Our Mission in the World
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the Lord. Isaiah 65:24-25.
Yesterday evening gave me much food for thought. At our Inquirer's Class, we had a spirited discussion about our role in the world. We've been reading Brian McLaren's book on reclaiming the ancient Christian practices. McLaren argues that three practices are essential to Christian life: the contemplative practice( our individual relationship with God through prayer and silence), the communal practice (our worship life in a gathered community), and our missional practice( our ministry in the world). All three practices are essential to a full life in Christ and inform one another--kind of like the Trinity! (but that's a topic for another day) On the topic of mission, we each shared where we find that we share the love of Christ with another in the world. Responses ranged from working with women in recovery to doing odd jobs for friends and relatives. All were clear signs of mission.
After class, I attended the service for Diocesan Peace in the Middle East which Memorial hosted this month. As part of the reflection, Wendy Shuford read a story about the hardships and injustices at the checkpoints in the Gaza strip. She told a moving story of a Palestinian man who had his leg amputated outside of the Palestinian area. He was coming back to bury his amputated leg in the burial area of Palestine. When he died, he wanted to have his leg buried with his body. He was held up for ten hours at the checkpoint while soldiers determined if the leg held explosives, if the proper papers existed, if the leg really was his leg. During what must have been a horrific experience, someone waited with this man. It was a Jewish grandmother. She waited with him to make sure that he got through the checkpoint to his home with his leg. At the checkpoints in Gaza, there is a ministry of presence in these Jewish grandmothers. Every day, they show up and document ill-treatment and abuse and just plain incompetence at these checkpoint. They are working for peace--one day, one individual at a time.
I am inspired by their story. I wonder if I could state my daily mission in the world so clearly. That will be one of my spiritual inquiries for the week. How do I work for peace and justice each day?
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday after Lent III--March 20, 2009
In the in-between
It is now Friday and I am just getting used to being out in Western Maryland. My routine is set for the week. Yet it is time to think about coming back to Baltimore. Like any vacation or time away, it is a time to transition. Much of our life is entering into communities and ways of life, moving back to older communities, and moving on to new ones. There is the transition from family home to school, school to college, college to work, work to retirement. There are family members who move on to eternal life to be replaced by the newborn. There are friends left behind in a move and new friends gained in a new place. Our life is full of deaths and new births in many ways.
I've been thinking quite a lot this week about Judith Mosley. Judith Mosley is a longtime Memorialite who moved to New Mexico a couple of years ago. She left behind several strong communities who supported her day in and day out. Before she had time to establish new ties, she was diagnosed with ALS or Lou' Gehrig's disease. ALS is a neuromuscular disease that has no cure. Judith now would like to spend her last days in Baltimore. She has certainly been in the in-between. This week she was to fly back to Baltimore; however, when the medical team arrived to take her to the airport, it became evident that the disease had progressed to the point where she could no longer sit upright in an airplane. Now, the only way to get Judith home is for her to fly on an air ambulance which is $12,500. As friends try to raise the money to get her to Baltimore, we realize that so many are in the in-between these days. Money worries, health issues, relationship uncertainties. Judith's situation makes all of our in-betweens more pronounced and, at the same time, small by comparison. One thing is certain--it is hard to be at the end of one's journey on earth and be in transition with one's daily surroundings. The spiritual journey is transition enough. Please pray for Judith, her caregivers, and all who love her.
It is now Friday and I am just getting used to being out in Western Maryland. My routine is set for the week. Yet it is time to think about coming back to Baltimore. Like any vacation or time away, it is a time to transition. Much of our life is entering into communities and ways of life, moving back to older communities, and moving on to new ones. There is the transition from family home to school, school to college, college to work, work to retirement. There are family members who move on to eternal life to be replaced by the newborn. There are friends left behind in a move and new friends gained in a new place. Our life is full of deaths and new births in many ways.
I've been thinking quite a lot this week about Judith Mosley. Judith Mosley is a longtime Memorialite who moved to New Mexico a couple of years ago. She left behind several strong communities who supported her day in and day out. Before she had time to establish new ties, she was diagnosed with ALS or Lou' Gehrig's disease. ALS is a neuromuscular disease that has no cure. Judith now would like to spend her last days in Baltimore. She has certainly been in the in-between. This week she was to fly back to Baltimore; however, when the medical team arrived to take her to the airport, it became evident that the disease had progressed to the point where she could no longer sit upright in an airplane. Now, the only way to get Judith home is for her to fly on an air ambulance which is $12,500. As friends try to raise the money to get her to Baltimore, we realize that so many are in the in-between these days. Money worries, health issues, relationship uncertainties. Judith's situation makes all of our in-betweens more pronounced and, at the same time, small by comparison. One thing is certain--it is hard to be at the end of one's journey on earth and be in transition with one's daily surroundings. The spiritual journey is transition enough. Please pray for Judith, her caregivers, and all who love her.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday after Lent III--March 19, 2009
Waiting
I waited patiently upon the Lord; he stooped to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1
Waiting has never been easy. It's something that we all have to learn to deal with on a regular basis. With our new "instant" messaging--e-mails, chats, twittering, we hope that everyone will be available when we need them. When we have an urgent e-mail ( and what we define as urgent is always up for examination), we hope that our e-mail recipient is on-line at that moment, ready with an answer. It's as if the world is just waiting for us and our questions. When we are under a good deal of stress due to time pressures (which are almost unrealistic on occasion) or personal issues, it is easy to get frustrated.
I continue to be transfixed by Kathleen Norris' book on Acedia. In it, she talks about waiting. In particular, she shares a time when she was in charge of keeping financial records for companies. Her new software added amazing feats of organization, yet, in order to save her time as a bookkeeper, she had to wait a few seconds for the computer to do its task. One day, she became frustrated at the wait. She decided to time the wait. The wait was 10 seconds! 10 seconds! There have been instances when I've felt the same way. When you sit down, pause and think about it, it seems ridiculous. Yet who of us hasn't felt that way?
Norris writes about how this has always been the case. When the zippy stage coach was invented, some folks bemoaned the loss of days on horseback or foot--when there was time to smell the roadside flowers or speak to a fellow traveler resting under the tree. The stage coach led folks to expect to get to Philadelphia in one day instead of two. Expectations increased. Frustration with slowness abounded.
When I am in Western Maryland and am working, I do check our Sunday bulletins and publications. I come to the library once a day. Sometimes I don't get an answer right away on a question or two. Sometimes I am not available for a question. Is it really that important? Sometimes I get anxious about my inability to be present at all times, yet is that ever really neceaary for any of us? Communication does work at this mountain pace. I think about my usual week--when I am running between meetings, checking bulletins and goldenrods. Is there a calmer way to live and still get the information out? Is waiting such a bad thing? The prophet Isaiah tells us that those who wait on the Lord renew their strength. Good advice.
I waited patiently upon the Lord; he stooped to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1
Waiting has never been easy. It's something that we all have to learn to deal with on a regular basis. With our new "instant" messaging--e-mails, chats, twittering, we hope that everyone will be available when we need them. When we have an urgent e-mail ( and what we define as urgent is always up for examination), we hope that our e-mail recipient is on-line at that moment, ready with an answer. It's as if the world is just waiting for us and our questions. When we are under a good deal of stress due to time pressures (which are almost unrealistic on occasion) or personal issues, it is easy to get frustrated.
I continue to be transfixed by Kathleen Norris' book on Acedia. In it, she talks about waiting. In particular, she shares a time when she was in charge of keeping financial records for companies. Her new software added amazing feats of organization, yet, in order to save her time as a bookkeeper, she had to wait a few seconds for the computer to do its task. One day, she became frustrated at the wait. She decided to time the wait. The wait was 10 seconds! 10 seconds! There have been instances when I've felt the same way. When you sit down, pause and think about it, it seems ridiculous. Yet who of us hasn't felt that way?
Norris writes about how this has always been the case. When the zippy stage coach was invented, some folks bemoaned the loss of days on horseback or foot--when there was time to smell the roadside flowers or speak to a fellow traveler resting under the tree. The stage coach led folks to expect to get to Philadelphia in one day instead of two. Expectations increased. Frustration with slowness abounded.
When I am in Western Maryland and am working, I do check our Sunday bulletins and publications. I come to the library once a day. Sometimes I don't get an answer right away on a question or two. Sometimes I am not available for a question. Is it really that important? Sometimes I get anxious about my inability to be present at all times, yet is that ever really neceaary for any of us? Communication does work at this mountain pace. I think about my usual week--when I am running between meetings, checking bulletins and goldenrods. Is there a calmer way to live and still get the information out? Is waiting such a bad thing? The prophet Isaiah tells us that those who wait on the Lord renew their strength. Good advice.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday after Lent III--March 18, 2009
It's a beautiful spring day in March! Welcome the spring by taking advantage of this day in some way. Take a walk, breath in the air. If you are caught in the office all day, make an evening walk a reality. Eat dinner on the patio. Make a quick trip out to spy a star or two. Herald the spring! More tomorrow....I'm going outside!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday after Lent III--March 17, 2009
St Patrick's E-Mail Jig
Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
Happy St Patrick's Day! Today I find myself in Western Maryland and everyone is wearing green. When I am in Western Maryland, there is a feeling of being in a monastic frame of mind. Our house does not have landline phone service, television service or an internet connection. The cellphone service depends on the weather--and how thick the air is---really! Voicemail messages are delayed for a few hours. At the house, it really does have a sense of being away from it all. I have a sense of Sabbath---and this is because I am more separated from modern technology. I can access it, but I have to make an effort.
If I want to check my e-mail, I have to go to the local library where there is free wireless service. I can work on sermons, letters, teaching outlines and more from home off-line but cannot use the internet. That means that I can only really check my e-mail once a day--if that often. If I had been at home or the office in Baltimore today, I would have checked my e-mail at least twice and probably three times by now. If we are always connected, can there ever be a time of Sabbath? So, whenever I am here, I wonder what it would be if I had a discipline of checking my e-mail once a day---even when in Baltimore. When the e-mail or web is available at all times, it is so easy just to check one more time within the space of an hour or so. Before I know it, time that could be used to research and write or complete a project that takes good concentrated work is gone. Is checking e-mail frequently a sign of acedia or sloth? Sometimes I think it is. A way to procrastinate and keep from the important work at hand.
Do you have a discipline with e-mail that allows you to use its benefits and not get caught in the addiction of constant contact?
Ah well, it's time to leave the library and go home. No more checking in for today. Time for some sabbath.
Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
Happy St Patrick's Day! Today I find myself in Western Maryland and everyone is wearing green. When I am in Western Maryland, there is a feeling of being in a monastic frame of mind. Our house does not have landline phone service, television service or an internet connection. The cellphone service depends on the weather--and how thick the air is---really! Voicemail messages are delayed for a few hours. At the house, it really does have a sense of being away from it all. I have a sense of Sabbath---and this is because I am more separated from modern technology. I can access it, but I have to make an effort.
If I want to check my e-mail, I have to go to the local library where there is free wireless service. I can work on sermons, letters, teaching outlines and more from home off-line but cannot use the internet. That means that I can only really check my e-mail once a day--if that often. If I had been at home or the office in Baltimore today, I would have checked my e-mail at least twice and probably three times by now. If we are always connected, can there ever be a time of Sabbath? So, whenever I am here, I wonder what it would be if I had a discipline of checking my e-mail once a day---even when in Baltimore. When the e-mail or web is available at all times, it is so easy just to check one more time within the space of an hour or so. Before I know it, time that could be used to research and write or complete a project that takes good concentrated work is gone. Is checking e-mail frequently a sign of acedia or sloth? Sometimes I think it is. A way to procrastinate and keep from the important work at hand.
Do you have a discipline with e-mail that allows you to use its benefits and not get caught in the addiction of constant contact?
Ah well, it's time to leave the library and go home. No more checking in for today. Time for some sabbath.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Monday after Lent III--March 16, 2009
Urban Amish or Ubermotivated?
His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." John 2:17
Yesterday's lectionary readings for the Third Sunday of Lent were intense. The Ten Commandments, Paul's famous lines about the cross being a stumbling block, and Jesus turning over the tables in the temple. There was law and judgment bristling in the air. In the midst of the readings was Psalm 19. Lovely Psalm 19 that reminds us that "the law is perfect and revives the soul." Say what?
In my sermon, I decided to argue that, yes indeedy, the law does revive the soul. And here's my angle...the law is essential to combat one of the great temptations of human living...the sin of acedia. Say what times two? What was that word? ACEDIA. According to Kathleen Norris in her recent, intriguing book Acedia and Me, acedia was thought to be the eighth deadly sin---until the powers that be came up with seven. In its Greek root, acedia means "the absence of care." A person afflicted with acedia refuses to care, but, more often than not, is incapable of doing so. Acedia was the great temptation of the ancient mothers and fathers of the desert. It is the great enemy of us all.
It seems to me that acedia can flourish not just in the solitude of self in the desert but in the solitude of self in the modern world. In fact, Norris writes that "acedia is not a relic of the fourth century or a hang-up of some wierd monks, but a force we ignore at our peril...Our busyness can't disguise the suspicion that we are being steadily diminished, not so much living as passing time in a desert of our own devising."
In my sermon, I talked about the ubermotivated--how our blackberries and cells, our twittering and blogging (gulp), our FaceBooking and multitasking--can keep us so busy that we have no time to sift fact from fiction, the important from the unimportant, what we should care about from the irrelevant. How do we know where we should place our zeal and passion if we don't have any space to think about such things? That is assuming that we are not so tired from our hectic lifestyle that we have any energy left to summon up an iota of passion or zeal.
Of course, there is the way of the desert...becoming the urban Amish. I just heard about that term--it is someone who eschews electronic mediums for personal, old-fashioned forms of communication---letter writing, meeting in person. However, I don't think this is totally realistic. First off, you'll still have to deal with acedia because the monks of the ancient desert didn't have any of these tools and still battled the "noonday demon." More importantly, our electronic medium are hugely valuable communication tools. It would be folly on many levels to leave them by the wayside and separate oneself from the world. So...here's the tragic gap topic for this week: What's the middle ground between ubermotivated and urban amish? How do we battle the demon of acedia in this modern age? I think the law and tradition have a gift to give us. That's my blogging topic for the third week of Lent. Stay tuned and tell me what you think.
His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." John 2:17
Yesterday's lectionary readings for the Third Sunday of Lent were intense. The Ten Commandments, Paul's famous lines about the cross being a stumbling block, and Jesus turning over the tables in the temple. There was law and judgment bristling in the air. In the midst of the readings was Psalm 19. Lovely Psalm 19 that reminds us that "the law is perfect and revives the soul." Say what?
In my sermon, I decided to argue that, yes indeedy, the law does revive the soul. And here's my angle...the law is essential to combat one of the great temptations of human living...the sin of acedia. Say what times two? What was that word? ACEDIA. According to Kathleen Norris in her recent, intriguing book Acedia and Me, acedia was thought to be the eighth deadly sin---until the powers that be came up with seven. In its Greek root, acedia means "the absence of care." A person afflicted with acedia refuses to care, but, more often than not, is incapable of doing so. Acedia was the great temptation of the ancient mothers and fathers of the desert. It is the great enemy of us all.
It seems to me that acedia can flourish not just in the solitude of self in the desert but in the solitude of self in the modern world. In fact, Norris writes that "acedia is not a relic of the fourth century or a hang-up of some wierd monks, but a force we ignore at our peril...Our busyness can't disguise the suspicion that we are being steadily diminished, not so much living as passing time in a desert of our own devising."
In my sermon, I talked about the ubermotivated--how our blackberries and cells, our twittering and blogging (gulp), our FaceBooking and multitasking--can keep us so busy that we have no time to sift fact from fiction, the important from the unimportant, what we should care about from the irrelevant. How do we know where we should place our zeal and passion if we don't have any space to think about such things? That is assuming that we are not so tired from our hectic lifestyle that we have any energy left to summon up an iota of passion or zeal.
Of course, there is the way of the desert...becoming the urban Amish. I just heard about that term--it is someone who eschews electronic mediums for personal, old-fashioned forms of communication---letter writing, meeting in person. However, I don't think this is totally realistic. First off, you'll still have to deal with acedia because the monks of the ancient desert didn't have any of these tools and still battled the "noonday demon." More importantly, our electronic medium are hugely valuable communication tools. It would be folly on many levels to leave them by the wayside and separate oneself from the world. So...here's the tragic gap topic for this week: What's the middle ground between ubermotivated and urban amish? How do we battle the demon of acedia in this modern age? I think the law and tradition have a gift to give us. That's my blogging topic for the third week of Lent. Stay tuned and tell me what you think.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday after Lent II--March 13, 2009
The Treasures of Nature
Ask the creatures, they will tell you. Job 12
Treasures of the heart are certainly those we love. For me, another deep source of treasure is found in nature. For many cultures, animals are markers of the presence of the Holy Spirit. When I was installed as Rector of Memorial, a bat flew from the rafters, down the center aisle and out the front door during the sermon. I got a call from a colleague the next day that this was a sign of the Holy Spirit. I've had folks share with me that after a loved one died, a bird or animal visited them for a few days...perching on the window or appearing in the yard. These persons were sure it was their loved one saying that everything was going to be all right.
During my sabbatical, I spent a good deal of time on the outdoors deck at our home in Western Maryland. I continue to make that my reading, writing and journaling spot. Beginning with the sabbatical and continuing on until this day, I feel blessed by the frequent appearance of one of God's creatures. One day, I heard a strange buzz near my head as I read on the deck. When I looked up, there was nothing to be seen. I wondered if it could be a bumblebee or another type of insect. But the noise wasn't quite right. Later in the morning, I heard the noise again. This time I was daydreaming so I spied the noise-maker. It was a beautiful green and blue hummingbird. Its tiny wings whirring, the hummingbird flitted up close to me---so close I could touch it--and then whirred away into the trees. I felt that it was a sign from God. I'n not sure what sign...but a sign to me that all was well. The hummingbird immediately made me happy. Over the past three years, the hummingbird makes a regular appearance when I appear on the deck to read. I have never had a bird come so close before. We are friends. Somehow that hummingbird is trying to teach me--what could be the teaching?
In what ways has a creature of God taught you?
Ask the creatures, they will tell you. Job 12
Treasures of the heart are certainly those we love. For me, another deep source of treasure is found in nature. For many cultures, animals are markers of the presence of the Holy Spirit. When I was installed as Rector of Memorial, a bat flew from the rafters, down the center aisle and out the front door during the sermon. I got a call from a colleague the next day that this was a sign of the Holy Spirit. I've had folks share with me that after a loved one died, a bird or animal visited them for a few days...perching on the window or appearing in the yard. These persons were sure it was their loved one saying that everything was going to be all right.
During my sabbatical, I spent a good deal of time on the outdoors deck at our home in Western Maryland. I continue to make that my reading, writing and journaling spot. Beginning with the sabbatical and continuing on until this day, I feel blessed by the frequent appearance of one of God's creatures. One day, I heard a strange buzz near my head as I read on the deck. When I looked up, there was nothing to be seen. I wondered if it could be a bumblebee or another type of insect. But the noise wasn't quite right. Later in the morning, I heard the noise again. This time I was daydreaming so I spied the noise-maker. It was a beautiful green and blue hummingbird. Its tiny wings whirring, the hummingbird flitted up close to me---so close I could touch it--and then whirred away into the trees. I felt that it was a sign from God. I'n not sure what sign...but a sign to me that all was well. The hummingbird immediately made me happy. Over the past three years, the hummingbird makes a regular appearance when I appear on the deck to read. I have never had a bird come so close before. We are friends. Somehow that hummingbird is trying to teach me--what could be the teaching?
In what ways has a creature of God taught you?
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