do to encourage unity?  For an answer to this question, I was impressed by Pope Benedict XIV statement on his visit to the United States. 

"We can only move forward if we turn our gaze together to Christ.  In the light of faith, we will then discover the wisdom and strength needed to open ourselves to points of view which may not necessarily conform to our own ideas or assumptions.  Thus we can value the perspectives of others, be they younger or older than ourselves, and ultimately hear what the Spirit is saying to us and to the Church."

To facilitate this sense of unity by turning out gaze to Christ and His mission, we also must do what Jesus Himself did in the Gospel of Matthew; to find our way to a place where we can be alone, so that we can pray to the Father for help and direction as to how to respond to the many situation we find in our lives.  In this way, we can learn to respond with love to the differences we encounter.  We can discover Christ's love in the brother or sister we are at odds with.  We can seek forgiveness and reconciliation with those we have hurt or with those who have hurt us.  We can discover that both we and the other are, as St. Paul says; "God's field, God's building, working together with the same purpose in mind."  

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Experiencing God - Discovering our True Treasure 119

I would like to start with a story I've borrowed from Eckhart Tolle's book "The Power of Now".
"A beggar had been sitting by the side of the road for many years.  One day a stranger walked by.  The beggar mumbled as he mechanically held out his old baseball cap:  "Spare some change?".  "I have nothing to give", said the stranger.  "What is that you are sitting on?  "Nothing" replied the beggar.  "Just an old box.  I've been sitting on it for as long as I can remember."  "Ever look inside?" asked the stranger.  "No", said the beggar. "What's the point"?  "There's nothing in there". "Have a look inside", said the stranger.  The beggar managed to pry open the lid.  With astonishment, disbelief and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold."

Christ, for most of us at some point, comes as a stranger with nothing to offer.  But He invites us to look inside.  Not inside a box, but somewhere even closer.  Inside ourselves.  At that point in time, we might say: "What could possible be accomplished by doing that?   

Those who have never found their true treasure, which is that radiant joy of being, and deep unshakeable peace that comes from Christ, are beggars, even if they may not know it.  Without Christ, we continue to look outside for scraps of pleasure, for validation, for security, for praise, for love, while they have a treasure within that is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.

In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which someone has found.  This person who discovers this treasure, hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.  What he has discovered by accident is worth so much more than anything else he may have owned or acquired.

Have you found such a treasure?  Have you been looking in the right place?  Look within, for it is there that you will discover that the Kingdom of God is close at hand.

It seems that most people look for this treasure in far off places, whether it be in the things that we see, or maybe in a God who is far away, in the heavens above.  So we seek after those things or bargain with this far-away God hoping that we will receive what we believe will fill our emptiness.  Perhaps it is this far away God that the young Jeremiah is appealing to.  "I have heard your word. I do your will. Yet they still curse me. Why is my suffering continual, my wounds incurable, refusing to be healed?"

It is only when Jeremiah develops a listening heart that he begins to hear God's voice within.  "If you come back, I will take you back into my service.  And if you utter noble thoughts, not despicable ones, you shall be as my own mouth."  And Jeremiah is assured.  "No one will overcome you because I am with you."  Therein lies the secret of the joy of being and that deep unshakeable peace.  It is  discovering that God is one with us.

The treasure that we seek is really not that far away.  It lies in our own hearts where God makes His home with us.  We have no need to bargain with this God because His mere presence is sufficient to sustain our hope.  As he promised Jeremiah: "I will make you a bronze wall fortified against the people's curses.  They may fight against you, but they will not over come you."

Experiencing God - Mountain of God 118

"On this mountain, the Lord will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich foods.  On this mountain, the Lord will remove the mourning veil covering all the peoples, and destroy death forever."
Isaiah

What can satisfy the deepest hunger and longing of the human heart?  To satisfy our deepest hunger and longing, we often look for it in an accumulation of more and more things; but it cannot be found there.  As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well: "If you drink this water (when referring to the water from the well) you will become thirsty again; but the water that I give will become a fountain within, welling up to eternal life."

Isaiah provides deep imagery and description of what it is like on God's Mountain.  This is not an expression of some exterior reality, but an inner reality of the heart as one draws closer to God, for in God, there is abundance.  "The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every cheek.  God will take away the people's shame."

In the Lord's prayer we say:  "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  I often wonder if we understand what this means?  Could it mean that we should try to create in our own lives and the lives of others what already exists on God's Holy Mountain?

I heard some alarming statistics the other day on the news.  Apparently in our Western North American culture, we waste or throw out one-third of the food we produce.  In fact, the perception in our economy as to what we need by way of food production is based on what we both use and waste.  The statistician stated that if all of the people of the world had the same perception of food production needs based on that in North America, we would need four planets the size of earth to produce it.  There is an apparent disparity that exists that creates a gross imbalance in the perceived need and use of the world's produce.

On God's Holy Mountain, there is a transformation of heart that enables us to see things differently than we do with our ordinary eyes.  We are able to see that abundance and fullness of life does not come from the accumulation of more and more things. It comes about through the sharing of God's abundance with those who have less.  God's Kingdom works somewhat in reverse to how the world works. That's why we see, in Christ, someone who is often a contradiction to what we normally experience in society.  What is important to Christ is often unimportant to society.  What is often important to society is unimportant to Christ.

In the Gospel reading from Luke in the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus shares the little that He has (in this case seven loaves and a few fishes) to reveal that it is in giving that hearts are transformed, and God's abundance is manifested.  That which is left over is much greater than the little we began with.  When hearts are transformed, we see that God's abundance is manifest through the sharing of what we have so that everyone has enough. Then God's Kingdom will be evident to us on earth as it is in heaven.

What can satisfy the deepest hunger and longing of the human heart?  We must not look for it in the accumulation or more and more exterior things.  We must look for it in transformed hearts that see the importance of sharing what we have.  We must look for it in the life giving waters given to us through our faith in Christ - transforming waters that well up within to provide eternal life.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Experiencing God - Qualities of the Heart 117

"Lord, teach us to pray; it's been a long and cold December kind of day.
With our hearts and hands all busy in our private little wars;
We stand and watch each other now, from separate shores: We lose the way.

I need to know today the way things should be in my head.
I need to know for once now the things that I should have said.
I've got to learn to walk around as if I were not dead.
I've got to find a way to learn to live."
Song by Joe Wise

During my thirty-five years of working in an office, I've had many performance reviews, and I've heard many words that supposedly described my skills and abilities.  I'll just mention a few good ones:  knowledgeable, confident, timely, organized, efficient, team player, adjusts well to change, works well with others. 

Since these were the qualities that were emphasized, these were the qualities that you worked on to develop.  If you look at them closely, they are all intellectual or skill-set qualities. 

There are other qualities that I've never seen in a performance report: merciful, forgiving, humble, loving, peaceful, gentle, generous, patient, kind.  It's as if these things were not important when it came to performance review time.  Why?  Work is principally about job performance and productivity. 

So where do we learn about these other qualities, the "qualities of the heart"?  Do we study about  them from a textbook, or do we learn about them in another way?

If we examine Scripture readings, most emphasis is placed on the "qualities of the heart".  In the book of Daniel, we see Daniel praying to God.  "But may a contrite soul, a humble spirit be as acceptable to you as holocausts of rams and bullocks.  May it be your will that we follow You wholeheartedly since those who put their trust in you will not be disappointed.  Treat us gently, as You Yourself are gentle and merciful."

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter who asked Him how many times he must forgive a brother or sister who wronged him:  "As often as seven?  No Peter! Not seven, but seventy times seven."

Qualities of the heart are not skills but relational.  You can't incorporate them in your life by reading from a textbook.

Our relatedness flows in three directions;  relatedness with God, relatedness with ourselves, relatedness with others. We discover how important our relationships are when we begin to examine "qualities of the heart" for without them, they would not exist. We incorporate "qualities of the heart in our own lives as we experience them as free unconditional gifts from others and from God.  Upon receiving them, the only way to retain their benefits is by giving them away.  They are received from our parents, our loved ones, our friends, those who share out faith, and of course, abundantly from God.

So these are the places or schools where we practice and develop the qualities of the heart.  And they have very little to do with efficiency, being organized, or even being knowledgeable.

Jesus says that we will be forgiven only to the extent that we ourselves forgive others, and I believe that is true.  It is also  true of the other "qualities of the heart" as well.  But it's not because God is stingy about forgiving.  It's because the qualities of the heart must be given away in order to be received.  So the more we give away, the more we receive. 

This is a hard lesson to learn because so much of what we see as important in the world works in reverse; we gain through acquiring. 

"I need to know today the way things should be in my head".  Joe Wise wrote his song "Lord Teach Us To Pray" because he was able to see that what he truly wanted could not be attained in the manner stressed by the world in which he lived. The song is about change.  This change can only come about through our relationships with God, ourselves, and others.   

Daniel emphasises a humble and contrite heart because these are the "qualities of the heart" that are necessary for change.  I want to be more forgiving, more loving, more generous because I see that an abundant life lies in my moving in that direction.  Are we going in the right direction?  

Experiencing God - A Prophet's Vision 116

"I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores, an occupation of a common peasant. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel. Now hear the word of the LORD!"
Amos

The other day, while driving to Burnside by way of the Forest Hills Extension, the line of traffic I was in was stopped by the police. It was just before one of the major overpasses coming from the airport.  We were not sitting too long before we realized that we were stopped to allow a convoy of vehicles coming from the airport to pass.  The Queen was in one of the cars.  After a few moments, we sited the police motor cycles and six long black limousines as they made their way towards the MacKay Bridge to Halifax. 

The Queen's visit to Nova Scotia has sure created a lot of attention and interest.  I've heard on the news what she is wearing (including hat and gloves) where she is on a minute by minute basis, where she is staying, who is with her, what she is having for dinner including an interview with the person preparing her food.  And of course, we have heard as well of the Navy's response to her visit.  All the navy ships, with all of their crew in dress uniforms, are lined up in the Bedford basin to salute her as she passes by.  I'm not saying all this to be anti-royal or anti-celebrity.  I'm really very neutral on this, but I am always surprised at the intense interest that the public and media put on these events.

Today, in our church liturgy, we have a reading from the prophet Amos.  Amos, by contrast, was a herdsman living in Judea around 700 BC.  You might say that he had the lowest of all jobs, but was a man of wisdom and discernment.  Living in Judea during a time of great prosperity, he noticed things going on in Israel that he did not like, particularly within the power structures of his day.  He saw an oppressive ruling class that used its wealth and power to victimize the poor and those of less influence.  He witnessed abuses of power motivated by greed that created far-reaching class inequities.  He saw that the root of these social crimes was mainly the result of religious decay.  Unlike most of the ordinary people of his time, he could not sit back and do nothing.  So he did a very unpopular thing: He began to speak out against the abuses he saw.

This herdsman became a prophet for Israel, and a very unpopular one, particularly among those of influence.  Although Amos was getting attention, it was not of the celebrity type.  Even though he spoke out for what was best for Israel, he was despised and ordered to leave, to go back to tending sheep. 

Amos is a reminder to us that all of our pomp and ceremony, all of our feasts, rituals and celebrations are of little value unless they are preceded by justice, fairness, faithfulness and loyalty to God.  In other words, those things that build God's Kingdom on earth.

There's nothing wrong with having an interest in royalty or any celebrity as far as that goes, but we must also have an interest in what our modern day prophets are saying, for they have a much more important role in our society.  You will find them among the unpopular, among the persecuted, probably among the poor and less influential.  You will hear their cry for justice while likely being treated very unjustly.  Some can probably be found in prison, or killed or injured by bombs or bullets.  They will challenge us, and some may even irritate and provoke us.  They will ask us to think less of ourselves and place more value on living together as a peaceful human family. 

Among them you may find Amos, Jesus, Martin Luther King, Bishop Romero, Ghandi, Abe Lincoln, Nelson Mandala to name a few.  Many will have no names that we know:  But the changes they create will be far reaching, and will be based on a vision that is divinely directed; the founding and building of a Kingdom of peace.  

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Experiencing God - God's Plan for Cultural Differences 115

"When my father left in the morning to work on the fences, or on one of the three bores that watered the sheep and cattle, my mother heard no human voice save the two children.  There was no contact with another human being, and the silence was so profound it pressed upon the eardrums.  My father being a westerner, born into that profound peace and silence, felt the need for it like an addiction to a powerful drug.  Here, pressed into the earth by the weight of that enormous sky, there was real peace. We children grew up to know it and seek it as our father before us.  For my mother, however, the emptiness was disorienting, and the loneliness and silence a daily torment of existential dread."
The Road from Coorain

The Book "The Road From Coorain" is an autobiography describing a young girl's experience of life on an isolated sheep farm in a distant outpost of Australia.  The girl's father is a native of this isolated land, while her mother grew up in the city, but moved to this outpost to begin a family.  The book describes the cultural differences that existed between the father and mother as to their life on this sheep farm, and the difficulties they experienced in their relationship as a result of cultural differences.

The beauty of this book is that it describes the difficulties we all experience, particularly in regards to those we love, when these cultural differences exist.  In order for a union to exist in such relationships, much compromise and understanding are necessary.

The story of Abraham and Sarah in the book of Genesis is also alive with cultural differences.  We first hear of Abraham having a child, Ishmael, with a slave woman.  In today's culture, this would be unacceptable even if that marriage could not produce children.  But also in this story, other  differences developed that could have put a strain on the relationship between Abraham and Sarah. 

After Isaac is born, Sarah doesn't want anything to do with Ishmael or Ishmael's mother, the slave girl.  Abraham is left with a difficult choice.  After much prayer, he decides, with God's help, to dismiss his son Ishmael and the mother in order to preserve the relationship with Sarah.

The question that arises from this story is how do we handle the cultural differences, or differences in views, that often arise from our life's experiences?  How do we handle those cultural differences that are ever present among those we encounter in our community of faith? 

The answer can only be found in our knowing what God would prefer in those circumstances as they arise.  Does God want us to work towards being like-minded in every way with others, or does God encourage us to try to find unity in diversity?  Does God encourage us to discover and move towards love and acceptance of those who do not share our cultural understanding or view?

On a recent Deacon's retreat, our retreat director (an Archbishop) said that the most difficult situations he has to handle are the disputes that arise among the members of his own congregation.  These differences relate mainly to church rules and practices.  He said that what unites us is our common belief in Christ and our common mission to build God's Kingdom.  This must be the primary motivating force in the decisions we make.  And the building of God's Kingdom has little to do with uniformity in our cultures and views.  It has to do with our unity in mission. 

The decisions we have to make around these very difficult issues are not easy.  But for the sake of unity and fulfilling God's plan, Abraham had to let go of Ishmael.  For the sake of unity and fulfilling God's plan, there are many things we have to let go of as well.

In our celebration of our Nation's holiday, Canada Day, our church ordo contains the following quote as to how to practice unity:  "Christians, realizing that they do not have a lasting home here, should pray and work for justice and peace in Canada and throughout the world so that all God's people may share in the goods of the earth.  God's Kingdom will come only when all people, despite their particular culture or view, are ready to let Christ's teachings guide and rule their lives and action". 

I believe what this is saying is that we must not allow our differences in cultures and views to distract us from our primary task of fulfilling Christ's mission of building God's Kingdom among us.

Experiencing God - Fidility 114

"Israel, I will make you my wife forever.   I will be honest and faithful to you.  I will show you my love and compassion. I will be true to you, my wife.    Then you will know the Lord."
Hosea

Most of you have probably seen the movie "Sister Act".  In the movie, actress Whoppi Goldberg takes some popular hit songs from the sixties and uses them in a gospel context:  "I will follow Him, follow Him no matter where He goes.  There isn't an ocean too deep, a mountain so high as to keep, keep me away, away from His love."

As in the movie, there is nothing to stop us from taking our own experience of love or failed love and putting these events into the context of our spiritual journey with God, no matter how painful or ordinary these events may be. 

The prophet Hosea, did exactly that.  The prophet has just gone through the painful experience of a marriage that has failed, and uses it as a channel of revelation.  The love that Hosea felt for his wife becomes an image of God's love for His people.  The unfaithfulness of Hosea's wife, her lack of tenderness and mutual trust, her ignorance of the covenant that had existed between them, becomes an image of Israel's rebellion against God.

What is happening in Israel that Hosea and other prophets are called to speak out against?  The time is around 750 BC.  It is after the building of the strong Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel by David and Solomon.  It is a time of prosperity, but also a time of political corruption and moral decay.  Hosea describes Israel as a luxuriant vine, yielding plenty of fruit.  The more the fruit increased, the more altars they built, the richer the land became, the richer they made their sacred stones.  Their heart was a divided heart.

Like Hosea's wife, Israel was guilty of unfaithfulness, lacking in tenderness and trust for God, who freed them from Egyptian slavery.  Israel grew in ignorance of the ancient covenant that held them together with God, that made them a nation of integrity, of kindness and love for one another.  They began to follow the Canaanite Gods, often referred to as Baal; the god of fertility, the god of prosperity, the god of increased richness.  So Hosea spoke out during this time when the quality of "things" became more important than the quality of the "heart".  "Your hearts are a divided heart; very well, you must pay for it".  And pay for it they did.  Northern Israel was defeated by Assyria, its citizens deported.  Judah became a puppet nation of stronger nations before its eventual defeat.

The struggle of the people of Israel, that struggle of a divided heart, is the struggle of every person through out history.  It is largely the struggle facing our generation today.  It is the struggle that Jesus commissioned His apostles to speak about when He told them: "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and tell them: The Kingdom of heaven is at hand."  In other words, God's kingdom is imminent, and that kingdom is a society of people whose hearts are possessed by God and not by things.

And today, God calls ordinary people like ourselves, common people who do ordinary things, with no special education or social advantage, people whose hearts are not divided, but united to serve the cause of God's Kingdom.  God calls us to see that healing and wholeness comes through our faithfulness and commitment to that which brings life. 

You gave me strength to stand alone again,
To face the world out on my own again.
You put me high upon a pedestal,
So high that I could almost see eternity.
You needed me.

You held my hand when it was cold,
When I was lost, you took me home.
You gave me hope when I was at the end;
And turned my lies back into truth again.

You needed me.  Anne Murry