Perry Smith, our Canon for Pastoral Care here at the Cathedral, is writing a memoir. This week, he gave me a draft of the first few chapters. And I was rivoted. Get ready for the publication of something terrific. I could not put it down.
Perry’s life has taken some incredible turns. It is only now, as he writes this memoir, that he has begun to recognize the way that God has woven together his life and called him from boyhood to become a priest. But you would never believe what he has done and where he has been along the path to his vocation. He was a bullfighter, a trappist Monk with Thomas Merton, a Vietnam Veteran, and FBI agent and finally a priest. And all through this incredible journey, God was forming him. It is an incredible story.
When I was in high school, I thought that I was going to be the next Meryl Streep. I took every drama class that I could sign up for. In my senior year, I signed up for a class on movement and drama. The teacher was this shy man named Mr. Coons. At the beginning of every class, he would gather us together in an old gym and we would stretch. He told us to find a place for ourselves out on the floor of the gym, to spread out from one another, so that we could move and dance. He always kept the harsh florescent lights turned off and there was this spot out on the floor of sunlight, where the early afternoon sun shone through a sky light in the ceiling to make a perfect circle of brightness on the floor. Every week, I wanted to plant myself right under that skylight, but every week, I got shy and moved off somewhere in the dim light to do my warm ups. I wondered what it would be like to dance in that brightness, but I was embarrassed to call attention to myself so I shied away.
Jesus teaches us the Lord’s prayer today. The greatest of all Christian prayers, the Lord’s Prayer is so profound, so rich. Its words have remained intact through the centuries. Whereas the Nicene Creed and other statements and prayers have been dissected and put back together, the Lord’s prayer slips like liquid through the disputes of the centuries and remains today a symbol of the beauty and majesty of God. It is simply too holy to be messed with. Jesus himself spoke this prayer and, although it differs a bit between the gospels of Luke and Matthew, its major elements remain the same.
I would like to speak to you about one phrase in the Lord’s Prayer.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Jesus told us to say to God, Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Kingdom Come. What was he trying to say?
There were a lot more kingdoms in Jesus’ day than there are today. A kingdom was an area of land that was governed by a king or monarch. It was a place where the laws were created and enforced by the king and no one else. It was a straightforward place, really. There was one ruler and all others were subservient. The kingdom would be either a glorious and good place or a bad and cruel place depending on the ruler. Thus a kingdom of God would be a place where God was in charge, where God made the rules and we all followed them. Since God is inherently good, God’s kingdom would be a land with peace and harmony beyond anything that humans could muster. Even our times of greatest prosperity and peace would be no match for God’s kingdom, for the ruler of God’s kingdom would not be broken and would institute justice and righteousness like we have never seen.
Today we have lost the notion of kingdom. When we think of rulers we think of Queen Elizabeth, lovely and very wealthy but otherwise just a figurehead with no real authority. And those lands that are still ruled by one person tend to be places of violence and poverty or at least great inequality between the rich and the poor. The only positive use of the word kingdom is now to be found in fairy tales, or the Magic Kingdom of Disney. So our language and our understanding have shifted away from the word Kingdom and The Kingdom of God means little to us.
We often take the kingdom of God to mean heaven and by that we mean the place that we go after we die. A destination, the result of a good life of prayer and service. A place of beauty and peace that is beyond this world and cannot be reached except when we die. But this is a misunderstanding. Jesus clearly stated that the kingdom of God was near and he wanted to pray for it to come, not when we die but NOW. He wanted the Kingdom of God to come here NOW. On earth AS IN heaven.
Since language is always evolving, it is necessary for us to revisit the translation of the words Kingdom of God. I have a new translation to offer and it is this…
The God Dimension.
It strikes me that Jesus was talking about a realm of God that already exists but that people were not somehow able to access. It was like having the best computer game but not downloading it. We were living in a half-life, not allowing the God dimension to illumine us. Without allowing the kingdom of God to come, we were only half alive.
The concept of dimensions has only recently been discovered. Scientists are aware of three dimensions that we can see. The fourth dimension is considered to be time. But what about beyond that? Could there be dimensions that exist right now, right here, but that are somehow beyond our perception?
In my high school drama class, there came a day when I took a chance. When Mr. Coons asked us to spread out and begin to dance and stretch, I went to the sunlight. I stood there, in the middle of the circle of light and began to reach upwards. The air itself was full of the tiny particles that you can only see when you are standing in direct sunlight. I was not able to see anyone else around me for the light was so bright that it blinded me from comparing myself to others or even contemplating embarrassment. I danced and it was so beautiful. I caught a glimpse of the God dimension.
The God dimension slips into our lives from time to time, even without our invitation. It comes to us in moments of beauty or when we look into the face of someone we love. It comes to us when we hear music that lifts our hearts. It comes to us in worship. And it comes to us in silence. And once you have tasted the God dimension, the presence of God among us, you want that presence all the time and that is when you start praying in earnest
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Dimension come.
That is when you and I can begin to say, God, you must lead me. You must come to me. I know that you are already here, already present in the fifth or tenth dimension, your dimension, but come to me, open my eyes, that I may see you.
As one saint said, God is already here. Don’t seek God, SEE GOD.
This past week, I had the privilege of visiting Barbara Davis in the assisted living facility. Many of you know Barbara, she is a long-standing, very faithful member of the Cathedral and spent years serving in our Sacristy Guild and preparing the altar for worship. She is now bedridden and cannot come to church. Our Lay Eucharistic ministers bring her communion regularly. She has the look of one who is living in the God dimension. Light shines from her eyes. Let me share with you what she said to me.
“Sometimes I get frustrated because I cannot walk, but then I realize that I need to follow God. Whenever I have tried to do life my way, I have ended up making a mess. When I step out in front of Jesus, then I can’t see him or follow him because I have put myself first. So I step back into his presence, letting him lead me so that I can see his light and follow his path for me. He presses upon me and guides me, not with words but with his patient presence.”
God waits for you in the God dimension and you can access God NOW. Simply step into the light. Ask God to come, say
Thy Kingdom Come.
And then realize how God has been there from the very beginning, weaving the pieces of your life together like a beautiful tapestry, bringing you here to this very moment, along with a former FBI agent and a new Dean and so many other incredible people. God has been waiting for you to awaken to his eternal presence with you.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Cathedral Witness
Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:20
It is nearly five am American time and I have been up most of the night. I have just boarded the airplane on the way home from England, where the choir of our Cathedral is in residence at Ely. I have spent the past five days visiting some of the most beautiful Cathedrals in the world and listening to sacred music.
I picked up New Yorker article on the way home. Once more, a brilliant writer questions the topic of Jesus’ divinity. With eloquence and charm, he winds his way around the usual arguments of how the gospels must have been written many years after Jesus’ life and not in his native language. He wonders if Jesus was a stoneworker rather than a carpenter and aptly suggests that “Verily I say unto you” may just mean “Look, listen up!” and that the “Son of Man” might just mean “one of us guys.” The arguments are solid and I have heard them all before. They are good intellectual fodder and most of us Anglicans have pondered them all in depth. After all, if we claim that you don’t have to check your brain at the door to be Anglican, then we must entertain these arguments and consider them seriously. They are not threatening to faith, they are just part and parcel of it. It is necessary to wrestle with such thoughts. One can’t help but consider them.
However,all the rational arguments in the world pale in the face of the majestic beauty of the Cathedrals that I have just witnessed. Pictures of Jesus’ life and the stories of his miracles, crucifixion and resurrection, shine forth in stained glass windows and their light penetrates across the centuries. How could a simple peasant, a stone-cutter or carpenter or rabbi, how could that simple person ever have had such lasting effects across the centuries without the presence of God? God’s presence in Christ is the only way that I can make sense of the beauty that lay before my eyes. God’s presence is the only plausible reason why humans would build a Cathedral so high and so lofty that they would die before seeing it completed. Only God Himself could engender that kind of selfless devotion. Only the Incarnation of God who did, in fact, rise from the dead.
At the highest point of Ely’s Cathedral, sculpted into the ceiling, is a painted carving of Jesus. He is blessing all of us. He looks down upon the entire vast expanse of the chancel and nave with a smile on his face, as if to say, Bless you all, down there. I am watching over you.
Matthew 28:20
It is nearly five am American time and I have been up most of the night. I have just boarded the airplane on the way home from England, where the choir of our Cathedral is in residence at Ely. I have spent the past five days visiting some of the most beautiful Cathedrals in the world and listening to sacred music.
I picked up New Yorker article on the way home. Once more, a brilliant writer questions the topic of Jesus’ divinity. With eloquence and charm, he winds his way around the usual arguments of how the gospels must have been written many years after Jesus’ life and not in his native language. He wonders if Jesus was a stoneworker rather than a carpenter and aptly suggests that “Verily I say unto you” may just mean “Look, listen up!” and that the “Son of Man” might just mean “one of us guys.” The arguments are solid and I have heard them all before. They are good intellectual fodder and most of us Anglicans have pondered them all in depth. After all, if we claim that you don’t have to check your brain at the door to be Anglican, then we must entertain these arguments and consider them seriously. They are not threatening to faith, they are just part and parcel of it. It is necessary to wrestle with such thoughts. One can’t help but consider them.
However,all the rational arguments in the world pale in the face of the majestic beauty of the Cathedrals that I have just witnessed. Pictures of Jesus’ life and the stories of his miracles, crucifixion and resurrection, shine forth in stained glass windows and their light penetrates across the centuries. How could a simple peasant, a stone-cutter or carpenter or rabbi, how could that simple person ever have had such lasting effects across the centuries without the presence of God? God’s presence in Christ is the only way that I can make sense of the beauty that lay before my eyes. God’s presence is the only plausible reason why humans would build a Cathedral so high and so lofty that they would die before seeing it completed. Only God Himself could engender that kind of selfless devotion. Only the Incarnation of God who did, in fact, rise from the dead.
At the highest point of Ely’s Cathedral, sculpted into the ceiling, is a painted carving of Jesus. He is blessing all of us. He looks down upon the entire vast expanse of the chancel and nave with a smile on his face, as if to say, Bless you all, down there. I am watching over you.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
The Push for Independence
My father-in-law died eight years ago. He was a remarkable man, a Methodist Minister in Tennessee. He served as a University chaplain during the Civil Rights movement in Memphis. He spoke out on civil rights and his family was threatened numerous times. My husband was just a little boy at the time. My father-in-law would wear a collar and a black cross hung around his neck when he marched.
Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis. The next morning, the city exploded. My father-in-law, along with the Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral and some other clergy, planned to march down Poplar Avenue, which is the main drag in Memphis, right to city hall to protest the assassination and the violence. The Dean of the Cathedral, at the spur of the moment, took the cross that stood on the altar at the Cathedral and carried it, leading the march.
The crowds were enormous. People were screaming and throwing things at the marchers. Slowly, the civil rights activists walked down the street, their numbers swelling. They sang. They prayed. Sometimes they yelled.
My father-in-law was walking by a house when something happed which he would never forget. He would tell the story over and over for years to come. There was this old woman sitting on her front porch in a rocking chair. When she saw the protesters approaching, she rocked back and forth, back and forth. As they neared, she stood up and began to scream. It took my father-in-law a moment to distinguish what she was saying. As he drew closer, her voice came to him loud and clear. And this is what she shouted,
YOU GET THAT CROSS BACK IN THE CHURCH WHERE IT BELONGS!
What in the world was she thinking? I think that woman really preferred to keep Jesus in a building. She wanted Jesus contained, controlled. Stay in church to encounter God and when you leave church, don’t expect to meet God anywhere. Keep that cross sheltered and safe. But that is so wrong. So wrong. In fact, Jesus was the exact opposite.
Jesus did not have a home and he did not expect any of us to sit still either. He did not hold training sessions or orientation. He did not fully prepare his followers for what they would encounter once they stepped out of his presence. Those who worked for him had no safety net, no salary, no security. Unless you were a part of his very small group of disciples, as soon as you knew and loved Jesus, he would send you away. There was no hanging out with Jesus, no simply being together. Immediately, he moved and he made you move. He sends us out. Doesn’t that just stink? There is no hanging around, enjoying his presence. He wants you out, pounding the pavement, walking the streets, working to bring others to him.
In today’s gospel, Jesus sends out seventy people. They have not been with him long, since he just started his ministry in the gospel of Luke. They have had no time for extensive training. Jesus did not create a manual or a study guide. No sooner had he chosen them than he just pushed them onward, without him. He wanted them to be independent and courageous. He told them, point black, that he was sending them out into dangerous situations, that people might reject them or even do violence to them. “I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves,” he said. They were not to pack anything or bring food, weapons, nothing. Just go, two by two, independent, on their own.
What a mess they could have made out there. It is surprising that Jesus does so little to prepare them. I guess that he expected that they would learn as they went. He tells them in no uncertain terms that they are representing him and that they are to tell people that the kingdom of heaven is near. But they must have made so many mistakes! It must have been so scary for them. They had no idea what they were getting into.
It is amazing to realize that Jesus did not hold on to his disciples. He wanted them on their own, independent of him, doing his work. Maybe he knew that he would best be with them when they were out in the world serving him.
Are you willing to work for God here in this country in 2010? The pay is lousy, but the eternal benefits are amazing! If you are willing, don’t expect to sit still. God wants you out on your own, independent and courageous, trying new things, meeting new people. God does not go in for comfort. If you are to work for God, you must take the cross out of the church where it belongs.
Today is July 4th and we are in a tenuous time in this nation. Our economy is struggling. The oil devastation in the Gulf is beyond anything that we can fathom. Technology is raging ahead and we are frightened. Some are afraid that America’s heyday is over, that we are on the decline and that nations such as India and China are on the rise. Our fear causes us to become more and more divided, blaming the mistakes of this nation on others, unwilling to look at ourselves. In our fear and anxiety, we risk losing the independence and creativity that have made us so great. Independence takes courage and it breeds ingenuity.
The founders of this country put their necks on the line and created a new form of government in which the people could choose their own leadership. It was a bold, innovative new way of thinking and living. It was risky – stepping out into that vast unknown. Our Founders were like lambs going out into the midst of wolves, they had no idea what their bold experiment would ultimately produce. They were trying to envision something greater than what had been done before, a form of government that would respect the hopes, dreams and opinions of each individual, but they had never walked this way before. Everything was new and everything was risky. It took great bravery.
My friends, we are in a new era, and we need to become independent innovators once more. I believe that God is calling us to that. This country is brilliant. There is no reason why we cannot discover alternatives to fossil fuels, solve our financial crisis, and improve the lives of all of our citizens. It is scary, but it can be done. It will take great bravery.
Likewise, the church must be innovative once more. We are called to step out of our comfort zone, and reach a world where “anything goes” is the name of the game, and uncertainty is rampant. Where it doesn’t matter what you believe. The church must once again speak and teach and lead with authority. It will take great bravery.
Years ago, I was in Russia trying to research the Orthodox Church, but I was scared to speak to a priest. I would go to the same church Sunday after Sunday and not speak to him. I was too shy, too scared. I didn’t know if I spoke the language well enough, if I was smart enough. I thought he might laugh at me. One morning, I brought a Russian friend to church with me. She saw my struggle and she did something. After the service, as I stood watching the priest greet people, not daring to go and speak to him, she came up behind me and pushed me. She just gave me a shove.
That push made me so mad. How dare she push me towards him? Maybe I wasn’t ready yet. Maybe I needed more time. I was not fully prepared. But I did walk up to that priest and speak to him and that began a new part of my journey.
Sometimes, we need a shove. I believe that God is giving us a push today here in Jacksonville. Here on this Fourth of July in the year 2010, God is telling us to get out there again, to try new things, to be brave and courageous and to step into the future without having it all together. Jesus asked his followers to step out so many years ago and he asks us to step out now. To stop complaining and fighting and blaming and worrying and to walk down our own streets carrying the cross before us, striving to build a better world, affirming justice, equality, and liberty, speaking of God’s kingdom – all for the love of Jesus .
Get that cross OUT OF THE CHURCH where it belongs!
Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis. The next morning, the city exploded. My father-in-law, along with the Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral and some other clergy, planned to march down Poplar Avenue, which is the main drag in Memphis, right to city hall to protest the assassination and the violence. The Dean of the Cathedral, at the spur of the moment, took the cross that stood on the altar at the Cathedral and carried it, leading the march.
The crowds were enormous. People were screaming and throwing things at the marchers. Slowly, the civil rights activists walked down the street, their numbers swelling. They sang. They prayed. Sometimes they yelled.
My father-in-law was walking by a house when something happed which he would never forget. He would tell the story over and over for years to come. There was this old woman sitting on her front porch in a rocking chair. When she saw the protesters approaching, she rocked back and forth, back and forth. As they neared, she stood up and began to scream. It took my father-in-law a moment to distinguish what she was saying. As he drew closer, her voice came to him loud and clear. And this is what she shouted,
YOU GET THAT CROSS BACK IN THE CHURCH WHERE IT BELONGS!
What in the world was she thinking? I think that woman really preferred to keep Jesus in a building. She wanted Jesus contained, controlled. Stay in church to encounter God and when you leave church, don’t expect to meet God anywhere. Keep that cross sheltered and safe. But that is so wrong. So wrong. In fact, Jesus was the exact opposite.
Jesus did not have a home and he did not expect any of us to sit still either. He did not hold training sessions or orientation. He did not fully prepare his followers for what they would encounter once they stepped out of his presence. Those who worked for him had no safety net, no salary, no security. Unless you were a part of his very small group of disciples, as soon as you knew and loved Jesus, he would send you away. There was no hanging out with Jesus, no simply being together. Immediately, he moved and he made you move. He sends us out. Doesn’t that just stink? There is no hanging around, enjoying his presence. He wants you out, pounding the pavement, walking the streets, working to bring others to him.
In today’s gospel, Jesus sends out seventy people. They have not been with him long, since he just started his ministry in the gospel of Luke. They have had no time for extensive training. Jesus did not create a manual or a study guide. No sooner had he chosen them than he just pushed them onward, without him. He wanted them to be independent and courageous. He told them, point black, that he was sending them out into dangerous situations, that people might reject them or even do violence to them. “I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves,” he said. They were not to pack anything or bring food, weapons, nothing. Just go, two by two, independent, on their own.
What a mess they could have made out there. It is surprising that Jesus does so little to prepare them. I guess that he expected that they would learn as they went. He tells them in no uncertain terms that they are representing him and that they are to tell people that the kingdom of heaven is near. But they must have made so many mistakes! It must have been so scary for them. They had no idea what they were getting into.
It is amazing to realize that Jesus did not hold on to his disciples. He wanted them on their own, independent of him, doing his work. Maybe he knew that he would best be with them when they were out in the world serving him.
Are you willing to work for God here in this country in 2010? The pay is lousy, but the eternal benefits are amazing! If you are willing, don’t expect to sit still. God wants you out on your own, independent and courageous, trying new things, meeting new people. God does not go in for comfort. If you are to work for God, you must take the cross out of the church where it belongs.
Today is July 4th and we are in a tenuous time in this nation. Our economy is struggling. The oil devastation in the Gulf is beyond anything that we can fathom. Technology is raging ahead and we are frightened. Some are afraid that America’s heyday is over, that we are on the decline and that nations such as India and China are on the rise. Our fear causes us to become more and more divided, blaming the mistakes of this nation on others, unwilling to look at ourselves. In our fear and anxiety, we risk losing the independence and creativity that have made us so great. Independence takes courage and it breeds ingenuity.
The founders of this country put their necks on the line and created a new form of government in which the people could choose their own leadership. It was a bold, innovative new way of thinking and living. It was risky – stepping out into that vast unknown. Our Founders were like lambs going out into the midst of wolves, they had no idea what their bold experiment would ultimately produce. They were trying to envision something greater than what had been done before, a form of government that would respect the hopes, dreams and opinions of each individual, but they had never walked this way before. Everything was new and everything was risky. It took great bravery.
My friends, we are in a new era, and we need to become independent innovators once more. I believe that God is calling us to that. This country is brilliant. There is no reason why we cannot discover alternatives to fossil fuels, solve our financial crisis, and improve the lives of all of our citizens. It is scary, but it can be done. It will take great bravery.
Likewise, the church must be innovative once more. We are called to step out of our comfort zone, and reach a world where “anything goes” is the name of the game, and uncertainty is rampant. Where it doesn’t matter what you believe. The church must once again speak and teach and lead with authority. It will take great bravery.
Years ago, I was in Russia trying to research the Orthodox Church, but I was scared to speak to a priest. I would go to the same church Sunday after Sunday and not speak to him. I was too shy, too scared. I didn’t know if I spoke the language well enough, if I was smart enough. I thought he might laugh at me. One morning, I brought a Russian friend to church with me. She saw my struggle and she did something. After the service, as I stood watching the priest greet people, not daring to go and speak to him, she came up behind me and pushed me. She just gave me a shove.
That push made me so mad. How dare she push me towards him? Maybe I wasn’t ready yet. Maybe I needed more time. I was not fully prepared. But I did walk up to that priest and speak to him and that began a new part of my journey.
Sometimes, we need a shove. I believe that God is giving us a push today here in Jacksonville. Here on this Fourth of July in the year 2010, God is telling us to get out there again, to try new things, to be brave and courageous and to step into the future without having it all together. Jesus asked his followers to step out so many years ago and he asks us to step out now. To stop complaining and fighting and blaming and worrying and to walk down our own streets carrying the cross before us, striving to build a better world, affirming justice, equality, and liberty, speaking of God’s kingdom – all for the love of Jesus .
Get that cross OUT OF THE CHURCH where it belongs!
Friday, July 02, 2010
The Flesh and The Spirit
I stink at exercise. Every morning, I get up and my dog, Ella, who is just one and a half, is already itching to go. I rub my eyes and feel sorry for myself as I get ready to take her on a jog, or you might call it a slog. She pulls like crazy, running me. Most days I do run for about 20 minutes at a kind of a slow pace. Some days I just walk fast. The trees and the air wake me up. I begin to give thanks to God for a new day, to pray, maybe a song runs through my head.
And then I see someone coming towards me. Another woman my age, and she is really running. All of a sudden, I pick up my pace. I try to look really in shape, like I am going for miles and miles. I smile and say hello. Then, once she is out of range, I slog again. I come up with the most amazing excuses for why I need to stop running…
It’s not really that good for you, to pound your body into the pavement.
There are really fit people who walk
Maybe I am just too vain
I’ve done enough.
I need to be satisfied with the body I have
I can’t pray as well when I am running
It’s all a bunch of hooey-all the stuff that runs through my mind. I know what this is really about. It’s about my spiritual life. My body is a part of my spiritual life. And if I don’t manage to take care of my flesh, I won’t be able to grow closer to God.
It’s hard to understand the apostle Paul. He wrote these incredibly profound things, but he wrote them in the form of run-on sentences with a density that intimidates most of us. But Paul was the Christian theologian who took what Jesus said and did for us and made some sense of it. He was brilliant and vital and, although he was a bit one-sided, absolutely in-love with God.
In the letter to the Galatians, Paul talks about the relationship of the flesh and the Spirit. We inhabit bodies that God has made and these bodies are important. But our relationship with God far exceeds our bodies. We have a spiritual life that can soar beyond the clouds. The body is holy, it was made by God, but it cannot have the last word, or we will never be free to experience God. The body is like a child that must be given boundaries and discipline, or it will distract us completely from God.
If I did exactly what my body wanted, I would lie in bed most of the day. I would eat Breyers ice cream by the quart and watch stupid romance movies. But I would become depressed and I would feel removed from God over time. So I must haul my body out of bed in the morning and run that hyper dog, not to try to look pretty but to discipline my body so that I can both serve God and grow closer to God.
Back in Kansas, I joined a gym. There was a woman there who was in her sixties. She began to talk to me while we were on the eliptical machines. She had been a beautiful blonde, just a knock-out in her younger years. Her whole identity had been caught up in her body. She dressed immaculately and noticed how both women and men seemed to respect her. Then she began to age. So she injected her skin with botox. Then came her first real face-lift, then second. Both nothing looked as good as it did when she was young. Now, after multiple surgeries, she looked like a plastic specter of herself. And she realized that something was terribly wrong. There must be more to life than just trying to look good. There just had to be more…but she could not escape the slavery that she had created. She was in bondage to her body, exercising madly for hours each day and never satisfied. Each year, it grew worse.
Another woman I knew had been hurt by her father at a tender age, and she wore about two hundred pounds of extra fat. She claimed it was genetic, but every day, she drove by Krispy Kream. She had to get her knees replaced. She was in constant pain. Her slavery to her body was just as great.
If you are to truly follow Christ, to be free, Paul is quite clear that you must liberate yourself from your body. And that means, quite simply, learning what is best for you and saying no. Create a physical rule of life for yourself, find out what you need to do to care for your body enough so that you don’t have to think about it all the time. What would it take to liberate you from your body? Whatever that is, do it.
If you want to be a disciple, you also have to travel light. Remember that when Jesus ushered an invitation for someone to follow Him, he did not wait around. He did not have time for folks who wanted to pack. He did not even have time for the man who wanted to bury his father. He wants you and me and he’s not going to wait around.
Do you have too much stuff? Too much stuff can create another kind of fleshly bondage. Are you enslaved to your home? What do you need to get rid of to liberate yourself? In the eyes of God, your excess really belongs to someone else and it will not serve you, it will only drag you down. I am convinced that this oil spill along with other realizations of our modern world will lead us to begin to value less rather than more. Can you live more simply? Do you know where all of your belongings are? Are there things that you haven’t used in over a year? Give them away. Free your soul from too much stuff. When Jesus comes, you don’t want to be caught packing.
The same holds true of your relationships. Have you said all that you need to say to your loved ones? Do they know how you feel? Make sure that they do, for life is precious and you don’t want to be bound to unresolved issues if you are hit by a car tomorrow.
Strange isn’t it, how the spirit is bound to the physical world? It is only when we handle our physical realities that we can begin to grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord. You cannot begin to truly love God if you are obsessed with your body, your stuff or your relationships. Your mind needs to be freed from obsessing about these things, so handle them, and make room for the most important thing in your life: God.
Picture a playground in the edge of the Grand Canyon. It has wonderful equipment. Any child would want to play, but the parents won’t let their children near it. Why? Because there is no fence and the children could fall off the edge of a cliff. But put in a nice strong, steel fence and the parents will laugh and praise their children as they play. So it is with God. If you and God are worried about your body opr your stuff or your safety or your vulnerability in relationships, you will never be free to truly play with God. And God wants to play with you. God wants to dance with you!
Your Vestry has created a Rule of Life, a statement for how they choose to live each day, attending worship, giving, serving. It is in your bulletin. Read it. Find out what you need to do to be free.
At the base of our altar are the icons that were painted this week here at the Cathedral. Ann Brodt led an Icon painting workshop. In order for God to shine through these icons, the Orthodox have a very disciplined way of painting. You must use a set image. You must pray constantly as you paint, using certain paints and gold leaf. The Holy Spirit flows best through a disciplined practice, for it liberates the mind to seek God.
Strange isn’t it? You must provide structure and discipline to the flesh if you are to experience the depth of God’s love. Size down, travel light. You are too valuable to waste your life focusing on your body or your stuff. You, my friends, are so much more.
And then I see someone coming towards me. Another woman my age, and she is really running. All of a sudden, I pick up my pace. I try to look really in shape, like I am going for miles and miles. I smile and say hello. Then, once she is out of range, I slog again. I come up with the most amazing excuses for why I need to stop running…
It’s not really that good for you, to pound your body into the pavement.
There are really fit people who walk
Maybe I am just too vain
I’ve done enough.
I need to be satisfied with the body I have
I can’t pray as well when I am running
It’s all a bunch of hooey-all the stuff that runs through my mind. I know what this is really about. It’s about my spiritual life. My body is a part of my spiritual life. And if I don’t manage to take care of my flesh, I won’t be able to grow closer to God.
It’s hard to understand the apostle Paul. He wrote these incredibly profound things, but he wrote them in the form of run-on sentences with a density that intimidates most of us. But Paul was the Christian theologian who took what Jesus said and did for us and made some sense of it. He was brilliant and vital and, although he was a bit one-sided, absolutely in-love with God.
In the letter to the Galatians, Paul talks about the relationship of the flesh and the Spirit. We inhabit bodies that God has made and these bodies are important. But our relationship with God far exceeds our bodies. We have a spiritual life that can soar beyond the clouds. The body is holy, it was made by God, but it cannot have the last word, or we will never be free to experience God. The body is like a child that must be given boundaries and discipline, or it will distract us completely from God.
If I did exactly what my body wanted, I would lie in bed most of the day. I would eat Breyers ice cream by the quart and watch stupid romance movies. But I would become depressed and I would feel removed from God over time. So I must haul my body out of bed in the morning and run that hyper dog, not to try to look pretty but to discipline my body so that I can both serve God and grow closer to God.
Back in Kansas, I joined a gym. There was a woman there who was in her sixties. She began to talk to me while we were on the eliptical machines. She had been a beautiful blonde, just a knock-out in her younger years. Her whole identity had been caught up in her body. She dressed immaculately and noticed how both women and men seemed to respect her. Then she began to age. So she injected her skin with botox. Then came her first real face-lift, then second. Both nothing looked as good as it did when she was young. Now, after multiple surgeries, she looked like a plastic specter of herself. And she realized that something was terribly wrong. There must be more to life than just trying to look good. There just had to be more…but she could not escape the slavery that she had created. She was in bondage to her body, exercising madly for hours each day and never satisfied. Each year, it grew worse.
Another woman I knew had been hurt by her father at a tender age, and she wore about two hundred pounds of extra fat. She claimed it was genetic, but every day, she drove by Krispy Kream. She had to get her knees replaced. She was in constant pain. Her slavery to her body was just as great.
If you are to truly follow Christ, to be free, Paul is quite clear that you must liberate yourself from your body. And that means, quite simply, learning what is best for you and saying no. Create a physical rule of life for yourself, find out what you need to do to care for your body enough so that you don’t have to think about it all the time. What would it take to liberate you from your body? Whatever that is, do it.
If you want to be a disciple, you also have to travel light. Remember that when Jesus ushered an invitation for someone to follow Him, he did not wait around. He did not have time for folks who wanted to pack. He did not even have time for the man who wanted to bury his father. He wants you and me and he’s not going to wait around.
Do you have too much stuff? Too much stuff can create another kind of fleshly bondage. Are you enslaved to your home? What do you need to get rid of to liberate yourself? In the eyes of God, your excess really belongs to someone else and it will not serve you, it will only drag you down. I am convinced that this oil spill along with other realizations of our modern world will lead us to begin to value less rather than more. Can you live more simply? Do you know where all of your belongings are? Are there things that you haven’t used in over a year? Give them away. Free your soul from too much stuff. When Jesus comes, you don’t want to be caught packing.
The same holds true of your relationships. Have you said all that you need to say to your loved ones? Do they know how you feel? Make sure that they do, for life is precious and you don’t want to be bound to unresolved issues if you are hit by a car tomorrow.
Strange isn’t it, how the spirit is bound to the physical world? It is only when we handle our physical realities that we can begin to grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord. You cannot begin to truly love God if you are obsessed with your body, your stuff or your relationships. Your mind needs to be freed from obsessing about these things, so handle them, and make room for the most important thing in your life: God.
Picture a playground in the edge of the Grand Canyon. It has wonderful equipment. Any child would want to play, but the parents won’t let their children near it. Why? Because there is no fence and the children could fall off the edge of a cliff. But put in a nice strong, steel fence and the parents will laugh and praise their children as they play. So it is with God. If you and God are worried about your body opr your stuff or your safety or your vulnerability in relationships, you will never be free to truly play with God. And God wants to play with you. God wants to dance with you!
Your Vestry has created a Rule of Life, a statement for how they choose to live each day, attending worship, giving, serving. It is in your bulletin. Read it. Find out what you need to do to be free.
At the base of our altar are the icons that were painted this week here at the Cathedral. Ann Brodt led an Icon painting workshop. In order for God to shine through these icons, the Orthodox have a very disciplined way of painting. You must use a set image. You must pray constantly as you paint, using certain paints and gold leaf. The Holy Spirit flows best through a disciplined practice, for it liberates the mind to seek God.
Strange isn’t it? You must provide structure and discipline to the flesh if you are to experience the depth of God’s love. Size down, travel light. You are too valuable to waste your life focusing on your body or your stuff. You, my friends, are so much more.
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