Weekly Recap for Tuesday, September 27, 2016 ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States "How do you answer the question: 'What religion are you'? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week." for Tuesday, 27 September 2016-------
Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...We delved into the topics of: War, Humility, Self-awareness and Seeking.
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“War”
Unified Soul Theory
In a world that often emphasizes division, Unified Soul Theory promotes togetherness and promote oneness.
“War” by Unified Soul Theory
Unified Soul Theory is a Media Platform seeking to create entertaining, uplifting and transformative content. In a world that often emphasizes division, we promote togetherness, we promote oneness.[Visit Unified Soul Theory’s Website]
In a world that often emphasizes division, Unified Soul Theory promotes togetherness and promote oneness.
“War” by Unified Soul Theory
Unified Soul Theory is a Media Platform seeking to create entertaining, uplifting and transformative content. In a world that often emphasizes division, we promote togetherness, we promote oneness.[Visit Unified Soul Theory’s Website]
READ ON ...
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The Guests Watched Jesus Closely: Sermon
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The Guests Watched Jesus Closely: Sermon
Rev. Dawn Hutchings
The ironic thing about humility is that humility must be seen in order to be known at all ... Let all the world know that you are Christ’s with humble acts grounded in love.
The Guests Watched Jesus Closely: Sermon
Pentecost 15C – Luke 14:1, 7-14 by Rev. Dawn Hutchings
I have often heard Jesus’ teaching about who sits where at a wedding feast used to encourage a kind of humility that requires those who would follow Jesus to take a back seat or better still adopt a cloak of invisibility lest we be mistaken for the proud and self-righteous. Canadians have a special affinity for this particular way of interpreting this text. It seems to me that the image of Canadian humility suggests that Canadian Christianity has had a huge impact upon our national psyche. I know that there are many who would insist that our humble national character is a direct result of living in the shadow of the Americans, whose national identity is anything but humble. I have to admit that the constant drumbeat of “We’re number one!”, “We’re number one!” coupled with a patriotism that champions the idea of American Exceptionalism which is the notion that the United States alone has the right, whether by divine sanction or moral obligation, to bring civilization, or democracy, or liberty to the rest of the world, by violence if necessary. With such pride of place, you can be sure that each and every one of our American cousins is endowed with the confidence on knowing exactly where they belong at the head table. So, is it any wonder that living next-door to a nation that instills such patriotic ardor in its citizens, that we Canadians would find a more humble approach more appealing.
Don’t get me wrong; I know that stereotypes rarely express the full character of a nation and so, it would be a mistake to paint all Americans with the same brush. But I dare say that you’d be hard pressed to find a Canadian who would disagree that even the most enlightened of our American cousins who might be found from time to time to speak softly, doesn’t underneath it all carry a big stick. Where Bravado flows through our American cousin’s national character, most Canadians prefer a quieter, softer, gentler approach, lest we be confused with the worst of American stereotypes: “the ugly American.”
So, renowned is our Canadian reputation for humility, that Americans who themselves are afraid of being treated like Americans, have been known to impersonate Canadians while traveling. I can still remember, backpacking around Europe and running into young American’s who’d sowed Canadian flags onto their packs, so that Europeans might not treat them like the quintessential Ugly American. I used to take great delight in trying to help these imposters, who would often insist that they were from “To-ron-to.” I remember coaching more that one or two American interlopers that in addition to adding the odd eh, to the end of their sentences they should learn how to say, “Toranna,” or “Taranta” rather than “To-ron-to.” But alas, so many of our American cousins remain blissfully unaware of their apparent ugliness as they belly up to the front of the line, insisting on their divine right to feast at the head of the table.
As repugnant as the stereotypical Ugly American might be he pales in comparison to the stereotype of the “Ugly Christian” who although they are not confined to the American variety of the species has without a doubt been perfected by our Bible-believin neighbours to the south. For I dare say that while the average Canadian has learned to take being confused for an Ugly American in our stride, we’d never in our wildest nightmares want to be mistaken for one of those Ugly Christians. You know the type I’m talking about.
Those bible thumping, simple minded, fundamentalist, self-righteous, judgmentalist, killjoys, who’d make the good “Lord himself” want to run a mile, rather than risk listening to them harp on about being saved. Lord help me Jesus, but don’t let them think we’re one of those. Canadians might be humble, shy, and retiring, but the average Canadian Christian, is so humble, so shy, and so retiring when it comes to their Christianity, that you’d hardly know we’re here. That’s just the way most of us would like to keep it. Who can blame us when you see how those loud-mouthed Christians who are so quick to condemn with their holier than thou attitudes are shunned in our ever so polite Canadian culture? Who wants to be mistaken for one of them?
Is it any wonder that the average, middle-class, mainline, Christian has learned so well the art of keeping our mouths shut when it comes to our religion? We want people to see us as free-thinking, fun-loving, and easy-going. We don’t want people to think we’re one of “those Christians”. No not us. We’re the live and let live types. So rather than be confused for one of “those Christians” we keep our mouths shut. We don’t want people to think we’re simple-minded or delusional.
So, even though our Christian faith is of the 21st century variety with a more enlightened nuanced approach to life, that allows us to engage our minds in faith, rather than blindly accepting the dogma of the past, we’d rather not get into all that. So, we get by, by keeping ourselves to ourselves. Trusting that as humble Christians, all will be well, if we just keep our mouths shut, and we strive to live our lives, in splendid isolationism, where our religion is banished from the workplace, from the market place, from politics, and from polite company itself. Our fear of being mistaken as an Ugly Christian has turned most of us into Invisible Christians.
The only trouble with our attempt to hide from the perils of being mistaken for an Ugly Christian is that the more invisible we become the more visible they become. So omnipresent are the Ugly Christians that soon, they will own the brand itself. Why if things are allowed to continue, soon you won’t need to even bother designating some Christians as narrow-minded, judgmental, self-righteous, hypocrites, because they will own the brand and the word “christian” will become synonymous with narrow-minded, judgmental, self-righteous, hypocrites. Soon, if we remain invisible, Christians will no longer be known by their love, but by the hate-filled rhetoric that makes up so much of what passes for Christianity.
While we’re busy patting ourselves on the back for being the quieter, gentler types, actually taking pride in our humility, confident that by not even asking for a place at the table, we will be honored for our more humble approach, the table itself is being redesignated as a place for the strong, wealthy, doctrinally pure and self-righteous, where the weak and the broken need not apply, unless they check their brains at the door, and swear alliance to the born again, bible-thumping, rhetoric that condemns all those who fail to comply to the fiery pits of hell for all eternity, confident in the knowledge that their God is almighty and swift in his judgment of those who are of course guilty not only of sin but of uncertainty and Lord ain’t it hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.
While we’re busy being humble in our approach, we’ve forgotten the most important thing about humility. When Jesus came to eat a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees, the guests watched him closely. Jesus was not invisible. Jesus did not blend into the background. Jesus did not keep his mouth shut. Jesus was anything but polite. They were watching him. Actually the text says that they watched him closely. In Greek it says, that they watched him closely out of the corner of their eyes. Jesus was anything but invisible. The ironic thing about humility is that humility must be seen in order to be known at all as humble.
I dare say that most of you are anything but invisible. No matter how much you’d like to remain anonymous about your Christianity; no matter how far you’ve tried to distance yourselves from those Christians, people know who you are and they’re watching you. No matter how gently or softly we Canadians are in our approach to the world, we are not invisible. The world continues to watch us. The world continues to look to us to see how we engage the issues.
Canadians are not invisible. When we provide inspired leadership people notice. When we fail to provide inspired leadership the world expresses it’s disappointment. No matter how much we’d like to simply mind our own business, the world is watching us. And no matter how much you’d like to think that you can remain invisible when it comes to your faith, let me assure you that people have noticed you. Your kindness has not gone unnoticed. Your generosity has been felt. Your leadership has been appreciated.
People have seen you in action and they have wondered how you do it. So, unless your prepared to let them believe that your faith has nothing to do with who you are, you might want to help them to connect the dots. I know I’m suggesting that you act out of character.
Believe me I know how difficult it is to expose our Christian identity. A while back I was delivering some grocery vouchers as part of our LOV Ministries’ effort to respond to the needs of our neighbours. I stopped by on my way home from church and so I was wearing my collar. The person I was helping asked me, why minister’s wear the collar. It’s a question that I have struggled with and will probably continue to struggle with. I know that some of my colleagues have given up wearing the collar because they think it’s too formal or that it sets them up for special treatment. Some think we shouldn’t wear it out of a sense of humility. When I first became a pastor, I rarely wore a collar. Oh, I wore it on Sunday mornings, but that was mostly because people expected me to wear it on Sundays and it helped me to remember who I was. There’s nothing like a collar to choke you into remembering that as a pastor people are watching you, lest you forget and do something that would bring the office of pastor into disrepute. When you’re wearing one of these it changes how you act. For example, when you’re driving and someone cuts you off, you can’t give into the urge to give them the finger, because it wouldn’t just be you who is giving them the finger but the church. When you wear a collar you represent the church. Wear it badly and it’s not just you that people see misbehaving but the whole church. So, I try my best not to misbehave when I’m wearing a collar. Except of course when I want to be seen misbehaving. And so, I always wear a collar to a protest march, so that the church can be seen to be on the side of peace, or justice, or against poverty, or war; or so that the church can be seen to be in solidarity with the poor, with environmentalists and with our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. It’s part of my job to make the church visible in the world. I didn’t really understand that role until one day I was caught wearing my collar in the most unexpected place. You see in the beginning, I limited the wearing of the collar to Sundays and to protest marches, and maybe to the hospital, because in hospitals the collar makes it easier to get people who are otherwise too busy to do things for patients. But I was always uncomfortable wearing the collar and I suppose if the truth be told, I didn’t really want people to confuse me for one of those holier than thou types.
One day, I needed some candles and so I dashed into the Zellers over the road to quickly grab a couple. I was having difficulty finding just the right candles when a store clerk came up to me and asked me if I would come with her. I figured that I’d been lingering over the candles for so long that she must have mistaken me for a shoplifter, but as we hurried along, she explained to me that there was a man in housewares who was abusing his wife and child. I’d forgotten that I was wearing a collar, but the reality of what this clerk was asking me to do choked me into realizing that the collar had lead her to believe that I could actually do something.
Not knowing what she expected me to do, I told her to call 911. She assured me that they had already called, but that in the meantime perhaps I could help. We stopped just before the aisle where the abuse was taking place. The store clerk whispered that, “they are just over there.”
As she pointed, I realized that she wanted me to go on alone. So, not knowing what to expect, I took a deep breath and walked in on a scene that was way beyond my abilities. A big burly guy was twisting the arm of a woman while a little girl of about 4 or 5 stood crying. The man was yelling obscenities when I interrupted him.
When he looked at me, I saw the fear in his eyes as he immediately let go of the woman who fell to the floor. The little girl ran to her mother. I expected the man to turn on me, but instead he just stared at me, as he began to cry, “I’m sorry pastor, forgive me.”
It wasn’t I who stood before him, but the church, his church, the church that had taught him right from wrong. The collar I wore made the church visible to him and made it impossible for him to forget who he was. As a child of God, he couldn’t continue what he was doing. As a child of God, he knew in his bones that he was wrong. He wept until the police arrived.
From that day on, I’ve known the power of the collar to make the church visible in the world and so I wear it a lot more often than I’d ever expected I would. Now I know that it is part of my job to make the church visible in the world. But I also know that as part of the priesthood of all believers it is also your job to make Christ visible in the world.
Each of you at your baptism were marked with the cross of Christ forever, and ordained to the priesthood that we all share. While some of us have been called to represent the church as clergy, we all share a higher calling to represent Christ. Each of you have been called and ordained to be Christ here and now. And whether you like it or not you are not invisible. People are watching you. The way in which you represent Christ will be noticed. The Christ you reflect will impact the image of Christ that the world sees. So, let the world see Christ in you. Christ who is humble.
Oh and by the way, let me remind you exactly what it means to be humble. Humble comes from the old English word humus, which literally means , ground, or earth. To be humble is to be grounded, as Christ was grounded in the earth. To walk humbly is to remember who you are, Children of God, who is the ground of our being. As children of God, reflect the beauty of what it means to be created in the image of God who is love. Make Christ visible in acts of love. Not for your glory, or for the church’s glory, but for the glory of God who is LOVE.
Change the stereotype. Remember: the ironic thing about humility is that humility must be seen in order to be known at all as humble. Let all the world know that you are Christ’s with humble acts grounded in love.
Let all the world know that you are Christ’s by your love.
Dismissal & Benediction:
Change the stereotype:
Let all the world know that you are Christ’s
with humble acts grounded in love.
Make Christ visible in acts of love.
Not for your glory, or for the church’s glory,
but for the glory of God who is LOVE.
Let all the world know that you are Christ’s
by your love.
Remember: the Holy One,
Creator, Christ And Spirit One,
Lives through you!
Now and always, Amen.
“One Sabbath, when Jesus came to eat a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees, the guests watched him closely. Jesus went on to address a parable to the guests, noticing how they were trying to get a place of Honour at the table. “When you’re invited to a wedding party, don’t sit in the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished has been invited. Otherwise the hosts might come and say to you, ‘Make room for this person,’ and you would have to proceed shamefacedly to the lowest place. What you should do is go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your hosts approach you they’ll say, ‘My friend, come up higher.’ This will win you the esteem of the other guests. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Then Jesus said to the host, “Whenever you give a lunch or dinner, don’t invite your friends or colleagues or relatives or wealth neighbours. They might invite you in return and thus repay you. No, when you have a reception, invite those who are poor or have physical infirmities or are blind. You should be pleased that they can’t repay you, for you’ll be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”[Visit Rev. Dawn’s Website Here]READ ON ...
-------
Make Your Mind Your Mecca
The ironic thing about humility is that humility must be seen in order to be known at all ... Let all the world know that you are Christ’s with humble acts grounded in love.
The Guests Watched Jesus Closely: Sermon
Pentecost 15C – Luke 14:1, 7-14 by Rev. Dawn Hutchings
I have often heard Jesus’ teaching about who sits where at a wedding feast used to encourage a kind of humility that requires those who would follow Jesus to take a back seat or better still adopt a cloak of invisibility lest we be mistaken for the proud and self-righteous. Canadians have a special affinity for this particular way of interpreting this text. It seems to me that the image of Canadian humility suggests that Canadian Christianity has had a huge impact upon our national psyche. I know that there are many who would insist that our humble national character is a direct result of living in the shadow of the Americans, whose national identity is anything but humble. I have to admit that the constant drumbeat of “We’re number one!”, “We’re number one!” coupled with a patriotism that champions the idea of American Exceptionalism which is the notion that the United States alone has the right, whether by divine sanction or moral obligation, to bring civilization, or democracy, or liberty to the rest of the world, by violence if necessary. With such pride of place, you can be sure that each and every one of our American cousins is endowed with the confidence on knowing exactly where they belong at the head table. So, is it any wonder that living next-door to a nation that instills such patriotic ardor in its citizens, that we Canadians would find a more humble approach more appealing.
Don’t get me wrong; I know that stereotypes rarely express the full character of a nation and so, it would be a mistake to paint all Americans with the same brush. But I dare say that you’d be hard pressed to find a Canadian who would disagree that even the most enlightened of our American cousins who might be found from time to time to speak softly, doesn’t underneath it all carry a big stick. Where Bravado flows through our American cousin’s national character, most Canadians prefer a quieter, softer, gentler approach, lest we be confused with the worst of American stereotypes: “the ugly American.”
So, renowned is our Canadian reputation for humility, that Americans who themselves are afraid of being treated like Americans, have been known to impersonate Canadians while traveling. I can still remember, backpacking around Europe and running into young American’s who’d sowed Canadian flags onto their packs, so that Europeans might not treat them like the quintessential Ugly American. I used to take great delight in trying to help these imposters, who would often insist that they were from “To-ron-to.” I remember coaching more that one or two American interlopers that in addition to adding the odd eh, to the end of their sentences they should learn how to say, “Toranna,” or “Taranta” rather than “To-ron-to.” But alas, so many of our American cousins remain blissfully unaware of their apparent ugliness as they belly up to the front of the line, insisting on their divine right to feast at the head of the table.
As repugnant as the stereotypical Ugly American might be he pales in comparison to the stereotype of the “Ugly Christian” who although they are not confined to the American variety of the species has without a doubt been perfected by our Bible-believin neighbours to the south. For I dare say that while the average Canadian has learned to take being confused for an Ugly American in our stride, we’d never in our wildest nightmares want to be mistaken for one of those Ugly Christians. You know the type I’m talking about.
Those bible thumping, simple minded, fundamentalist, self-righteous, judgmentalist, killjoys, who’d make the good “Lord himself” want to run a mile, rather than risk listening to them harp on about being saved. Lord help me Jesus, but don’t let them think we’re one of those. Canadians might be humble, shy, and retiring, but the average Canadian Christian, is so humble, so shy, and so retiring when it comes to their Christianity, that you’d hardly know we’re here. That’s just the way most of us would like to keep it. Who can blame us when you see how those loud-mouthed Christians who are so quick to condemn with their holier than thou attitudes are shunned in our ever so polite Canadian culture? Who wants to be mistaken for one of them?
Is it any wonder that the average, middle-class, mainline, Christian has learned so well the art of keeping our mouths shut when it comes to our religion? We want people to see us as free-thinking, fun-loving, and easy-going. We don’t want people to think we’re one of “those Christians”. No not us. We’re the live and let live types. So rather than be confused for one of “those Christians” we keep our mouths shut. We don’t want people to think we’re simple-minded or delusional.
So, even though our Christian faith is of the 21st century variety with a more enlightened nuanced approach to life, that allows us to engage our minds in faith, rather than blindly accepting the dogma of the past, we’d rather not get into all that. So, we get by, by keeping ourselves to ourselves. Trusting that as humble Christians, all will be well, if we just keep our mouths shut, and we strive to live our lives, in splendid isolationism, where our religion is banished from the workplace, from the market place, from politics, and from polite company itself. Our fear of being mistaken as an Ugly Christian has turned most of us into Invisible Christians.
The only trouble with our attempt to hide from the perils of being mistaken for an Ugly Christian is that the more invisible we become the more visible they become. So omnipresent are the Ugly Christians that soon, they will own the brand itself. Why if things are allowed to continue, soon you won’t need to even bother designating some Christians as narrow-minded, judgmental, self-righteous, hypocrites, because they will own the brand and the word “christian” will become synonymous with narrow-minded, judgmental, self-righteous, hypocrites. Soon, if we remain invisible, Christians will no longer be known by their love, but by the hate-filled rhetoric that makes up so much of what passes for Christianity.
While we’re busy patting ourselves on the back for being the quieter, gentler types, actually taking pride in our humility, confident that by not even asking for a place at the table, we will be honored for our more humble approach, the table itself is being redesignated as a place for the strong, wealthy, doctrinally pure and self-righteous, where the weak and the broken need not apply, unless they check their brains at the door, and swear alliance to the born again, bible-thumping, rhetoric that condemns all those who fail to comply to the fiery pits of hell for all eternity, confident in the knowledge that their God is almighty and swift in his judgment of those who are of course guilty not only of sin but of uncertainty and Lord ain’t it hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.
While we’re busy being humble in our approach, we’ve forgotten the most important thing about humility. When Jesus came to eat a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees, the guests watched him closely. Jesus was not invisible. Jesus did not blend into the background. Jesus did not keep his mouth shut. Jesus was anything but polite. They were watching him. Actually the text says that they watched him closely. In Greek it says, that they watched him closely out of the corner of their eyes. Jesus was anything but invisible. The ironic thing about humility is that humility must be seen in order to be known at all as humble.
I dare say that most of you are anything but invisible. No matter how much you’d like to remain anonymous about your Christianity; no matter how far you’ve tried to distance yourselves from those Christians, people know who you are and they’re watching you. No matter how gently or softly we Canadians are in our approach to the world, we are not invisible. The world continues to watch us. The world continues to look to us to see how we engage the issues.
Canadians are not invisible. When we provide inspired leadership people notice. When we fail to provide inspired leadership the world expresses it’s disappointment. No matter how much we’d like to simply mind our own business, the world is watching us. And no matter how much you’d like to think that you can remain invisible when it comes to your faith, let me assure you that people have noticed you. Your kindness has not gone unnoticed. Your generosity has been felt. Your leadership has been appreciated.
People have seen you in action and they have wondered how you do it. So, unless your prepared to let them believe that your faith has nothing to do with who you are, you might want to help them to connect the dots. I know I’m suggesting that you act out of character.
Believe me I know how difficult it is to expose our Christian identity. A while back I was delivering some grocery vouchers as part of our LOV Ministries’ effort to respond to the needs of our neighbours. I stopped by on my way home from church and so I was wearing my collar. The person I was helping asked me, why minister’s wear the collar. It’s a question that I have struggled with and will probably continue to struggle with. I know that some of my colleagues have given up wearing the collar because they think it’s too formal or that it sets them up for special treatment. Some think we shouldn’t wear it out of a sense of humility. When I first became a pastor, I rarely wore a collar. Oh, I wore it on Sunday mornings, but that was mostly because people expected me to wear it on Sundays and it helped me to remember who I was. There’s nothing like a collar to choke you into remembering that as a pastor people are watching you, lest you forget and do something that would bring the office of pastor into disrepute. When you’re wearing one of these it changes how you act. For example, when you’re driving and someone cuts you off, you can’t give into the urge to give them the finger, because it wouldn’t just be you who is giving them the finger but the church. When you wear a collar you represent the church. Wear it badly and it’s not just you that people see misbehaving but the whole church. So, I try my best not to misbehave when I’m wearing a collar. Except of course when I want to be seen misbehaving. And so, I always wear a collar to a protest march, so that the church can be seen to be on the side of peace, or justice, or against poverty, or war; or so that the church can be seen to be in solidarity with the poor, with environmentalists and with our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. It’s part of my job to make the church visible in the world. I didn’t really understand that role until one day I was caught wearing my collar in the most unexpected place. You see in the beginning, I limited the wearing of the collar to Sundays and to protest marches, and maybe to the hospital, because in hospitals the collar makes it easier to get people who are otherwise too busy to do things for patients. But I was always uncomfortable wearing the collar and I suppose if the truth be told, I didn’t really want people to confuse me for one of those holier than thou types.
One day, I needed some candles and so I dashed into the Zellers over the road to quickly grab a couple. I was having difficulty finding just the right candles when a store clerk came up to me and asked me if I would come with her. I figured that I’d been lingering over the candles for so long that she must have mistaken me for a shoplifter, but as we hurried along, she explained to me that there was a man in housewares who was abusing his wife and child. I’d forgotten that I was wearing a collar, but the reality of what this clerk was asking me to do choked me into realizing that the collar had lead her to believe that I could actually do something.
Not knowing what she expected me to do, I told her to call 911. She assured me that they had already called, but that in the meantime perhaps I could help. We stopped just before the aisle where the abuse was taking place. The store clerk whispered that, “they are just over there.”
As she pointed, I realized that she wanted me to go on alone. So, not knowing what to expect, I took a deep breath and walked in on a scene that was way beyond my abilities. A big burly guy was twisting the arm of a woman while a little girl of about 4 or 5 stood crying. The man was yelling obscenities when I interrupted him.
When he looked at me, I saw the fear in his eyes as he immediately let go of the woman who fell to the floor. The little girl ran to her mother. I expected the man to turn on me, but instead he just stared at me, as he began to cry, “I’m sorry pastor, forgive me.”
It wasn’t I who stood before him, but the church, his church, the church that had taught him right from wrong. The collar I wore made the church visible to him and made it impossible for him to forget who he was. As a child of God, he couldn’t continue what he was doing. As a child of God, he knew in his bones that he was wrong. He wept until the police arrived.
From that day on, I’ve known the power of the collar to make the church visible in the world and so I wear it a lot more often than I’d ever expected I would. Now I know that it is part of my job to make the church visible in the world. But I also know that as part of the priesthood of all believers it is also your job to make Christ visible in the world.
Each of you at your baptism were marked with the cross of Christ forever, and ordained to the priesthood that we all share. While some of us have been called to represent the church as clergy, we all share a higher calling to represent Christ. Each of you have been called and ordained to be Christ here and now. And whether you like it or not you are not invisible. People are watching you. The way in which you represent Christ will be noticed. The Christ you reflect will impact the image of Christ that the world sees. So, let the world see Christ in you. Christ who is humble.
Oh and by the way, let me remind you exactly what it means to be humble. Humble comes from the old English word humus, which literally means , ground, or earth. To be humble is to be grounded, as Christ was grounded in the earth. To walk humbly is to remember who you are, Children of God, who is the ground of our being. As children of God, reflect the beauty of what it means to be created in the image of God who is love. Make Christ visible in acts of love. Not for your glory, or for the church’s glory, but for the glory of God who is LOVE.
Change the stereotype. Remember: the ironic thing about humility is that humility must be seen in order to be known at all as humble. Let all the world know that you are Christ’s with humble acts grounded in love.
Let all the world know that you are Christ’s by your love.
Dismissal & Benediction:
Change the stereotype:
Let all the world know that you are Christ’s
with humble acts grounded in love.
Make Christ visible in acts of love.
Not for your glory, or for the church’s glory,
but for the glory of God who is LOVE.
Let all the world know that you are Christ’s
by your love.
Remember: the Holy One,
Creator, Christ And Spirit One,
Lives through you!
Now and always, Amen.
“One Sabbath, when Jesus came to eat a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees, the guests watched him closely. Jesus went on to address a parable to the guests, noticing how they were trying to get a place of Honour at the table. “When you’re invited to a wedding party, don’t sit in the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished has been invited. Otherwise the hosts might come and say to you, ‘Make room for this person,’ and you would have to proceed shamefacedly to the lowest place. What you should do is go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your hosts approach you they’ll say, ‘My friend, come up higher.’ This will win you the esteem of the other guests. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Then Jesus said to the host, “Whenever you give a lunch or dinner, don’t invite your friends or colleagues or relatives or wealth neighbours. They might invite you in return and thus repay you. No, when you have a reception, invite those who are poor or have physical infirmities or are blind. You should be pleased that they can’t repay you, for you’ll be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”[Visit Rev. Dawn’s Website Here]READ ON ...
-------
Make Your Mind Your Mecca
Jim Burklo
... if your mind is your Mecca, why would you not make the journey to self-awareness every day?
Make Your Mind Your Mecca by Jim Burklo
“Make your mind your Mecca.” – Kabir
(Adi Granth:Raga Bhairava, shabad 4)
The 15th century North Indian poet-singer-saint, Kabir, lived in a time of great tension between two major religions. He honored and bridged both with his bhakti devotional songs. He was claimed by the Hindus to be a Hindu and by the Muslims to be a Muslim. He both inspired and confused both camps with his mystical lyricism. He confounded them even in the legend of his death. The Hindus wanted to burn his body, and the Muslims wanted to bury him. When they looked under the garlands of flowers that had been placed on top of his body, they saw that his body was gone. The Hindus burned half the flowers, the Muslims buried the other half.
One of the five pillars of Islamic practice is the expectation that every Muslim will make hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a lifetime. For some Muslims, making hajj is an arduous and very expensive journey.
But if your mind is your Mecca, why would you not make the journey to self-awareness every day?
Kabir’s poetic image, and the example of his life and death, remind us that mindfulness is a spiritual practice that is central to all the great world religions. To know your mind, and your body which is inseparable from it, is to know God. Because when you observe your thoughts, emotions, urges, and sensations long enough, you awaken to the One within you who is doing the observing. That One is Allah, Atman, Brahman, and the Christ. The mind is the holy city where the Divine dwells, and to go there and find God is the greatest hajj of all. And it is a journey that costs nothing but the abandonment of one’s egotism and the setting aside of snippets of time in one’s day.
Let us set forth on this sacred pilgrimage right away, wearing the clothes we already have on our backs, the shoes we’ve already put on our feet. The inner Kaaba of our thoughts awaits our focused, open, compassionate attention. “Make your mind your Mecca….”[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]
Make Your Mind Your Mecca by Jim Burklo
“Make your mind your Mecca.” – Kabir
(Adi Granth:Raga Bhairava, shabad 4)
The 15th century North Indian poet-singer-saint, Kabir, lived in a time of great tension between two major religions. He honored and bridged both with his bhakti devotional songs. He was claimed by the Hindus to be a Hindu and by the Muslims to be a Muslim. He both inspired and confused both camps with his mystical lyricism. He confounded them even in the legend of his death. The Hindus wanted to burn his body, and the Muslims wanted to bury him. When they looked under the garlands of flowers that had been placed on top of his body, they saw that his body was gone. The Hindus burned half the flowers, the Muslims buried the other half.
One of the five pillars of Islamic practice is the expectation that every Muslim will make hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a lifetime. For some Muslims, making hajj is an arduous and very expensive journey.
But if your mind is your Mecca, why would you not make the journey to self-awareness every day?
Kabir’s poetic image, and the example of his life and death, remind us that mindfulness is a spiritual practice that is central to all the great world religions. To know your mind, and your body which is inseparable from it, is to know God. Because when you observe your thoughts, emotions, urges, and sensations long enough, you awaken to the One within you who is doing the observing. That One is Allah, Atman, Brahman, and the Christ. The mind is the holy city where the Divine dwells, and to go there and find God is the greatest hajj of all. And it is a journey that costs nothing but the abandonment of one’s egotism and the setting aside of snippets of time in one’s day.
Let us set forth on this sacred pilgrimage right away, wearing the clothes we already have on our backs, the shoes we’ve already put on our feet. The inner Kaaba of our thoughts awaits our focused, open, compassionate attention. “Make your mind your Mecca….”[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 ...
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Liturgy Selection
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Liturgy Selection
Seeking
One common response to the question “What religion are you?” is to simply say: ”I don’t follow any religion. I’m a seeker.”
Seeking
Week of September 25, 2016One common response to the question “What religion are you?” is to simply say: ”I don’t follow any religion. I’m a seeker.” It calls up a picture of a pilgrim on a journey, looking for someone, anyone, who can share the secret of enlightenment. Of course, as the pilgrim always discovers, the journey of the seeker is the journey within. And what matters most for such a journey is not the miles traversed on foot, but the attitudes of mind that the seeker cultivates: willingness to question, openness to new ideas, and endless curiosity. “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7) What is it that you are seeking?
Is That You, God?
Is that you, God, in a blade of grass breaking through a crack in the asphalt? Is that you, God, holding the rest of the asphalt together?
Is That You, God? by Jim Burklo
Is that you, God, in a blade of grass breaking through a crack in the asphalt? Is that you, God, holding the rest of the asphalt together? Is that you, God, pushing sun-stained mountains up from the sea? Is that you, God, in the rain wearing them down to beach sand again? Is that you, God, in people young and old, whole and broken, lining up for bread and wine at the altar? Is that you, God, in their wholeness and brokenness? Is that you, God, in the bread and wine? Is that you, God… in these questions?
Reflection by Richard Holdsworth
Praise universal wisdom; be thankful for what you learn.
You who seek insights, advocate for self-knowledge,
If you yearn for serenity and long for purer motivation,
praise insights about yourself; for it is creates happiness
Our most profound needs advise us to refine thoughts and raise consciousness;
such enlightenment soars above all other forms of knowledge
It raises us on understanding until we stand above base desires
Connected with our highest selves, we can tap realizations that transcend words:
a blissful flow of awareness; as deep as oceans and as wide as the horizon
A desire for honest insights about ourselves causes realizations to rise. Such realizations start out vague, like water vapor. Then accumulate upwards into clouds to produce refreshing rain. Sudden flashes of inspiration break like lightning, and thunderous insights boom. Fresh breezes cleanse stale attitudes.
The power of insights releases pent-up anger and frustration.
It sends repressed feelings to find appropriate expression
Our self realization undermines those who try to control us;
it defies bullying dysfunction and destroys the might of hidden agendas
Only insights about who we are eradicates self-destructive habits
A morsel of self realization brings down great compulsive cravings and destroys illusions of false happiness
Its reality creates a resource to pass on to others: a heritage of authority and soundness
Realizations about what happened and how it affects us lives forever
It adds to our legacy of resolved issues that breaks the inherited patterns of many generations
Personal insights obliterate evasion with the radiance of realization
So turn back from the accumulation of illusory gain;
what you see outside yourself contains no wisdom
Foolish mouths cannot speak insights; shuttered eyes cannot discern honesty, locked ears are deaf to reality. Those who do not seek insights have crawled into the cave of their own darkness to die; their friends shadow their shame, and those who depend on them hide from light. Their families grope in a nightmare of gloom. All those who deny insights head for the same sealed end
Be thankful for the sight of ever-opening insights, you who seek enlightened happiness;
you who want to see beyond the next situation and into certainty of who you are;
you who look for an inner landmark, be thankful for the heights of self awareness© Richard Holdsworth 2012
Seeking the Truth by Roger Courtney
One common response to the question “What religion are you?” is to simply say: ”I don’t follow any religion. I’m a seeker.”
SeekingWeek of September 25, 2016One common response to the question “What religion are you?” is to simply say: ”I don’t follow any religion. I’m a seeker.” It calls up a picture of a pilgrim on a journey, looking for someone, anyone, who can share the secret of enlightenment. Of course, as the pilgrim always discovers, the journey of the seeker is the journey within. And what matters most for such a journey is not the miles traversed on foot, but the attitudes of mind that the seeker cultivates: willingness to question, openness to new ideas, and endless curiosity. “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7) What is it that you are seeking?
Is That You, God?
Is that you, God, in a blade of grass breaking through a crack in the asphalt? Is that you, God, holding the rest of the asphalt together?
Is That You, God? by Jim BurkloIs that you, God, in a blade of grass breaking through a crack in the asphalt? Is that you, God, holding the rest of the asphalt together? Is that you, God, pushing sun-stained mountains up from the sea? Is that you, God, in the rain wearing them down to beach sand again? Is that you, God, in people young and old, whole and broken, lining up for bread and wine at the altar? Is that you, God, in their wholeness and brokenness? Is that you, God, in the bread and wine? Is that you, God… in these questions?
read more
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Reflection
Praise universal wisdom; be thankful for what you learn.
You who seek insights, advocate for self-knowledge,
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Reflection
Praise universal wisdom; be thankful for what you learn.
You who seek insights, advocate for self-knowledge,
Reflection by Richard HoldsworthPraise universal wisdom; be thankful for what you learn.
You who seek insights, advocate for self-knowledge,
If you yearn for serenity and long for purer motivation,
praise insights about yourself; for it is creates happiness
Our most profound needs advise us to refine thoughts and raise consciousness;
such enlightenment soars above all other forms of knowledge
It raises us on understanding until we stand above base desires
Connected with our highest selves, we can tap realizations that transcend words:
a blissful flow of awareness; as deep as oceans and as wide as the horizon
A desire for honest insights about ourselves causes realizations to rise. Such realizations start out vague, like water vapor. Then accumulate upwards into clouds to produce refreshing rain. Sudden flashes of inspiration break like lightning, and thunderous insights boom. Fresh breezes cleanse stale attitudes.
The power of insights releases pent-up anger and frustration.
It sends repressed feelings to find appropriate expression
Our self realization undermines those who try to control us;
it defies bullying dysfunction and destroys the might of hidden agendas
Only insights about who we are eradicates self-destructive habits
A morsel of self realization brings down great compulsive cravings and destroys illusions of false happiness
Its reality creates a resource to pass on to others: a heritage of authority and soundness
Realizations about what happened and how it affects us lives forever
It adds to our legacy of resolved issues that breaks the inherited patterns of many generations
Personal insights obliterate evasion with the radiance of realization
So turn back from the accumulation of illusory gain;
what you see outside yourself contains no wisdom
Foolish mouths cannot speak insights; shuttered eyes cannot discern honesty, locked ears are deaf to reality. Those who do not seek insights have crawled into the cave of their own darkness to die; their friends shadow their shame, and those who depend on them hide from light. Their families grope in a nightmare of gloom. All those who deny insights head for the same sealed end
Be thankful for the sight of ever-opening insights, you who seek enlightened happiness;
you who want to see beyond the next situation and into certainty of who you are;
you who look for an inner landmark, be thankful for the heights of self awareness© Richard Holdsworth 2012
read more
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Seeking the Truth
Sometimes it is more comfortable to avoid the truth – to fail to speak up when it is in our selfish interests to keep quiet. It is all too easy to go further than keeping quiet when we should speak out – to lie, to embroider the truth – to tell, what we like to think of, as ‘Little White Lies’.
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Seeking the Truth
Sometimes it is more comfortable to avoid the truth – to fail to speak up when it is in our selfish interests to keep quiet. It is all too easy to go further than keeping quiet when we should speak out – to lie, to embroider the truth – to tell, what we like to think of, as ‘Little White Lies’.
Seeking the Truth by Roger Courtney
Sometimes it is more comfortable to avoid the truth – to fail to speak up when it is in our selfish interests to keep quiet. It is all too easy to go further than keeping quiet when we should speak out – to lie, to embroider the truth – to tell, what we like to think of, as ‘Little White Lies’.
ALL: Help us to show a real commitment to speaking the truth, particularly when it doesn’t seem to be to our advantage to do so.
When we speak our truth, help us to do it with humility and to listen to the truths of others, so that together we might seek the truth, rather them just your truth or my truth.
ALL: Help us to be continually open to new ideas and new insights, including from those we most profoundly disagree with: they may have much to teach us.
So much of the modern economy is based on persuading us to want things we don’t need, so that we will buy things we can’t afford. The pursuit of truth has no time for such manipulation, or for the deceit practised by the wealthy and powerful to justify their own positions. As someone said ‘history is always written by the victors’. The pursuit of truth means looking at life from the position of the vanquished, the victim, the poor and powerless: Something Gandhi understood well.
ALL: Help us to live our lives in the pursuit of the truth.
ALL: As we live our daily lives
Help us to speak the truth
Help us to hear the truth
Help us to live the truth
ALL: Help us to show a real commitment to speaking the truth, particularly when it doesn’t seem to be to our advantage to do so.
When we speak our truth, help us to do it with humility and to listen to the truths of others, so that together we might seek the truth, rather them just your truth or my truth.
ALL: Help us to be continually open to new ideas and new insights, including from those we most profoundly disagree with: they may have much to teach us.
So much of the modern economy is based on persuading us to want things we don’t need, so that we will buy things we can’t afford. The pursuit of truth has no time for such manipulation, or for the deceit practised by the wealthy and powerful to justify their own positions. As someone said ‘history is always written by the victors’. The pursuit of truth means looking at life from the position of the vanquished, the victim, the poor and powerless: Something Gandhi understood well.
ALL: Help us to live our lives in the pursuit of the truth.
ALL: As we live our daily lives
Help us to speak the truth
Help us to hear the truth
Help us to live the truth
READ ON ...
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Events and Updates
Finding Peace in Turbulent TimeseCourse starting October 3rd by Interfaith Amigos, Ted Falcon and Jamal Rahman.
Discover how it is that we have been unable to achieve peace in our world, in our country, in our relationships, and in ourselves.
Finding Peace in Turbulent Times by Interfaith Amigos, Ted Falcon, Jamal RahmanIn this course, Rabbi Ted Falcon and Imam Jamal Rahman of the Interfaith Amigos invite participants to discover how it is that we have been unable to achieve peace in our world, in our country, in our relationships, and in ourselves. Don’t we all want peace? How have we failed?
As we look for ways to be spiritually responsible as global citizens, especially in light of the upcoming United States presidential election, we recognize with more urgency than ever the need to change our ways. People of good will want to find the teachable moments amidst the tragedies of the global refugee crisis, drone attacks, mass shootings, terrorist bombings, climate-change disasters, widespread poverty, racism, and human rights violations. And we want to know how to sift truth from fiction when politicians and the media fan the flames of hatred and division.
Based on the Interfaith Amigos’ new book, Finding Peace Through Spiritual Practice, written with their colleague, Pastor Don Mackenzie, this e-course will explore why peace has been so elusive and how we might better achieve that peace in our lives and in our world.
These master teachers have been working together for more than 15 years, practicing and sharing the profound spiritual resources of their religious traditions. They bring to this e-course not only their years of teaching, but a shared reverence for the One Presence awakening within each and every being. Their lessons include spiritual practices, encouraging inner awakening to the teachings they share.
The e-course focuses on these themes:
* The Basic Problem: Why Is Peace So Elusive? What Is Peace, and How Can We Achieve It?
* How We Keep Peace Away: Dealing with Anger, Fear of Violence, and Despair
* What Is It We Need? Awakening to the Ground of Love: Compassion, and Opening the Heart
* Creating a Life of Peace: Making Your Life a Spiritual Practice
You will receive:
* Emails in which Rabbi Ted and Imam Jamal share teachings from their traditions along with specific spiritual practices designed to support the inner dimensions of those teachings.
* Access to a one-hour teleconference with Ted and Jamal for conversation and Q&A (date and time TBA).
* A Practice Circle available 24/7 for you to share your reflections and experiences, to listen to others, and to receive guidance from Rabbi Ted and Imam Jamal.
This is a rare opportunity to unite in peacemaking from the inside out, at a time when peace is urgently needed. We look forward to having you with us.
(4 CEHs for chaplains available.)
Images
Start:
October 3, 2016
End:
October 28, 2016
Location:
Online eCourse
Register:
$59.95
Contact:
MaryAnn Brussat
Organization:
Spirituality & Practice
Website:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/10183/finding-peace-in-turbulent-times/key/tcpc
Email:
brussat@spiritualityandpractice.com
READ ON ...
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View all upcoming events here!
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Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.-------
Events and UpdatesFinding Peace in Turbulent TimeseCourse starting October 3rd by Interfaith Amigos, Ted Falcon and Jamal Rahman.
Discover how it is that we have been unable to achieve peace in our world, in our country, in our relationships, and in ourselves.
Finding Peace in Turbulent Times by Interfaith Amigos, Ted Falcon, Jamal RahmanIn this course, Rabbi Ted Falcon and Imam Jamal Rahman of the Interfaith Amigos invite participants to discover how it is that we have been unable to achieve peace in our world, in our country, in our relationships, and in ourselves. Don’t we all want peace? How have we failed?
As we look for ways to be spiritually responsible as global citizens, especially in light of the upcoming United States presidential election, we recognize with more urgency than ever the need to change our ways. People of good will want to find the teachable moments amidst the tragedies of the global refugee crisis, drone attacks, mass shootings, terrorist bombings, climate-change disasters, widespread poverty, racism, and human rights violations. And we want to know how to sift truth from fiction when politicians and the media fan the flames of hatred and division.
Based on the Interfaith Amigos’ new book, Finding Peace Through Spiritual Practice, written with their colleague, Pastor Don Mackenzie, this e-course will explore why peace has been so elusive and how we might better achieve that peace in our lives and in our world.
These master teachers have been working together for more than 15 years, practicing and sharing the profound spiritual resources of their religious traditions. They bring to this e-course not only their years of teaching, but a shared reverence for the One Presence awakening within each and every being. Their lessons include spiritual practices, encouraging inner awakening to the teachings they share.
The e-course focuses on these themes:
* The Basic Problem: Why Is Peace So Elusive? What Is Peace, and How Can We Achieve It?
* How We Keep Peace Away: Dealing with Anger, Fear of Violence, and Despair
* What Is It We Need? Awakening to the Ground of Love: Compassion, and Opening the Heart
* Creating a Life of Peace: Making Your Life a Spiritual Practice
You will receive:
* Emails in which Rabbi Ted and Imam Jamal share teachings from their traditions along with specific spiritual practices designed to support the inner dimensions of those teachings.
* Access to a one-hour teleconference with Ted and Jamal for conversation and Q&A (date and time TBA).
* A Practice Circle available 24/7 for you to share your reflections and experiences, to listen to others, and to receive guidance from Rabbi Ted and Imam Jamal.
This is a rare opportunity to unite in peacemaking from the inside out, at a time when peace is urgently needed. We look forward to having you with us.
(4 CEHs for chaplains available.)
Images
Start:
October 3, 2016
End:
October 28, 2016
Location:
Online eCourse
Register:
$59.95
Contact:
MaryAnn Brussat
Organization:
Spirituality & Practice
Website:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/10183/finding-peace-in-turbulent-times/key/tcpc
Email:
brussat@spiritualityandpractice.com
READ ON ...
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ProgressiveChristianity.org
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