with the Word online Bible study: heart and seek

Psalm 119:10-16

With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

The psalms are often called the prayerbook or the hymnal of the Bible. How often do you use the psalms in your own prayer? How often do you use hymns or songs in your prayer? Saint Augustine said that “the one who sings prays twice”–possibly because melody and words combine in ways beyond our own intellectual capacity, perhaps because God just likes music, perhaps because singing is an embodied experience so we pray with not just our voices but our whole selves…do you agree with his statement? Does singing feel like prayer to you?

What are some ways you seek God? How do you nurture your relationship with God? The psalmist suggests meditating on God’s word and proclaiming God’s goodness as two of the ways he seeks God with his whole heart. Those are certainly good ways! What other ways can you think of, or do you practice?

In ancient culture, the Heart was the seat of reason as well as emotion–it was the place of the spirit, the center of the being, the word you would use to say “with the essence of who I am.” Sometimes we use “mind/body/spirit” as a way to say the same thing the ancient Hebrews said using “heart.” How does knowing that change the way you read this psalm?

Try praying this psalm a few times each day–perhaps in the morning, at lunchtime, and before bed–for the rest of this week. How does that change your outlook on your day, your work, your commute, your family, your leisure? When you’re consciously seeking God, what do you see differently?

This We Believe: Second Helvetic Confession, part III

This week we look and chapters 6 and 7 of the Second Helvetic Confession, which talk about Providence and God’s Creation.

The word “providence” is often misunderstood. Think of the word “provide” and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what it means, though–providence is about God’s providing. Throughout scripture we see God providing, being there, and governing us with God’s goodness. Psalm 139 tells us that God is in all places and there is nowhere we can get away from God’s presence, and God knows us even before we are born and knows us before we speak. Acts 17.28 says “in him we live and move and have our being.” Romans 11.36 says “from him and through him and to him are all things.”

But Providence does not mean that God controls things and moves us around like pawns on a chessboard, and it does not mean that we just have to sit back and relax and not do anything. It is at the root of Jesus’ command to not worry, but not worrying and not doing anything are not the same thing! God has given us each a calling, work to do, and we are not to ignore that work. “Wherefore we disapprove of the rash statements of those who say that if all things are managed by the providence of God, then our efforts and endeavors are in vain…” The confession also talks about the difference between chance or fate and providence, essentially saying there’s no chance, because “God has appointed to everything its end (purpose), has ordained the beginning and the means by which it reaches its goal. The heathen ascribe things to blind fortune and uncertain chance.” Interestingly, the confession doesn’t give a succinct definitely of providence. What are some examples of God’s providing, God’s guiding hand? What do you think is meant by the idea of Providence?

Related to the idea of God’s providing grace is that “almighty God created all things, both visible and invisible, by his co-eternal Word, and preserves them by his co-eternal Spirit.” And God saw that it was good, and very good! Because of this, we know that there is not a dichotomy between flesh and spirit, between created and sacred, or even between good and evil. Some people have thought that there must be two gods, one creating good and the other evil, but here we affirm that God, who is good, created all things. If God is the Creator, then by definition God has provided. And if God continues to be a Creator, if that is part of who God is (see last week’s section!), then God must still continue to provide for the creation. As the psalmist says, “the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it.” Throughout the psalms and indeed throughout scripture we find God giving good gifts to the creation, whether in the form of food, companionship, guidance, freedom, community, love. How do you think the idea of God as Creator and God as Provider are related?

There is a fair amount of space in chapter 7 taken up by the ideas of angels, devils, and man’s immortal soul. It’s interesting because the chapter ends with “we condemn all who ridicule or by subtle arguments cast doubt upon the immortality of souls, or who say that the soul sleeps or is a part of God. In short, we condemn all opinions of all men, however many, that depart from what has been delivered unto us by the Holy Scriptures in the apostolic Church of Christ concerning creation, angels, and demons, and man.” Well then, that’s quite a sweeping condemnation! Particularly since the idea of the immortal soul is a serious stretch from anything we find in scripture. The concept of the immortal soul comes from Greek philosophy and was resurrected as an idea that could relate to Christian theology during the Renaissance. So…that makes it hard to take this part of the confession seriously! heehee. Ditto on the idea of the Devil–Bullinger’s translation of the Bible is not clear, and makes it appear as though Satan is a person, when the word “satan” means “adversary” or “one who works against”…which suggests that rather than “the devil” we have a world that is filled with adversaries–sometimes even we are adversaries!

What do you think of the idea of the immortal soul? If it is true, what does that mean for your Christian life? If it is a concept borrowed from Greek philosophy, how does that change your understanding of your faith and life?

book sale!

The book sale is still going on…have you stopped in to find the next book you’re going to read? Check back regularly because you never know what hidden gems your eyes might have missed the first time around. Tell your friends too–we have LOTS of books of every kind, from religious books to children’s books to cookbooks to novels to vintage books printed before WWII to random nonfiction to diet books to relationship advice to teen books and everything you can possibly imagine in between!

(Can’t make it Sunday? you can come during the week too–either between 9 and 1 when the office is open, or with your key fob, or call to see if we’re around and we’ll let you in!)

 

Question Friday: surrender

Today the Middle School Youth Group leaves for their weekend retreat. This year’s theme is “Surrendering to God.” Surrender isn’t a word we tend to use very often. What’s your first thought on hearing the phrase “surrender to God”? And once you get past the first thought, what’s one way you can maybe “give in” to God a little this weekend?

This We Believe: Second Helvetic Confession, part II

Sorry this is late…the book sale got the better of my time management system! better late than never, right? (btw: there are still books. you should buy them. )

Today we consider chapters 3, 4, and 5, which are about God and the worship of God. These chapters cover things like the Trinity, images, and worship.

First and most importantly, God Is One. Sometimes we talk about God’s “nature”–God is “one in essence or nature, subsisting in himself, all sufficient in himself, invisible, incorporeal, immense, eternal, Creator of all things both visible and invisible, the greatest good, living, quickening and preserving all things, omnipotent and supremely wise, kind and merciful, just and true.” phew! that’s a long list (though not as long as in the Westminster Confession!). It’s fairly exhaustive, too–this is who God is and what God is like.

But God is also Three–we know God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We say “there are not three gods, but three persons, consubstantial, coeternal, and coequal.” That just means that they’re the same stuff, the same One, but known in three ways. There’s no inequality–God the Father is not better or bigger or more than the Son, and the Spirit is not the extra thrown in for good measure–they are “so joined together that they are one God, and the divine nature is common to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

This of course makes no sense, but is true nonetheless. It’s one of those mysteries where as soon as you explain it it’s gone, flitting around the edges of your vision. As a great teacher once said, “if you can explain it, it isn’t God.” But why is this important? Because there have been people who have said that Jesus was just a human teacher, not God. And there have been people who have said that the Trinity is like a heierarchy, with one person more important than another, or coming before the others. And there have been people who said the Spirit is the only real God in the bunch. And there are plenty of people who think we’re polytheist–that we worship many gods–because of this doctrine. But we don’t–we have One God, known in Three Persons. It’s confusing, we know, but expresses something profoundly True even though we can’t explain it.

“Since God is in essence invisible and immense, he cannot really be expressed by any art or image.” Drawing on the commandment that says “you shall not make any graven images,” this confession rejects the iconography of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, insisting that they are idols. This confession is for a church oriented to the ear, not the eye–we are people of the Word. In response to the problem of illiteracy, the confession says “in order to instruct men in religion and to remind them of divine things and of their salvation, the Lord commanded the preaching of the Gospel — not to paint and teach the laity by means of pictures. Moreover, he instituted Sacraments, but nowhere did he set up images.” I don’t think this is a rejection of all art–there is good and wonderful use of visual arts in our world! The issue seems to be with using art as the primary means of instruction and worship, rather than the Word. Though it does make one wonder–if, in a time where many could not read, and where the art was so amazing (16th century Europe was practically awash in masterpieces), this was the teaching…how does it relate to us today, where we live in a world where most can read but our world is so intensely visual? How do we regain the art of listening, of encountering the living Word through the spoken word, while also appreciating the inspiring artwork all around us?

Part of the issue seems to come in the next section, where the confession says that “God alone is to be adored and worshipped.” Not an image, not an icon, not a saint, but God alone. And we worship God through Christ, “our only mediator and intercessor.” We don’t need priests or popes to talk to God on our behalf, we can go straight to the top, thanks to Christ who is the bridge for us. Not the saints, as the Roman Catholic church of the time did–we don’t pray to our favorite saint, we pray through Jesus only. The saints are good, and provide good examples, and are people to be honored. “We acknowledge them to be living members of Christ and friends of God who have gloriously overcome the flesh and the world. Hence we love them as brothers, and also honor them; yet not with any kind of worship but by an honorable opinion of them and just praises of them. We also imitate them.” Only God is to be worshipped and prayed to. This means that icons, images, and relics are not The Way, though they may be beautiful, inspiring, and even may cause us to desire to know God more. God can use all these things, but none of them is to be set up in the place of God.

What do you think of these teachings? How do you experience God? How do you worship? What do you think of the idea that our primary worship/teaching method should be through the spoken word as a way to encounter the Living Word?

 

online book group: Practicing Our Faith, chapter 2

In this chapter we consider practices of Honoring The Body. How can our bodies help our spiritual lives?

Western cultures since, oh, Plato has created a dichotomy between body and spirit, separating the two in an artificial way that makes the body evil and the spirit good, or the body “base” and the spirit elevated, or secular and sacred, etc. We’ve all experienced this in various ways, whether we’ve been taught (or somehow absorbed) the idea that the body is repugnant, ugly, scandalous, or sinful. The false dichotomy has created all kinds of problems for us, as we seek then to subjugate our bodies, to keep them under control, and often see them as sources of temptation and evil. But God created these bodies, and called them ‘very good.’ God took on a body in what we consider to be the most important act…if bodies were bad, why would God become flesh to share our lives with us? So it’s possible, and even good, to find ways to experience our Selves as an integrated whole–not a body that houses what’s really important (the spirit), and not a spirit that just happens to have a body, but a body-spirit created in the image of God and designed to bring glory to God, to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves (which implies loving ourselves), to work for the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven…with our bodies and minds and spirits.

A few of the practices Stephanie Paulsell writes about are: bathing, dressing, and touching.

She begins with a story about being present for a birth, and that leading to her contemplation of bodies as vulnerable things. It’s easy to abuse with the same practices that honor, so finding ways to love ourselves and others that are appropriate, honoring, and sacred is important. We can learn and practice these things on ourselves and our loved ones, and ultimately we will find that these practices help us consider the justice issues of the world as well–because we cannot honor our own bodies while at the same time degrading the bodies of others, and we cannot be aware of the sacredness of the body God created and simultaneously ignore or be apathetic about the created bodies who suffer.

Thinking of bathing as a spiritual practice may seem odd, but Paulsell describes it as a time of vulnerability, of intimacy with our selves, and of opportunity to “bless and honor the body and to perceive the sacredness at the heart of its vulnerability.” She reminds us of the story of the woman who bathes Jesus’ feet with her tears and dries them with her hair. It’s embarrassing for the host of the dinner, but important for both Jesus and the woman. And again there is the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet–a shocking moment for everyone, disciple and reader alike. There is also the ritual of baptism, a form of “bathing.” Bathing is a way of taking part in well being, whether of ourselves or of another. Martin Luther used to remember his baptism in the bath, placing a hand on his forehead and repeating to himself under the cascade of water, “I am a child of God, baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Spirit, and I belong, body and soul, to Jesus Christ forever.” What would happen if we reminded ourselves of that every morning in the shower?

Clothing as a spiritual practice is even stranger than bath time, but there it is! Clothes have often been used in the wrong ways–either to hide a body we deemed sinful or imperfect, or to create an image contrary to that God made us to be. But it is possible to think of the ways we dress ourselves as a spiritual practice. First, the obvious–special occasions (Paulsell mentions weddings and graduation–special occasions requiring special clothes). The practice of wearing “church clothes” comes from this same idea–of wanting to dress in a way that honors the occasion of meeting God in a particular place. While that may not be the experience of many of us on Sunday morning (at least in terms of clothes), we can ask ourselves: does our clothing honor our bodies as made in the image of God? Does it honor our creator? How might our clothes or accessories shape our identity as children of God, or heighten our experience of worshipping God? Paulsell talks about families where the children choose an item that reminds them of who they are, or an item that makes them feel particularly good, and they wear that each Sunday as a way of “dressing up” for church. The practice of adornment is not about having the right appearance or about being fashionable, it’s not about taking attention away from the gospel–which is why one special item might be more important to getting “dressed for worship” than whether the outfit is “dressy enough” (whatever that means!). Part of this is about resisting the consumer culture, the drive to always look perfect and acquire more. Instead we seek to express who God calls us to be.

Practices of touching can be so important–we are created for relationship, and one of the difficult things in our modern world is how isolated we often are, bodily. Sometimes the only time we might encounter the touch of another person is during the passing of the peace at church! Learning to touch with love and care, and not in exploitative or abusive ways, is difficult. Rituals like passing the peace and foot washing provide a framework in which to practice. Paulsell also talks about how often those who are most vulnerable–people who are ill, or homeless, etc–are the most touch-isolated. People whose bodies are ill often feel betrayed by their very being, and the touch they experience is usually invasive, at the hands of medical professionals. Having someone to hold hands, or rub arms and legs, can be a life-giving experience for the receiver and the giver. Even just a handshake or a hug can remind a homeless person that they have bodies that can be seen–they are not invisible, and they are worthwhile beings created by God.

The practice of touch also extends into our sexuality, of course. When we honor our own and our partner’s body, we also remind ourselves and others of healthy, loving, and life-giving touch. And that offers an alternative to a world where, for many, their bodies are not their own. To remind teens that they do not have to participate in the over-sexualized culture is a part of honoring their bodies. To offer an alternative form of touch to those who have been abused by a partner is a part of honoring the body. To model reverence and delight in our bodies helps those who struggle with their bodies. Even just to acknowledge the changes in our bodies as we age can be a way of modeling this practice.

Once we have learned to honor our own bodies and those of the people we love, we will not be able to help ourselves–we’ll need to honor the bodies of others created in the image of God. We’ll be more aware of practices that exploit the bodies of others–of children working in factories, of slaves processing cocoa, of AIDS victims, of rape victims, of bodies ravaged by war and famine and disease. How do we honor their bodies as well as our own?

What do you think of these practices of honoring the body? What other ways might you imagine you can nurture your relationship with God through your physical body? 

with the Word online Bible study: I can see clearly now…

Acts 9.1-22

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’ Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

What catches your attention in this story? What most intrigues you? What questions does the story bring up for you?

Have you ever had an experience you could describe as “the scales fell from my eyes”? What was different after you had that moment? (Don’t forget that sometimes those moments are more a process than a sudden insight!)

Paul was intent on his mission, when God interrupted. After this interruption, Paul was intent on a new mission. Both times, he thought he was seeking God and doing God’s will. How do we know we’re doing the right thing when we’re very zealous for the Lord?

Paul had to have temporarily lose his sight in order to see more clearly. Once he stopped looking through his own lenses, he was able to see with his heart, and to see God’s heart too. All of us can occasionally use a little reality check–a re-focusing moment, a time to evaluate what we’re doing, look fresh, and adjust our vision. We may not lose a sense, but it can be to our benefit to try using a different sense, or at least a different set of lenses. Both individuals and organizations can benefit from being intentional as we seek to follow God more closely. What obstacles (or scales!) are blocking your vision? What might need to fall away so you can re-focus?

Question Friday: dreams

Imagine that money, time, and people-power are no object: what’s your big dream for 2012?

Church Life: THIS WEEKEND!

This weekend we have a TON going on.

There will be pancakes. Come to church hungry because the youth are going to be feeding you pancakes, fruit, and juice starting around 9:15ish!!! Support our youth by eating their pancakes!

There will be the annual meeting of the congregation–an important opportunity for all of us to hear and share what has happened in our corner of God’s church in the past year, to look ahead to the coming year, to elect elders to serve on the session, to approve the pastors’ terms of call, and to see the budget. You should have received the annual report via email–there are also some hard copies available at the church. If you didn’t get it in your email, please call and we’ll get it sent to you!

There will be books. BOOKS, BOOKS, and MORE BOOKS. There are thousands–and I do mean THOUSANDS, I’m not even exaggerating!–of books in the Fellowship Hall. And they are there so that you can buy them! Thanks to all of you who donated–now come over and get different books! We have children’s books, teen books, hard and soft cover books, history, biography, religion, self-help, time management, family relationship advice, romance novels, classics, popular novels, theology books, Bible commentaries, and every other kind of book you can imagine. We also have a large selection of old books–from the early 1900s! Please, come and buy books. When you do, you support the youth ministry. You also support the pastor who will have to load the leftover books into her Civic to take them out to various other community organizations–the fewer leftover the better! You can buy books beginning Sunday morning at 830, through at least next Sunday (the 29th) at noon. Feel free to stop in during the week–either during office hours (9-1) or call ahead and make sure someone is here to let you in!

SO–we’ll see you this weekend!

online book group: Practicing Our Faith, chapter 1

Let’s face it, we’re busy. Often so busy we can barely find time to eat dinner with our families or sleep in on Saturday or stay for lunch after worship. This is true for most of us–whether we’re employed or not, retired or young, parents or not. Sigh.

“These signs are born of our yearning to understand what the too-much-to-do adds up to. We long to see our lives whole and to know that they matter. We wonder whether our many activities might ever come together in a way of life that is good for ourselves and other. Does all this activity make a difference beyond ourselves? Are we really living in right relation to other people, to the created world, and to God? … Lacking a vision of a life-giving way of life, we turn from one task to another, doing as well as we can but feeling increasingly uncertain about what doing things well would look like.”

In the midst of this comes the idea of spiritual practices–ways we can live our faith in the midst of our lives. This book invites us into “a way of life that is whole, a way of life that can be lived with integrity in our time.”

Bass tells a story of a priest visiting Israel, arriving just as everything was shutting down for the Sabbath. A family saw him walking through the street with his suitcase, and invited him in to their home to share the Sabbath with them–from sundown to sundown, they spent time together in the house, eating, resting, telling stories, laughing, lighting the candles, saying the prayers. And another story of a Jewish man traveling in Spain, arriving in a town when everything was shut down–except there was one place with lights. It turned out to be a monastery, where the monks welcomed him, fed him, gave him a place to sleep, and had even slipped some coins into his pocket for his journey.

These kinds of stories seem odd to us–why would we invite a stranger into our home? But Bass points out that many of us don’t even have our friends or families in our homes with any regularity anymore. The practice of hospitality has slowly slipped away, and with it the opportunity to meet Christ in the stranger as well as the friend. As our society has become more individualized, our sense of life as a shared adventure, of hospitality as a way to share the journey, has changed (some would say “has been lost.”).

But we cannot do it alone–we are made to be in community. As MLK put it, we are “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny.”

And so we seek companions…some of our companions may be people who have traveled this road before us and have written, or made music, or created art. Some of our companions may be our family, or our church family. Some of our companions may be people we meet on the blog. We won’t be a perfect community, whoever we are, but we will be gathered around Jesus, and that’s what matters.

So what are Practices–what are we doing? Bass says that “Christian practices are things Christian people do together over time in response to and in the light of God’s active presence for the life of the world in Christ Jesus.” These practices might be things like hospitality, sabbath, discernment, forgiveness, healing, singing, body practices, etc. They are every day things–how do we shape them in response to God’s presence? How do we live in God’s presence? How do we weave these things together into a faithful life? This is what we practice. Notice that we don’t achieve–we practice. We don’t just think, we practice. It’s practical. We do things concretely to live out an abstract reality. And we don’t always do it for the outcome–this is where “the journey IS the destination” becomes more than a cliche. Practices take time–we don’t just do it once and find we’ve conquered it! People have been engaging in these practices for centuries, for hundreds of generations. We are entering a stream that has been flowing for a long time, and it will take time for us to join in, but the important part is THAT we join in! Eventually we get the momentum, we feel the rhythm, and it becomes part of who we are just as we become part of the community that stretches back millennia.

When we do these things, we find that God permeates all that we are and all that we do, and we become aware of God’s loving presence with us in every aspect of life. Then we can shape our lives in response to God’s love, God’s action, God’s call. We begin to see “how our daily lives are all tangled up with the things God is going in the world.” And when we see that, we WANT to be even more tangled up, our desire is to become a partner with God, to be a part of God’s reconciling-justice-peace-making-loving-kingdom-changing of the world.

Sometimes I talk about worship as a rehearsal–worship is the place where we practice being in community. We practice praying for one another. We gather at the table and practice hospitality where we experience it. We practice living according to God’s word. We practice saying we are sorry, and offering and receiving forgiveness. And then we go out into the world and try to do it. Because we’ve rehearsed, we’re ready to encounter God in strange places, to pray for others, to offer and receive, etc. These other practices work the same way–they prepare us for life! Bass talks about worship (and all these practices) the same way–it’s like practicing catching, or playing scales, or learning to dribble the ball. It may feel awkward at first, but eventually it becomes a part of you. That’s the goal–when the ball’s hit to us, we’ll be ready because we’ve practiced. When the hard times come, we’ll have practiced. When we find ourselves confronted with a stranger, we’ll have practiced.

So–let’s get practicing!