Weekly Recap for Tuesday, May 31, 2016 ProgressiveChristianity.org in Gig Harbor, Washington, United States for Tuesday, 31 May 2016 "How do you follow in Jesus' footsteps? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week."
Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of: A Welcoming Ethos, Body and Soul, Loving Kindness and Community.
Visit our website to join in on the discussion and to view our thousands of spiritual resources!
We are entirely reader supported, please support us today.
ProgressiveChristianity.org is a global portal for authors, scholars, theologians and liturgists to share their resources for the progressive spiritual journey.
How to Nurture a Welcoming Eethos
Tom Ehrich
As Jesus said, it’s no big thing to be kind to your friends... The challenge is to welcome strangers, to embrace misfits, and to find common ground with people you don’t like.
The measure of a society isn’t how it treats the young, healthy, beautiful and easy-to-like, but how it handles the vulnerable, the needy, the outcast, the hard-to-like.
That’s why the biblical tithe was intended for the care of widows and orphans, not for the building of grand facilities and paying taxes to the government.
In the same way, the measure of a church is how it handles strangers, outcasts, enemies, and the hard-to-like. As Jesus said, it’s no big thing to be kind to your friends. Any community, any church can be friendly to its in-crowd. The challenge is to welcome strangers, to embrace misfits, and to find common ground with people you don’t like.
Before we consider the how, let’s be honest about the obstacles.
As Jesus said, it’s no big thing to be kind to your friends... The challenge is to welcome strangers, to embrace misfits, and to find common ground with people you don’t like.
The measure of a society isn’t how it treats the young, healthy, beautiful and easy-to-like, but how it handles the vulnerable, the needy, the outcast, the hard-to-like.
That’s why the biblical tithe was intended for the care of widows and orphans, not for the building of grand facilities and paying taxes to the government.
In the same way, the measure of a church is how it handles strangers, outcasts, enemies, and the hard-to-like. As Jesus said, it’s no big thing to be kind to your friends. Any community, any church can be friendly to its in-crowd. The challenge is to welcome strangers, to embrace misfits, and to find common ground with people you don’t like.
Before we consider the how, let’s be honest about the obstacles.
Some churches have intentional norms that freeze out people of different races and ethnicities.
Some have informal norms about ignoring the poorly dressed, or the smartly dressed, about speaking in code language that only “our kind” can understand.
Some have informal norms about ignoring the poorly dressed, or the smartly dressed, about speaking in code language that only “our kind” can understand.
Some churches have getting-to-know-you rituals that claim to be inclusive but, in fact, are highly selective, based on factors such as gender, sexuality, age and class.
Since all of us, at one time or another, are misfits, losers and strangers, church can be a profoundly unwelcoming place. That’s a primary reason why we don’t grow. Who wants to stick around a community where you are made to feel unwelcome or invisible?
Church leaders have tried various methods to welcome more effectively. They have organized “hospitality teams,” set up welcome stations, trained clergy to zero in on strangers, and tried to minimize the code language in worship. These are worthwhile steps, but not enough. A stranger can sniff out reality. A trained greeter wearing a name tag is okay, but a member who is genuinely glad to see them and to shepherd them into parish life – and does it from a good heart, not a weekly assignment — that is pure gold.
This is true on Sunday, and it is no less true other times of the week, indeed any time the community gathers.
The point isn’t to develop a welcoming strategy, but to nurture a welcoming ethos. In the end, people will follow their hearts, not their committee assignments. How do you nurture a welcoming ethos, in which people instinctively invite, welcome, engage and embrace?
To some extent, you can’t. People either have it or they don’t. Those who think themselves better than others six days a week aren’t going to shed that illusion on Sunday. Those who deal with self-loathing by projecting their shortcomings onto others don’t suddenly become genial and other-oriented in church. Churches that trade in hypocrisy harvest that self-loathing and feed it back as loathing of others. They turn class anxieties into a culture of victimization.
That said, it is possible to change a congregation’s culture. It takes a long time, strong preaching, leaders who consistently reward good behavior and don’t cave to bad behavior, and strong mission projects that teach kindness and self-sacrifice.
The senior pastor must take on some specific duties:
Since all of us, at one time or another, are misfits, losers and strangers, church can be a profoundly unwelcoming place. That’s a primary reason why we don’t grow. Who wants to stick around a community where you are made to feel unwelcome or invisible?
Church leaders have tried various methods to welcome more effectively. They have organized “hospitality teams,” set up welcome stations, trained clergy to zero in on strangers, and tried to minimize the code language in worship. These are worthwhile steps, but not enough. A stranger can sniff out reality. A trained greeter wearing a name tag is okay, but a member who is genuinely glad to see them and to shepherd them into parish life – and does it from a good heart, not a weekly assignment — that is pure gold.
This is true on Sunday, and it is no less true other times of the week, indeed any time the community gathers.
The point isn’t to develop a welcoming strategy, but to nurture a welcoming ethos. In the end, people will follow their hearts, not their committee assignments. How do you nurture a welcoming ethos, in which people instinctively invite, welcome, engage and embrace?
To some extent, you can’t. People either have it or they don’t. Those who think themselves better than others six days a week aren’t going to shed that illusion on Sunday. Those who deal with self-loathing by projecting their shortcomings onto others don’t suddenly become genial and other-oriented in church. Churches that trade in hypocrisy harvest that self-loathing and feed it back as loathing of others. They turn class anxieties into a culture of victimization.
That said, it is possible to change a congregation’s culture. It takes a long time, strong preaching, leaders who consistently reward good behavior and don’t cave to bad behavior, and strong mission projects that teach kindness and self-sacrifice.
The senior pastor must take on some specific duties:
a strong communicator shaping a narrative of kindness and self-sacrifice
an active advocate for strangers and misfits even when in-crowds demand preference
an entrepreneur of activities like mission trips and small groups
a leadership developer who recruits, trains, rewards and supports leaders who understand community-building.
Lay leaders must advocate for strangers, making sure that tolerance and openness are primary norms. They must resist the natural tendency to view Sunday morning and other events as see-my-friends time, but instead to approach it as make-new-friends time. Lay councils shouldn’t conduct business in the coffee hour or right after church. That’s a time to welcome strangers and to invite visitors to lunch.
A welcoming ethos has little to do with facilities. But if you are itching to spend money on facilities, improve your arriving and greeting areas, not your altar.
Hire staff who cover a broad age span and are naturally outgoing.
In the end, nurturing a welcoming ethos is like raising children: you just keep rewarding good behavior, calling out bad behavior, and modeling in your own behavior what you hope others will do.
About the Author
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the publisher of Fresh Day online magazine, author of On a Journey and two national newspaper columns. His website is Church Wellness – Morning Walk Media
It turns out that correctives to this problem can be found in the mystical tradition. The early 16th century Spanish Franciscan lay brother and medical doctor, Bernardino de Laredo, wrote an elaborate treatise about the way God manifests in the inner workings of the human body. In his “Ascent of Mount Zion”, working within the constraints of physiology at the time, Laredo taught that self-knowledge begins with understanding how God dwells and works within and through the organs and processes of one’s body. Physiology was Laredo’s interpretive key to a mystical theology of the incarnation of God in the Christ. By knowing the body in contemplation, one could directly experience this incarnation, and through it know God. By attending in great detail to one’s physical suffering, whether self-inflicted or not, the mystics could enter into the experience of Jesus in his crucifixion, and through it could join him in spiritual union with God. For these mystics, the body was a precious gift in which God lived, moved, and delivered them into divine presence.
Perhaps the mystic with the most radical experience of God’s presence in the human body was Hadewijch, a 13th century Dutch member of one of the women’s lay religious communities called the “beguines”: “I desired that God should be with me so that I should be fulfilled together with him… he came to me himself and took me completely in his arms and pressed me to him. And all my limbs felt his limbs in the full satisfaction that my heart and my humanity desired. Then I was externally completely satisfied to the utmost satiation.” Hadewijch and Jesus Christ had orgasms together, it would appear. While this seems wildly salacious today, it was just a point on a continuum of physical ecstasies experienced by mystical Christians in that era. Despite the Neoplatonic division of the physical from the spiritual that infected the Church, there always have been Christian mystics who kept body and soul together through keen, cultivated mindfulness.
A mindful kind of Christianity incorporates the body in prayer. It starts with a present awareness of our physical condition, our bodily sensations, with warm, caring, non-judgmental attentiveness. Here is pain in the arm: exactly what is that pain like? From exactly where does it radiate? Here is the sensation of the chest swelling with breathing in; here is the sensation of the belly relaxing when exhaling out. Observing the body with loving, intense interest is a powerfully effective way to train oneself in mindful prayer. Beginning and ending prayer with body awareness is a way to ground the practice in the here and the now. It is a way to celebrate the divine gift of our physicality.
I regularly experience a kind of physical ecstasy in mindfulness prayer, a bodily thrill of releasing the ego, sensing the physical presence of the divine Presence, and knowing the Knower. Whenever I have this sublime experience I find myself wondering why I don’t go there all the time! But I have come to understand that the value and benefit of mindfulness practice is not just to be found on the mountaintop. It is a spiritual practice that, over time, suffuses everything I do… physically and mentally.
ABOUT JIM BURKLO
Website: JIMBURKLO.COM Weblog: MUSINGS Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
See the GUIDE to my articles and books
Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California
Last year, in the Spirit of Pentecost, I preached without a manuscript and conscripted the congregation into helping me to describe mystical experiences. The cacophony of voices you will hear captures what happened. If you fast forward past the congregational uproar you will hear a recap using Rudolph Otto’s description of the experience o the Numinous which he describes as “Mysterium, Tremendum et Facinans – Mysterious, Tremendous and Fascinating.
You Can listen to the sermon by Clicking Here
Click Here to find the notes I used to prepare myself to lead this interactive sermon.
Resources for Pentecost Sunday from previous posts:
Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. Birthday celebrations lend themselves to the telling of stories. So, we begin with a parable by the radical theologian Peter Rollins. So, sit back and try to imagine that you live not at the beginning of the 21st century but at the middle of the 21st century; say about 2050. The world has changed quite a bit. “It seems that in the future laws will be passed declaring that all those who follow the teachings of Jesus are subversive. Churches have been banned and to be a follower of Jesus is illegal. You have just been accused of being a believer. You’ve been arrested, and dragged before a court. You have been under clandestine surveillance for some time now, and so the prosecution has been able to build up quite a case against you. They begin the trial by offering the judge dozens of photographs that show you attending underground church meetings, speaking at religious events, and participating in various prayer and worship services. After this, they present a selection of items that have been confiscated from your home: religious books that you own, worship CDs, and other Christian artifacts. Then they step up the pace by displaying many of the poems, pieces of prose, and journal entries that you had lovingly written concerning your faith. Finally, in closing, the prosecution offers your Bible to the judge. This is a well-worn book with scribbles, notes, drawings, and underlinings throughout, evidence, if it were needed, that you had read and reread this sacred text many times. Throughout the case you have been sitting silently in fear and trembling. You know deep in your heart that with the large body of evidence that has been amassed by the prosecution you face the possibility of a long imprisonment or even execution. At various times throughout the proceedings you have lost all the confidence and have been on the verge of standing up and denying Christ. But while this thought has plagued your mind throughout the trial, you resist the temptation and remain focused.
Once the prosecution has finished presenting their case the judge proceeds to ask if you have anything to add, but you remain silent and resolute, terrified that if you open your mouth, even for a moment, you might deny the charges made against you. Like Christ you remain silent before your accusers. In response you are led outside to wait as the judge ponders your case. The hours pass slowly as you sit under guard in the foyer waiting to be summoned back. Eventually a young man in uniform appears and leads you into the courtroom so that you may hear the verdict and receive word of your punishment. Once you have been seated in the dock the judge, a harsh and unyielding man, enters the room, stands before you, looks deep into your eyes and begins to speak. “On the charges that have been brought forward I find the accused not guilty.”
“Not guilty?” your heart freezes. Then, in a split second, the fear and terror that had moments before threatened to strip your resolve are swallowed up by confusion and rage. Despite the surroundings, you stand defiantly before the judge and demand that he give an account concerning why you are innocent of the charges in light of the evidence. “What evidence?” asks the judge in shock.
“What about the poems and prose that I wrote?” you ask. “They simply show that you think of yourself as a poet, nothing more.” “But what about the services I spoke at, the times I wept in church and the long, sleepless nights of prayer?” “Evidence that you are a good speaker and an actor, nothing more,” replied the judge. “It is obvious that you deluded those around you, and perhaps at times you even deluded yourself, but this foolishness is not enough to convict you in a court of law.” “But this is madness!” you shout. “It would seem that no evidence would convince you!” “Not so,” replies the judge as if informing you of a great long-forgotten secret. “The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world. We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christlike endeavor to create a better world. So, until you live as Christ and Christ’s followers did, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then, my friend, you are no enemy of ours.”
Rollins insists that this parable is true right here and right now. We don’t have to imagine a world were Christianity is illegal for this parable to be true. Rollins insists that: “If you or I were really to take the teachings of Jesus seriously, would we not sooner or later, find ourselves being dragged before the authorities? If we were really to live a life that reflected the subversive and radical message of love that gives a voice to the voiceless and a place to those who are displaced, if we were really to stand up against systemic oppression perpetrated by those in power, then would we not find ourselves on the wrong side of the lawmakers?”
On this the birthday of the church, we would do well to remember the stories our ancestors wove together about what it was like back in the beginning. Sure it was like they were on fire! There they were huddled together in fear. Afraid to go outside, incase the authorities might spot them. Tormented by their grief. Afraid the dream might be over. Some of them were even considering giving up and giving in. The Romans were just too big, too entrenched, too powerful, they didn’t stand a chance against the powers that be. Just look what they did to Jesus. Jesus had dared to speak out. Jesus had dared to challenge it all, the Empire, the religious institution and the culture itself, all in the name of freedom. Jesus had tried to set us free from the oppression of the Empire, from the power of the religious authorities, free from our prejudices, free from the lure of our own self-centeredness. Jesus had tried to let us see that there was so much more to life than survival. Jesus had taught us so much, helped us to question so much. And look where it got him. The powers that be had done their very worst and know Jesus was dead. Sure there were those who insisted that Jesus wasn’t gone, that they felt his presence, that there was no need to give up or given in, that we could still change the world. But, what to do? How do we go on? And then it was as if we were on fire! Suddenly we were alive with all that Jesus had taught us. You should have been there as the flames of justice flashed about igniting us with passion, with courage, with love. Oh we had fire in our bellies! Yes it was chaos back then with everyone from all over the place talking all at once, putting their two cents worth in to the mix. But stuff got done. We changed the world because the very Spirit of God that lived and breathed in Jesus, was living and breathing in us. You should have seen us back then; we were on fire; so much so that people came from far and wide just to try and figure out what had given us the courage to be who we were created to be.
Those were the days. It wasn’t like it is now. Back then, back when you could actually see the flames dashing in and out and all around the church, back then followers of Jesus didn’t embody their faith by simply expressing acceptance of a belief system that pointed to Jesus. No back then the church was on fire, and the followers of Jesus embodied their faith in the sacrifice of loving; love, the love that Jesus poured out his life teaching us, love set us on fire and we changed the world.
It’s all a bit tame these days. These days not even the followers of Jesus expect that kind of passion. It’s as if the church is suffering from some sort of heartburn and the followers of Jesus have lost their appetite for the hot stuff that inflames a person’s insides. These days you’d be hard pressed to pick out a follower of Jesus from the any of the rest of them. The followers of Jesus have blended in; they’ve found a way to live just like the rest of them. They’ve taken all that Jesus taught them, and watered it down so as you’d hardly recognize it’s potential to change the world. Oh, sure every once in a while a fire breaks out, and people begin to get excited about what Jesus really had to say, but then just as quickly Monday rolls around and people are back at it. Back at clawing and scratching for survival in this world that they’ve chosen over the possibility of something more.
The church has settled into the culture, and the flames have died down and once again we are huddling together behind closed doors. Afraid. Only this time we afraid of the flames. We’re afraid of the whole thing catching fire. We afraid that if we let ourselves go, if we begin to take seriously what Jesus was trying to teach us, if we begin to fan the flames with our questions we run the risk of burning the whole place down. So, we’ve assigned all sorts of sentries to stand guard, so that the flames are stamped out before they can ignite the people. We’ve established creeds, and liturgies and formed committees and we think we’re doing a good job of containing the Spirit. So, it’s safe for people to come to church. They know that if their lucky all they’ll get from church is a warm glow. Nobody is going to get burnt. Not if they just follow the rules. And it’s working. These days the powers that be don’t give us a second thought unless they need to borrow some of the tools we’ve developed to put out the fires.
These days if a fire should break out, if people should begin to become inflamed by something Jesus said, and demand justice or peace, well the powers that be just borrow a few extinguishers from the church and before too long people are too worried about their stuff or what’s going to happen to them when they die, to give a second thought for their neighbours. People are pretty secure in the notion that the fires have gone out. Nobody worries too much about the dangers of those old passions being ignited. It’s not like it was back then. We’ve pretty much domesticated the Spirit and she’s become pretty much a house pet. She doesn’t get out very much anymore. Except, every once in a while when She manages to fan the flames a little. It usually begins with something as innocuous as a question. Trouble is that one question usually leads to another and before you know it people are talking about what Jesus actually said and then things get out of control and before you know it, the place is on fire again.
Those flames are powerful. Those flames are dangerous. Those flames could turn the whole world on its head. Why if we’re not careful passion might just inflame the world, and people will be committing all sorts of outrageous acts of love. Nobody will be able to control it and before you know it that same Spirit that breathed in Jesus will be breathing in all of us. It will be as if we are on fire; on fire with the love of God for the people of God!
I’m telling you that if we were to live a life that reflected the subversive and radical message of love that gives voice to the voiceless and a place to those who are displaced, if we were really to stand up against systemic oppression perpetrated by those in power, then we would indeed find ourselves on the wrong side of the lawmakers. Perhaps, the time has come to fan the flames with passion; the kind of passion that Jesus had – passion for life. Life that is bigger than ourselves. Life that is full and abundant not just for us but for our neighbours as well. Perhaps the time has come to once again express our faith, not with the acceptance of a belief system, but with reckless acts of loving-kindness.
Now that’s the kind of fire that could change the world. Are you prepared to fan those flames? Or are you afraid of the powers that be? Would you rather stay locked away in here where its safe? Or are your questions burning a hole in your carefully held beliefs? Are you tired of playing it safe? Are you ready to follow Jesus out there into the world? Are you ready to fan the flames with your passion? Are you ready to have the powers that be sit up and take notice? Are you ready to commit outrageous acts of loving-kindness? I can hardly wait to see those flames dancing all about! It will be as if we are on fire!
Click Here to Visit Pastor Dawn’s Website
“Where there is compassion and love, there is God” by The Rev. Carol Barriger
Call to Worship (congregational response in chant)
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est. (*)
One: Surely God is in this place, we have only to open ourselves to compassion and love.
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
One: Surely Jesus sits among us, we have only to share the good news of his radical love in our community.
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
One: Surely the Spirit, Wisdom, Sophia dwells within us, we have only to live fully into all that is placed in our hearts.
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
(*) Where there is compassion and love, there is God. (Taize)
Rev. Carol Barriger
Northern California Nevada Conference, UCC
Table Prayer for a progressive Christian community by Rev. Kathryn Hawkerself
Welcome:
And so we gather at the table.
We come from many places,
differing in age, differing in race,
differing in orientation, politics and even religion.
As we come together around the table
we discover that our differences are not something we tolerate
but that our differences are indeed a blessing,
the more difference we bring, the more fully we experience
the presence of the sacred in our midst.
So come, children of God, just as you are.
Wherever you are on this journey of life, you are welcome here,
here in this place, here in this community, here at this table.
Come, children of God, come and remember with us.
Remembrance:
We remember the stories that Jesus friends tell,
stories of bread broken and shared, feeding a multitude,
stories of being gathered together, enemy and friend, around tables,
stories of unlikely guests revealing the face of the sacred.
They say that that
it was on a night of both celebration and betrayal
that he took the bread leftover on the table,
blessed it and broke it;
reminding them that it is
in the breaking that we become whole,
in losing our lives that we find them,
in serving that we are served.
As the grain scattered becomes one in the loaf,
when we eat this bread, we become one with one another.
They say that he took the cup also leftover on the table,
poured out and sharing,
remembering with them, the life-giving breath
even now pounding a rhythm through our veins,
the breath of life from whence we come
the breath that precedes and follows all that we can see
As the grapes find life in the vine,
when we drink this cup,
we become at one with the source of life itself.
Blessing:
And so we pray:
Come, holy Spirit, come.
Bless this bread and
bless this fruit of the vine.
Bless all of us in our eating and drinking that our eyes might be open,
that we might recognize the risen Christ in our midst,
indeed in one another.
Come, holy Spirit, come.
Lay leaders must advocate for strangers, making sure that tolerance and openness are primary norms. They must resist the natural tendency to view Sunday morning and other events as see-my-friends time, but instead to approach it as make-new-friends time. Lay councils shouldn’t conduct business in the coffee hour or right after church. That’s a time to welcome strangers and to invite visitors to lunch.
A welcoming ethos has little to do with facilities. But if you are itching to spend money on facilities, improve your arriving and greeting areas, not your altar.
Hire staff who cover a broad age span and are naturally outgoing.
In the end, nurturing a welcoming ethos is like raising children: you just keep rewarding good behavior, calling out bad behavior, and modeling in your own behavior what you hope others will do.
About the Author
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the publisher of Fresh Day online magazine, author of On a Journey and two national newspaper columns. His website is Church Wellness – Morning Walk Media
READ ON...
-------
Body and Soul
-------
Body and Soul
Jim Burklo
... I have come to understand that the value and benefit of mindfulness practice is not just to be found on the mountaintop. It is a spiritual practice that, over time, suffuses everything I do - physically and mentally.
Many saints of the Church’s history appear to have had contempt for their own bodies. The mortifications to which they subjected their flesh are incomprehensibly grotesque to Christians today. It is hard to reconstruct the cultural milieu in which these mortifications had meaning and purpose. There is a lingering disdain of the body still evident in most branches of the faith, and it is problematic. For too long we have viewed our faith as just a head-trip. We Christians need to take better care of the rest of ourselves, and to embody our spirituality more fully.... I have come to understand that the value and benefit of mindfulness practice is not just to be found on the mountaintop. It is a spiritual practice that, over time, suffuses everything I do - physically and mentally.
It turns out that correctives to this problem can be found in the mystical tradition. The early 16th century Spanish Franciscan lay brother and medical doctor, Bernardino de Laredo, wrote an elaborate treatise about the way God manifests in the inner workings of the human body. In his “Ascent of Mount Zion”, working within the constraints of physiology at the time, Laredo taught that self-knowledge begins with understanding how God dwells and works within and through the organs and processes of one’s body. Physiology was Laredo’s interpretive key to a mystical theology of the incarnation of God in the Christ. By knowing the body in contemplation, one could directly experience this incarnation, and through it know God. By attending in great detail to one’s physical suffering, whether self-inflicted or not, the mystics could enter into the experience of Jesus in his crucifixion, and through it could join him in spiritual union with God. For these mystics, the body was a precious gift in which God lived, moved, and delivered them into divine presence.
Perhaps the mystic with the most radical experience of God’s presence in the human body was Hadewijch, a 13th century Dutch member of one of the women’s lay religious communities called the “beguines”: “I desired that God should be with me so that I should be fulfilled together with him… he came to me himself and took me completely in his arms and pressed me to him. And all my limbs felt his limbs in the full satisfaction that my heart and my humanity desired. Then I was externally completely satisfied to the utmost satiation.” Hadewijch and Jesus Christ had orgasms together, it would appear. While this seems wildly salacious today, it was just a point on a continuum of physical ecstasies experienced by mystical Christians in that era. Despite the Neoplatonic division of the physical from the spiritual that infected the Church, there always have been Christian mystics who kept body and soul together through keen, cultivated mindfulness.
A mindful kind of Christianity incorporates the body in prayer. It starts with a present awareness of our physical condition, our bodily sensations, with warm, caring, non-judgmental attentiveness. Here is pain in the arm: exactly what is that pain like? From exactly where does it radiate? Here is the sensation of the chest swelling with breathing in; here is the sensation of the belly relaxing when exhaling out. Observing the body with loving, intense interest is a powerfully effective way to train oneself in mindful prayer. Beginning and ending prayer with body awareness is a way to ground the practice in the here and the now. It is a way to celebrate the divine gift of our physicality.
I regularly experience a kind of physical ecstasy in mindfulness prayer, a bodily thrill of releasing the ego, sensing the physical presence of the divine Presence, and knowing the Knower. Whenever I have this sublime experience I find myself wondering why I don’t go there all the time! But I have come to understand that the value and benefit of mindfulness practice is not just to be found on the mountaintop. It is a spiritual practice that, over time, suffuses everything I do… physically and mentally.
ABOUT JIM BURKLO
Website: JIMBURKLO.COM Weblog: MUSINGS Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
See the GUIDE to my articles and books
Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California
READ ON ...
-------
Fanning the Flames: Pentecost Sunday
-------
Fanning the Flames: Pentecost Sunday
Rev. Dawn Hutchings
If we were really to live a life that reflected the subversive and radical message of love that gives a voice to the voiceless and a place to those who are displaced, if we were really to stand up against systemic oppression perpetrated by those in power, then would we not find ourselves on the wrong side of the lawmakers?”
Pentecost: a Human PhenomenonIf we were really to live a life that reflected the subversive and radical message of love that gives a voice to the voiceless and a place to those who are displaced, if we were really to stand up against systemic oppression perpetrated by those in power, then would we not find ourselves on the wrong side of the lawmakers?”
Last year, in the Spirit of Pentecost, I preached without a manuscript and conscripted the congregation into helping me to describe mystical experiences. The cacophony of voices you will hear captures what happened. If you fast forward past the congregational uproar you will hear a recap using Rudolph Otto’s description of the experience o the Numinous which he describes as “Mysterium, Tremendum et Facinans – Mysterious, Tremendous and Fascinating.
You Can listen to the sermon by Clicking Here
Click Here to find the notes I used to prepare myself to lead this interactive sermon.
Resources for Pentecost Sunday from previous posts:
- Beyond Tribalism – Preaching a 21st Century Pentecost
- Celebrating Pentecost in the 21st Century
- Pentecost Tongues Aflame with the Prayer attributed to Jesus
- Global Engagement, Chaos Theory, the Butterfly Effect and a New Pentecost
Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. Birthday celebrations lend themselves to the telling of stories. So, we begin with a parable by the radical theologian Peter Rollins. So, sit back and try to imagine that you live not at the beginning of the 21st century but at the middle of the 21st century; say about 2050. The world has changed quite a bit. “It seems that in the future laws will be passed declaring that all those who follow the teachings of Jesus are subversive. Churches have been banned and to be a follower of Jesus is illegal. You have just been accused of being a believer. You’ve been arrested, and dragged before a court. You have been under clandestine surveillance for some time now, and so the prosecution has been able to build up quite a case against you. They begin the trial by offering the judge dozens of photographs that show you attending underground church meetings, speaking at religious events, and participating in various prayer and worship services. After this, they present a selection of items that have been confiscated from your home: religious books that you own, worship CDs, and other Christian artifacts. Then they step up the pace by displaying many of the poems, pieces of prose, and journal entries that you had lovingly written concerning your faith. Finally, in closing, the prosecution offers your Bible to the judge. This is a well-worn book with scribbles, notes, drawings, and underlinings throughout, evidence, if it were needed, that you had read and reread this sacred text many times. Throughout the case you have been sitting silently in fear and trembling. You know deep in your heart that with the large body of evidence that has been amassed by the prosecution you face the possibility of a long imprisonment or even execution. At various times throughout the proceedings you have lost all the confidence and have been on the verge of standing up and denying Christ. But while this thought has plagued your mind throughout the trial, you resist the temptation and remain focused.
Once the prosecution has finished presenting their case the judge proceeds to ask if you have anything to add, but you remain silent and resolute, terrified that if you open your mouth, even for a moment, you might deny the charges made against you. Like Christ you remain silent before your accusers. In response you are led outside to wait as the judge ponders your case. The hours pass slowly as you sit under guard in the foyer waiting to be summoned back. Eventually a young man in uniform appears and leads you into the courtroom so that you may hear the verdict and receive word of your punishment. Once you have been seated in the dock the judge, a harsh and unyielding man, enters the room, stands before you, looks deep into your eyes and begins to speak. “On the charges that have been brought forward I find the accused not guilty.”
“Not guilty?” your heart freezes. Then, in a split second, the fear and terror that had moments before threatened to strip your resolve are swallowed up by confusion and rage. Despite the surroundings, you stand defiantly before the judge and demand that he give an account concerning why you are innocent of the charges in light of the evidence. “What evidence?” asks the judge in shock.
“What about the poems and prose that I wrote?” you ask. “They simply show that you think of yourself as a poet, nothing more.” “But what about the services I spoke at, the times I wept in church and the long, sleepless nights of prayer?” “Evidence that you are a good speaker and an actor, nothing more,” replied the judge. “It is obvious that you deluded those around you, and perhaps at times you even deluded yourself, but this foolishness is not enough to convict you in a court of law.” “But this is madness!” you shout. “It would seem that no evidence would convince you!” “Not so,” replies the judge as if informing you of a great long-forgotten secret. “The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world. We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christlike endeavor to create a better world. So, until you live as Christ and Christ’s followers did, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then, my friend, you are no enemy of ours.”
Rollins insists that this parable is true right here and right now. We don’t have to imagine a world were Christianity is illegal for this parable to be true. Rollins insists that: “If you or I were really to take the teachings of Jesus seriously, would we not sooner or later, find ourselves being dragged before the authorities? If we were really to live a life that reflected the subversive and radical message of love that gives a voice to the voiceless and a place to those who are displaced, if we were really to stand up against systemic oppression perpetrated by those in power, then would we not find ourselves on the wrong side of the lawmakers?”
On this the birthday of the church, we would do well to remember the stories our ancestors wove together about what it was like back in the beginning. Sure it was like they were on fire! There they were huddled together in fear. Afraid to go outside, incase the authorities might spot them. Tormented by their grief. Afraid the dream might be over. Some of them were even considering giving up and giving in. The Romans were just too big, too entrenched, too powerful, they didn’t stand a chance against the powers that be. Just look what they did to Jesus. Jesus had dared to speak out. Jesus had dared to challenge it all, the Empire, the religious institution and the culture itself, all in the name of freedom. Jesus had tried to set us free from the oppression of the Empire, from the power of the religious authorities, free from our prejudices, free from the lure of our own self-centeredness. Jesus had tried to let us see that there was so much more to life than survival. Jesus had taught us so much, helped us to question so much. And look where it got him. The powers that be had done their very worst and know Jesus was dead. Sure there were those who insisted that Jesus wasn’t gone, that they felt his presence, that there was no need to give up or given in, that we could still change the world. But, what to do? How do we go on? And then it was as if we were on fire! Suddenly we were alive with all that Jesus had taught us. You should have been there as the flames of justice flashed about igniting us with passion, with courage, with love. Oh we had fire in our bellies! Yes it was chaos back then with everyone from all over the place talking all at once, putting their two cents worth in to the mix. But stuff got done. We changed the world because the very Spirit of God that lived and breathed in Jesus, was living and breathing in us. You should have seen us back then; we were on fire; so much so that people came from far and wide just to try and figure out what had given us the courage to be who we were created to be.
Those were the days. It wasn’t like it is now. Back then, back when you could actually see the flames dashing in and out and all around the church, back then followers of Jesus didn’t embody their faith by simply expressing acceptance of a belief system that pointed to Jesus. No back then the church was on fire, and the followers of Jesus embodied their faith in the sacrifice of loving; love, the love that Jesus poured out his life teaching us, love set us on fire and we changed the world.
It’s all a bit tame these days. These days not even the followers of Jesus expect that kind of passion. It’s as if the church is suffering from some sort of heartburn and the followers of Jesus have lost their appetite for the hot stuff that inflames a person’s insides. These days you’d be hard pressed to pick out a follower of Jesus from the any of the rest of them. The followers of Jesus have blended in; they’ve found a way to live just like the rest of them. They’ve taken all that Jesus taught them, and watered it down so as you’d hardly recognize it’s potential to change the world. Oh, sure every once in a while a fire breaks out, and people begin to get excited about what Jesus really had to say, but then just as quickly Monday rolls around and people are back at it. Back at clawing and scratching for survival in this world that they’ve chosen over the possibility of something more.
The church has settled into the culture, and the flames have died down and once again we are huddling together behind closed doors. Afraid. Only this time we afraid of the flames. We’re afraid of the whole thing catching fire. We afraid that if we let ourselves go, if we begin to take seriously what Jesus was trying to teach us, if we begin to fan the flames with our questions we run the risk of burning the whole place down. So, we’ve assigned all sorts of sentries to stand guard, so that the flames are stamped out before they can ignite the people. We’ve established creeds, and liturgies and formed committees and we think we’re doing a good job of containing the Spirit. So, it’s safe for people to come to church. They know that if their lucky all they’ll get from church is a warm glow. Nobody is going to get burnt. Not if they just follow the rules. And it’s working. These days the powers that be don’t give us a second thought unless they need to borrow some of the tools we’ve developed to put out the fires.
These days if a fire should break out, if people should begin to become inflamed by something Jesus said, and demand justice or peace, well the powers that be just borrow a few extinguishers from the church and before too long people are too worried about their stuff or what’s going to happen to them when they die, to give a second thought for their neighbours. People are pretty secure in the notion that the fires have gone out. Nobody worries too much about the dangers of those old passions being ignited. It’s not like it was back then. We’ve pretty much domesticated the Spirit and she’s become pretty much a house pet. She doesn’t get out very much anymore. Except, every once in a while when She manages to fan the flames a little. It usually begins with something as innocuous as a question. Trouble is that one question usually leads to another and before you know it people are talking about what Jesus actually said and then things get out of control and before you know it, the place is on fire again.
Those flames are powerful. Those flames are dangerous. Those flames could turn the whole world on its head. Why if we’re not careful passion might just inflame the world, and people will be committing all sorts of outrageous acts of love. Nobody will be able to control it and before you know it that same Spirit that breathed in Jesus will be breathing in all of us. It will be as if we are on fire; on fire with the love of God for the people of God!
I’m telling you that if we were to live a life that reflected the subversive and radical message of love that gives voice to the voiceless and a place to those who are displaced, if we were really to stand up against systemic oppression perpetrated by those in power, then we would indeed find ourselves on the wrong side of the lawmakers. Perhaps, the time has come to fan the flames with passion; the kind of passion that Jesus had – passion for life. Life that is bigger than ourselves. Life that is full and abundant not just for us but for our neighbours as well. Perhaps the time has come to once again express our faith, not with the acceptance of a belief system, but with reckless acts of loving-kindness.
Now that’s the kind of fire that could change the world. Are you prepared to fan those flames? Or are you afraid of the powers that be? Would you rather stay locked away in here where its safe? Or are your questions burning a hole in your carefully held beliefs? Are you tired of playing it safe? Are you ready to follow Jesus out there into the world? Are you ready to fan the flames with your passion? Are you ready to have the powers that be sit up and take notice? Are you ready to commit outrageous acts of loving-kindness? I can hardly wait to see those flames dancing all about! It will be as if we are on fire!
Click Here to Visit Pastor Dawn’s Website
READ ON ...
-------
Liturgy Selection
-------
Liturgy Selection
Community
As the old African saying goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” With whom are you going far?Once something we took for granted, created in our towns or schools or churches, community is becoming increasingly precious. Social media give us new forms of community but without the in-person element. My computer has yet to give me a hug when I need one! As the old African saying goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” With whom are you going far?
-------
As the old African saying goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” With whom are you going far?Once something we took for granted, created in our towns or schools or churches, community is becoming increasingly precious. Social media give us new forms of community but without the in-person element. My computer has yet to give me a hug when I need one! As the old African saying goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” With whom are you going far?
-------
“Where there is compassion and love, there is God” by The Rev. Carol Barriger
Call to Worship (congregational response in chant)
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est. (*)
One: Surely God is in this place, we have only to open ourselves to compassion and love.
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
One: Surely Jesus sits among us, we have only to share the good news of his radical love in our community.
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
One: Surely the Spirit, Wisdom, Sophia dwells within us, we have only to live fully into all that is placed in our hearts.
All: Ubi caritas et amor; ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
(*) Where there is compassion and love, there is God. (Taize)
Rev. Carol Barriger
Northern California Nevada Conference, UCC
-------
“What is our ultimate concern?” by Andrew Pratt
What is our ultimate concern?
Where is the centre of each soul?
What are the things that matter most?
What single sense will make us whole?
We recognize the depth of love,
the grace that held us from our birth,
but all too soon we lose our grasp
and other things have greater worth.
The things we own, the clothes we wear,
usurp the place that God should hold,
become our idols, cloak our minds
as if our faith was lost or sold.
The God that we purport to serve,
to love with heart and soul and mind,
is lost within our self concern
yet still is there to seek and find.
So God, we come to start again;
to clear the clutter from our lives,
to see you in each neighbour’s face,
to find the faith that holds and strives.
© Andrew Pratt 13/10/2011
Tune: MELCOMBE
“What is our ultimate concern?” by Andrew Pratt
What is our ultimate concern?
Where is the centre of each soul?
What are the things that matter most?
What single sense will make us whole?
We recognize the depth of love,
the grace that held us from our birth,
but all too soon we lose our grasp
and other things have greater worth.
The things we own, the clothes we wear,
usurp the place that God should hold,
become our idols, cloak our minds
as if our faith was lost or sold.
The God that we purport to serve,
to love with heart and soul and mind,
is lost within our self concern
yet still is there to seek and find.
So God, we come to start again;
to clear the clutter from our lives,
to see you in each neighbour’s face,
to find the faith that holds and strives.
© Andrew Pratt 13/10/2011
Tune: MELCOMBE
-------
Table Prayer for a progressive Christian community by Rev. Kathryn Hawkerself
Welcome:
And so we gather at the table.
We come from many places,
differing in age, differing in race,
differing in orientation, politics and even religion.
As we come together around the table
we discover that our differences are not something we tolerate
but that our differences are indeed a blessing,
the more difference we bring, the more fully we experience
the presence of the sacred in our midst.
So come, children of God, just as you are.
Wherever you are on this journey of life, you are welcome here,
here in this place, here in this community, here at this table.
Come, children of God, come and remember with us.
Remembrance:
We remember the stories that Jesus friends tell,
stories of bread broken and shared, feeding a multitude,
stories of being gathered together, enemy and friend, around tables,
stories of unlikely guests revealing the face of the sacred.
They say that that
it was on a night of both celebration and betrayal
that he took the bread leftover on the table,
blessed it and broke it;
reminding them that it is
in the breaking that we become whole,
in losing our lives that we find them,
in serving that we are served.
As the grain scattered becomes one in the loaf,
when we eat this bread, we become one with one another.
They say that he took the cup also leftover on the table,
poured out and sharing,
remembering with them, the life-giving breath
even now pounding a rhythm through our veins,
the breath of life from whence we come
the breath that precedes and follows all that we can see
As the grapes find life in the vine,
when we drink this cup,
we become at one with the source of life itself.
Blessing:
And so we pray:
Come, holy Spirit, come.
Bless this bread and
bless this fruit of the vine.
Bless all of us in our eating and drinking that our eyes might be open,
that we might recognize the risen Christ in our midst,
indeed in one another.
Come, holy Spirit, come.
READ ON ...
-------
Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.
Events and Updates
Wisdom for Living: The Parables of Jesus By Thomas Keating, Contemplative Outreach
This online course will be based on teaching excerpts from Thomas Keating's book,Meditations on the Parables of Jesus, which he recently picked as his "best book."
Wisdom for Living: The Parables of Jesus By Thomas Keating, Contemplative Outreach
What is the Kingdom of God like?
And to what shall I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that someone
took and sowed in the garden;
it grew and became a tree,
and the birds of the air made nests
in its branches.[Luke 13: 18-19]
“When rightly understood, the parables help us to see how extraordinary a wisdom teacher Jesus really was, and how revolutionary, in the best sense of the word, was the content of what he taught and to which he bore witness by his life and death.
“These insights cohere particularly well with the actual experience of people on the spiritual journey. When contemplative prayer is seriously embraced, we come upon [a] lived reality … the reversal of expectations, the gradual and often painful liberation from emotional programs for happiness, and the increasing discovery of the kingdom of God in the ordinary and everyday.”[Thomas Keating in the preface to Meditations on the Parables of Jesus]
This online course will be based on teaching excerpts from Thomas Keating’s book,Meditations on the Parables of Jesus, which he recently picked as his “best book.” You can expect:[Email teachings will be sent on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, including links to audio teachings from Fr. Thomas Keating]
[An opportunity to share and connect with others in the online Practice Circle]
Partial scholarships are available through Contemplative Outreach. Please inquire at clp@coutreach.org.
4 CEHs for chaplains available.
Images
Start:
June 6, 2016
End:
July 1, 2016
Location:
Online eCourse
Registration:
$59.95
Contact:
Mary Ann Brussat
Organization:
Spirituality & Practice
Website:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/10164/wisdom-for-living-the-parables-of-jesus/key/tcpc
Email:
brussat@spiritualityandpractice.com
READ ON ...
-------
View all upcoming events here!
News
Job Listings
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Email
YouTube
-------
Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.
Events and Updates
Wisdom for Living: The Parables of Jesus By Thomas Keating, Contemplative Outreach
This online course will be based on teaching excerpts from Thomas Keating's book,Meditations on the Parables of Jesus, which he recently picked as his "best book."
Wisdom for Living: The Parables of Jesus By Thomas Keating, Contemplative Outreach
What is the Kingdom of God like?
And to what shall I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that someone
took and sowed in the garden;
it grew and became a tree,
and the birds of the air made nests
in its branches.[Luke 13: 18-19]
“When rightly understood, the parables help us to see how extraordinary a wisdom teacher Jesus really was, and how revolutionary, in the best sense of the word, was the content of what he taught and to which he bore witness by his life and death.
“These insights cohere particularly well with the actual experience of people on the spiritual journey. When contemplative prayer is seriously embraced, we come upon [a] lived reality … the reversal of expectations, the gradual and often painful liberation from emotional programs for happiness, and the increasing discovery of the kingdom of God in the ordinary and everyday.”[Thomas Keating in the preface to Meditations on the Parables of Jesus]
This online course will be based on teaching excerpts from Thomas Keating’s book,Meditations on the Parables of Jesus, which he recently picked as his “best book.” You can expect:[Email teachings will be sent on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, including links to audio teachings from Fr. Thomas Keating]
[An opportunity to share and connect with others in the online Practice Circle]
Partial scholarships are available through Contemplative Outreach. Please inquire at clp@coutreach.org.
4 CEHs for chaplains available.
Images
Start:
June 6, 2016
End:
July 1, 2016
Location:
Online eCourse
Registration:
$59.95
Contact:
Mary Ann Brussat
Organization:
Spirituality & Practice
Website:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/10164/wisdom-for-living-the-parables-of-jesus/key/tcpc
Email:
brussat@spiritualityandpractice.com
READ ON ...
-------
View all upcoming events here!
News
Job Listings
FacebookTwitterWebsiteEmailYouTube
Our mailing address is:
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Point Fosdick Drive North West#80
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Point Fosdick Drive North West#80
Gig Harbor, Washington 98335, United States
---------------------
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment