Archive for November, 2010

I’ll leave the rich theological reflections about incarnation to someone else and give you my bottom line on why Advent means a lot to me.

I grew up in a chaotic alcoholic family where people didn’t always show up when they were supposed to.  But I had an older sister who always showed up for me—she listened to me, she let me go places with her friends and her, she let me hang out in her room because mine was too messy to live in. She never acted like I was hopeless.  I mattered.

Luke 1:48, “for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.”

When the angel approached Mary, the words of greeting startled the young woman. “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. (Luke 1: 28,29).  The angel knew that this instilled fear in her heart and announced to her that the Lord had found favor in her and as a result she was to bear a child who would be named Jesus.

With the incredible popularity of the book (and now the movie) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, many would-be prayer dropouts are seeking an experience of God. In their dialogue in the most recent issue of Conversations, Dr. David Benner and Dr. Gary Moon offer a conversation around Benner’s book “Opening to God” that would have saved Elizabeth Gilbert time, money and the flood of inoculations that are required for traveling to India and Indonesia.

Benner is transparent when he states, “My experience of that openness is far from constant… the moments when I have known this openness are rarer than I’d like, but they leave a taste I can never forget.”

Elizabeth Gilbert ate her way through Italy and ended up buying larger jeans to accommodate her ravenous appetite for all things Italian. In Benner’s dialogue on the impact of the feeling of alignment with God the wholeness and the sense of belonging he declares, “Like any taste of God, it leaves me hungering for more.” I read eagerly yet meditatively, being reminded of my own moments of sheer delight in God and God’s presence.

In the Fall/Winter issue of Conversations the theme that is addressed is ‘Action and Contemplation.’ Let me first quibble a bit over the choice of terms. ‘Action’ is immediately identifiable as a necessary and valuable dimension of human life. In fact, if I were to split hairs, contemplation itself requires a certain form of action. However, ‘contemplation’ can mean very different things to different people, is a somewhat mysterious term, and is viewed with suspicion by many. In other words, 9 times out of 10 ‘action’ would win the popularity contest over ‘contemplation.’ What if ‘prayer’ was substituted for contemplation? The playing field levels out under those verbal conditions. Familiarity, importance, and biblical foundation for prayer and action are relatively equal. To go one step further: my choice of terms would be ‘communion’ and ‘ mission’ based on the Fourth Gospel’s presentation of Jesus as the ‘sent one’ from the heart of the Father. Enough already with the lexical nitpicking!

testing order

I have been around Renovaré, a ministry founded by Celebration of Discipline author Richard J. Foster, for over 20 years. Inevitably, when approached with the idea of balancing action and contemplation I turn to thoughts of Renovaré.

If you are not familiar, part of what Renovaré does is share a “balanced vision for spiritual growth.” This is found in six great Traditions of Christian life and faith that we see in the life of Jesus and the historical Church:

I can’t believe I’m blogging. I haven’t been a fan of the sport. In fact, I’ve enjoyed quoting Mark Twain who once described journalism as “literature in a hurry;” and then quickly adding my belief that “blogging is journalism in a jiffy.” But, as was the case with my take on email, texting, and on-line learning, I was wrong.

It actually can be very cool to have a reason to visit the Conversations web site on a daily basis, to “join a daily conversation,” reading and then responding. So, because this provides the chance to hear from you, and so many of our other fiends, I’m in.

The topic for our first month of blogging is the theme of our most recent issue, “Contemplation and Action.” With that anchor point, here we go.

We have no time or space to deal with contemplatives in our world.

Voluntarily squandering time in nonproductive activities is an affront to those of us who daily bow to the God of efficiency and hurry.  Few evangelical denominations know what to do with contemplatives.  Spirituality with no concretely defined goals and objectives is threatening for most of us.  We almost always value purpose over mystery.

Once every month Debbie (the person to whom I am married) and I meet with six young couples in their thirties. We always begin with supper. Last Thursday I went to buy some take away chicken for the group. While waiting for my spicy chicken meal, a man selling belts came up to me. We introduced ourselves to each other and got into a conversation. It had been a futile day trying to sell his merchandise and he was feeling quite despondent. He then asked me if I had any money for him. I said that I only had a credit card. It was untrue. I had some money in my pocket.

Jesus’ life offers great hope to me because I struggle to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. God-guided, Jesus’ action was always love-inspired and full of compassion. In the eye of the daily storm, he knew the inner quiet of peace and focus. In the center stage of engagement, he would withdraw. In the midst of being with others nonstop, he knew quiet and solitude.