Living In The Spirit

March 11, 2014

John’s Gospel makes it very clear that what Jesus was talking about always pointed to living with the Spirit of God. When you interpret what Jesus said, you should always put your thoughts in the context of Spirit.

Philosophers and thinkers in the late 18th and the 19th Centuries discovered the lineage of spiritual writings. Much of it was from India and was Hindu and Buddhist. There are other sources, too, that pointed to meditation and the reality of the Spirit.

A German philosopher in I guess what we would call “typically German” wrote a few very long and in-depth books on how the Spirit moved through history and created history. His name was Hegel.

Another German came along at about the same time. He also wrote a huge book–Das Kapital. Marx’s thesis was that Hegel had it all wrong. It wasn’t the spirit that moved through and formed history. It was economics–money, material wealth. He said that he turned Hegel upside down.

Sometimes when we observe people, don’t we conclude that economics is indeed what drives people? We discuss politics and conclude that it’s all about the money. They’re chasing money. In business, we have people who chase money to the neglect of relationships and the spirit.

I even have run across Christians who are suspicious of people who may exhibit too much of the Spirit.

I’m reading the discourse in John where Jesus talks about eating his body and drinking his blood. Sounds pretty gross, doesn’t it. But Jesus said, in the same discourse, that it is the Spirit that gives life and that the words he spoke were in spirit and life.

We aren’t cannibals. We are participating with God in the spirit. The Spirit overcomes economics. The Spirit leads us, strengthens us and gives us life–in the present time.

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Simply Follow Jesus

March 7, 2014

It should be so simple.

Jesus just said to people, “Follow me.” He didn’t give them a test before the invitation. He didn’t ask them to be perfect–and the record shows that none were perfect.

Then he told us to go out and ask other people to follow. And, like him, teach them how to live.

Then we developed organizations. Few of the organizations started out to be large organizations. They just grew. Then they developed bureaucracies. Then people began to argue over what the organization’s rules would be. They might make a reference back to something Jesus said. They might not. But some thought one thing and others another. And they argued.

There is a church I know about that voted to disassociate from its denomination and join another. Serious issues about governance and theology.

A magazine came to my mailbox due to my position in my local church. It is from a group of people within my denomination who are arguing with other people in my denomination. They are so worked up and passionate about their cause, that they have a movement and a magazine.

My heart is tormented by all that. All the wasted passion. All the arguing. All the little games like kids in kindergarten about who’s right and who’s wrong and one trying to provoke the other. All in the name of the one who only said to follow him and invite others to follow him.

Do you realize that Jesus never invited someone who already believed in him? A couple of years into the ministry accompanied by his closest friends, he did something and “they believed.” What? How could that be? Yet, during the weekend of death and resurrection, still none understood and “believed.”

Following comes first. And we should be concerned that first we are followers and second that we help others to be followers. Why waste our time on frivolous nonsense that detracts from the goal?

“Follow me.” OK.

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Fasting For Lent

March 6, 2014

Have you given up something for Lent?

My friend is a very religious man. He is Catholic, traditional. He goes to Mass every morning. He also goes to the Y to exercise every day–he’s religious about that, too. Typical of the old German Catholics in our area, he likes his beer. He really only has one or two a day, but he makes it sound like he has more.

Every Lent, he gives up beer, fried foods and pastry (cakes, pies, and the like). Some of his family tell him that such a thing is bad for him. He’s 84 and healthy. He tells me that the he always feels much better physically when he fasts in that way. He started doing it for Advent, too.

My religious tradition recognizes Lent, but never talked about giving up something. That was something the Lutherans and Catholics did. Methodists might have an Ash Wednesday service (actually, we always had Maunday Thursday not Ash Wednesday as a regular service). My wife was a Baptist and also did not have very much of a Lenten routine.

Never taught about the Spiritual discipline of fasting, I guess I always thought about it as somewhat frivolous. We always talked about old Johnny G. who always gave up watermelon for Lent. In those days, you only got watermelon in season–and February, March and April was not the season!

I read Jon Swanson’s 300 Words a Day blog. He has written Lent for Non-Lent People. I probably should buy it.

The one thing that sets Christianity apart from other religions–especially the other monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam–is the resurrection of Jesus. Lent is the period of time traditionally set aside to contemplate the mystery of the event. As Paul wrote, without the resurrection, we are all fools in our belief. So, setting aside 40 days (you don’t count Sundays) to contemplate on the resurrection is worthwhile.

I’m in the contemplative tradition. That’s not really Methodist. But I am what I am. This post reflects my contemplation as I enter into the season.

Now, what should I give up?

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Living within Relationship

March 5, 2014

“They wanted to kill him all the more because he called himself Son of God, therefore making himself equal to God.”

John uses the story of the healing to lead into an argument about who Jesus is. The religious leaders didn’t like Jesus’ attitude toward the Sabbath. This struck right at the heart of their religious system. It struck at the very existence of their profession.

John often uses a “spiral” argument where he makes a statement and then restates drawing in an example, then restates drawing another example. I doubt that Jesus had this public discourse at that time in the Temple. Most likely John took Jesus’ statements and wove them into an argument in order to convince his readers who Jesus was.

Jesus was confounding the system and the people who perpetrate it. Instead of the idea of a remote God who could only be pleased if the worshipper follows all the rules and the rules about rules, Jesus brought the concept of relationship.

I am the Son of God, says Jesus. God is my Father. Remember in other places in the Gospels, it is recorded that Jesus calls us all into the relationship. He tells us to pray to the Father. He promises that we can be sons of God. This is competely revolutionary.

What is our experience with relationships? I think that I must have been borderline autistic (if there is such a thing) as a kid. Maybe not, but maybe just that I didn’t have any example of good relationships growing up. So I still have some difficulty that way. I can get withdrawn.

But then I experienced the relationship Jesus talks about. It changed everything. When Jesus talked about eternal life, it was in the present tense. It didn’t mean someday when you die and go to heaven. He almost never talked about that. Eternal life–life in relationship with God–begins when we enter into it. This preceeds understanding. It happens, then we begin to understand.

Forget about the rules. Jesus (and Paul quite forcefully) recognized that first comes relationship. Then in living in the relationship, we just naturally do the things that God wants us to do. Maybe not perfectly, but we grow into it.

Relationship comes first; then living according to the law. Not following all the rules first and then hoping that God will like you. The Pharisees had it backwards. So do today’s Pharisees.

I’ve spent many years now learning to live in relationship. How are you doing? Think about it.

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Expecting People to Change Before We Befriend Them

March 4, 2014

Do you expect people to change before you will associate with them? People often think that their husband/wife will change after marriage, but people in church often (usually?) say, “Change, and then you can join us.”

John (the disciple, apostle, writer of the Gospel) is an excellent writer. To call him “uneducated” is a slander. He just didn’t attend the “right school.” He packs so much into a story that we give it a disservice by reading it quickly.

The story about the man healed by the Pool of Bethesda that I discussed yesterday is such a story. The point of the story was to show that Jesus was the Son of God. The subpoint was that the Jewish religious establishment hated him and wanted to kill him.

Why such animosity? Because Jesus threatened their very way of life. He threatened their superiority. They had set themselves aside with the vocation of being good. The studied scriptures and laws all day and followed every law. They were good.

And, they said that if you’ll change and be good, then maybe you can be one of us.

Jesus said to people, follow me and then you’ll change.

Jesus told the man to get up, pick up his mat, go and sin no more.

Oops, that violated a law. It was the Sabbath. The Lord said, don’t work on the Sabbath. The lawyers had to define work. One of the many detailed what you could carry before it was considered work. This man violated that rule.

Do we react to people we meet in the way of the Pharisees? Instead of rejoicing, we look for reasons to disapprove. We tell people that if they become like us, then they can be our friends–maybe, instead of welcoming other people and leading them to a life in the Spirit.

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Be Intentional About What You Want

March 3, 2014

“Do you want to be well?”

Jesus asked the man with an unspecified illness at the edge of the Pool of Bethesda at the Temple that question.

We would expect the man to answer, “Yes! Of course! Please!”

Instead, the man whined and complained. “There’s no one around to help me into the water when it stirs and other people get there first.” (There was a superstition that when the water stirred in the pool an angel caused it and was there to heal the first person who dipped into it.)

Jesus evidently ignored the whining. He told the man to stand up, pick up his mat, and to go and sin no more and he would be well.

There is so much we don’t know. What was his sin that caused his illness? Indeed, what was his illness? Why did Jesus pick him? Why did Jesus ignore his whining and heal him?

None of this is the point of the story that John tells in his Gospel. But that’s OK. It’s worth contemplating.

How do we answer?

If someone walks up and offers help, what is our response? Thanks? Or some sort of whining excuse?

A guy I know uses the term “intentional” often. Pray intentionally for things, he’ll say. Pray intentionally for God to bring people into your life or bring the right circumstances into your life.

I thought about that word as I contemplated this story. Are we intentional about seeking healing? Are we intentional about seeking help for our challenges? Do we even know what we want?

Self-help gurus talk about goal setting. That can be a useful activity. However, being intentional about the kind of person we want to become or about healing us of our problems (physical, mental, emotional or spiritual) is really our first step toward a life in the Spirit.

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Where Your Heart Is

February 28, 2014

Did you see the pictures coming from the Ukraine this week about the way the ruling elite lived? The personal palace of the guy who was President for really only a short period of time? Some members of Parliament?

Maybe because I wrote some thoughts about materialism on Monday I’m more sensitive to more news about it. The Ukraine is not a poor country in the ways of some really impoverished countries are, but even in those the leaders seem to be able to amass fortunes and live in luxury.

And it’s not just there. Especially since World War II, think of how many people go off to Washington, D.C. to “serve the people” as middle class citizens and leave as wealthy, entitled people.

And it doesn’t stop there. Have you ever worked in corporations where not just the top guy or top level are enriching themselves but also managers all the way down are figuring out ways to beat the system and grab some perks or additional money.

Preachers are not immune. Even volunteers serving local organizations succumb to the temptation to use their positions to enrich themselves.

How can these people spend so much time cultivating friends and figuring out ways to enrich themselves while supposedly working for the betterment of the people who entrust them?

Well, it must be in the heart. Jesus warned us–we cannot serve two masters. And if we choose the wrong master, we will not live in eternal life. Justice is usually served to the greedy ones. But even if not in a civil sense, it is in a spiritual sense. And it is life in the Spirit that matters.

None of us are immune to the temptation. The scale may be different, but the heart is the same. We cannot serve both God and money. What do our lives say about our choice?

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Misplaced Focus

February 25, 2014

The kids were fascinated. Their attention and focus was on the simple black push button on the display. There was no label at the button. Just a push button.

I volunteered for some community service yesterday serving as a guide and teacher for one of seven displays at the Shelby County Historical Museum. Each year, the Museum has a display that all the schools in the county bring their 5th graders to tour.

I serve as a volunteer for a sorority (go figure). My wife is the president of the local educators’ sorority, Delta Kappa Gamma. Finding volunteers is a sorority project. Guess who gets to help?

So, as I guided the students around the 3-part display explaining about how and why people came to North America in the 17th and 18th Centuries, I got to the third panel about the group who didn’t choose to come–African slaves. Facing them was a picture of children who would have been on a ship. And the button.

They noticed right away. “What’s that button?” I had 14 small groups. At least half of the groups had kids that were poised to hit the button. A couple got into a contest of hitting the button over each other. I had to put a stop to that. Several just came close and sort of leaned toward it. They didn’t hear a word I was saying.

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about observing my grandson and how he had trouble controlling his urges–specifically to annoy his sister.

It’s the same thing. But these kids were 11, not 6. Most could restrain their urges (except for a couple). They were growing up.

But their attention and focus were completely diverted from the lesson.

Ever go to church or a lecture and notice something about a person in front of you? Maybe the tag is out on the dress or sweater? Maybe they didn’t get their hair combed in the back? Something that captured your focus to the detriment of hearing the speaker?

Part of growing up is noticing that our focus is on the wrong thing and intentionally bringing it back to where it should be. We conquer the urges and focus where it matters.

Throughout Scriptures, writers and teachers remind people to put their focus first on God. Then good things happen to your soul.

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Beware of Materialism

February 24, 2014

I was always aware of the subtle irony when I worked in product development at a company that made products for wealthy people. It’s not that I’m completely non-materialist–I’ve always like tools and gadgets–but that having material goods has not been a priority of mine since somewhere in my college days.

Bible Study Magazine contains an article this issue that is a story about the president of China Bible Seminary in Hong Kong. Julie Wu grew up there, but obtained a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary in California.

She discusses the difficulties of talking with people whose religion is Buddhism or ancestor worship. Today’s materialist culture in Hong Kong, which she compares to the West, presents the biggest challenge to talking to people about spiritual things.

“Materialism powerfully draws away Christians’ attention to God and our dependence on Him. It leaves us with no time to develop a closer or deeper relationship,” she says. This orientation toward life leaves one open to sin or helplessness.

Jesus, the Proverbs, and countless other teachers have preached on the problems of materialism. This is not a distinctively 20th-21st Century problem. I find it interesting that people were teaching about that some 4,000 years ago.

Every once in a while, it is good to step back and do a self-check. What am I holding on to? Are my urges pointed toward acquiring something material? Am I able to control those urges?

Early in my career, I was interviewing for a position whose compensation would have been substantially greater than what I was making. “What would you do with the additional money?” the interviewer inquired.

A good thought to ponder.

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You Will Know Them By Their Love

February 21, 2014

It is unfortunate that in English common usage we only have one word–love–that expresses such a wide variety of actions and emotions.

Some people think of love as a squishy, sentimental sort of emotion. That dreamy state of thinking of a person constantly.

Another definition is of an emotional high. Greetings include hugging and lots of smiles. When Jesus said that you will know his followers by their love, these people think we should always be happy and hugging and feeling good toward others.

Then there’s the “act” of making love. Surely a weird euphemism if ever there was one. I’ll let that one slide by.

When you look closely at the New Testament, you discover that love is not an emotion. In fact, much of the teaching of the New Testament concerns overcoming emotions with growing maturity. We take charge of our emotions, not the other way around.

Love is something you do. You may not always feel it. Sometimes you just don’t feel like doing something good for another, but you do. That’s one think Jesus meant.

Love means considering others when we’re about to act or respond. We may do good, even when the other person may not recognize it–as in interventions attempting to stop destructive behaviors.

Even in tough business decisions when you might have to terminate the employment of an associate, you can still do it in a considerate manner. You can be tough and still love. Once again, look at Jesus. Nothing sentimental in him.

Sometimes you don’t know when you’ll be in a situation to act in love rather than hate or anger. I received an alert this morning at 4:30 that my 6:00 am flight was delayed 4 hours. Well, I’m driving. Too late to do much. Saw a long line at the ticket counter. Thought I’d go to the gate and see if I could get the other early flight. I could, but the connection available still got me to my destination too late to do any good.

So, I waited for a clearing in the line to get a cancellation at no charge and then go home. While I’m waiting, I hear an older woman cursing the gate agent with some of the most vulgar words. Couldn’t believe my ears.

Well, the woman gave up. The gate agent, who was quite patient with her, began serving another customer. I walked over and started a conversation. Thought I might as well try to calm her down and explain that when there’s bad weather in the country, the effects are wide ranging.

My little act of love for the day. At 6:30. Where can the day go but up from now?

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