Knowing God and Being Known by God

In every time and every place humans have worshiped God, questioned God, doubted God and tried to explain or describe God. We have also judged others because they arrived at conclusions different from ours. We want to be certain about areas of our lives in which certainty can be elusive. In these cases, human beings often hedge our bets by providing alternative answers or multiple possibilities. This is often the case with our God questions.

The post Jesus Athenians were no exception. The Apostle Paul proclaimed to them: “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way, for as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’” Then Paul continues, “The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.” (Acts 17:22-31)

“. . . he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’.” (Acts 17:22-31)

“In him we live and move and have our being.” Wow. What a gift, what an opportunity to know God and continue to grow in that relationship. The Gospel of John records the reminder that “Jesus is in the Father and we are in him and he is in us” (John 14:1-14), or as Catherine of Siena said, “the soul is in God and God is in the soul, as the fish is in the sea and the sea is in the fish.” We know God by being in God and God being in us. God is over, under, around and through us, and we are over, under, around and through God.

This does not solve the ultimate mystery of who God is or what God is or where God is, but, it allows us to experience God. The Church then becomes a community in which and through which the Spirit is given and shared, and in which we can share our experience of God and hear others share their experiences, thus learning more about God as we learn more about others and more about ourselves.

The Church as the Body of Christ makes it possible for us to serve the world in the name of God, whether we have all the answers to all of our questions about God or not, whether the “unknown” God suddenly becomes known to us or not, or whether our doubts or confusion about who God is and how we know God magically disappear or not. It assures us that we will not be alone in our journey to find and know God and to be found and known by God. It means that our faith will not give us easy answers or be a simple faith. It also assures us that our faith will be exciting, bold and filled with as many questions as it is answers.

As Jimmy Buffett would say, “Where’s the Church, who took the steeple. . .The God’s honest truth is it’s not that simple.” But! It’s exciting, challenging, life-giving and fun. And it will change the world!

Thanks be to God!

Pentecost, the Holy Spirit and the Power of God: A Promise Fulfilled

Pentecost, the Holy Spirit and the Power of God: A Promise Fulfilled

Before his ascension, Jesus promised the disciples that he would be with them always and that he would ask God the Father to send a comforter to be with them forever. Though I do not believe they understood it at the time, these two promises were one and the same. The promised Comforter is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity sent to the world and to God’s people by God the Father. Jesus, as God, is present with us and in the world through that same Holy Spirit.

The fulfillment of Jesus’ promises is described in powerful language in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (2:1-21)

When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered and amazed, because each one heard them speaking in their native languages about God's deeds of power.

This Holy Spirit provided the strength and courage and power necessary for the followers of Jesus to spread the message of Jesus throughout the world and to begin a movement we know today as “The Church.” St. Paul in his first letter to the Church in Corinth (12:3b-13) describes how the Spirit of God empowered the Church and changed the world.

No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Humans make distinctions, God does not. God recognizes all of us as God’s children. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to all of us, different gifts to each of us as the Spirit itself chooses. The point of Pentecost is that we all have gifts from God through the Holy Spirit and that different gifts are given to each of us. So whether you are a teacher or a preacher or scientist or business person or have other talents and skills, we all have gifts to use in church, society and community for the common good.

Friend and church organist Ralph Strawn shared with me some of his reflections on the Holy Spirit and Pentecost which helped me see more clearly the presence of God in our lives. Acts talks about the Spirit as sounding like a rushing wind and appearing as tongues of fire on the heads of the disciples, changing their lives and the church forever. Ralph sees the feather that lights on the shoe of Forrest Gump in the beginning of the movie by the same name, and appearing throughout the movie, as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

According to Strawn, Forrest never uses God’s name in the stories he tells with those who share the bench with him, but the love of God is clearly revealed in them. His stories of war, death and despair reveal the courage God gives us to rescue each other from all sorts of danger. In the past two weeks with terror attacks and shootings around the world in Manchester, Portland, London, Afghanistan and Chicago, just to name a few, this Spirit of God helps us comfort and encourage one another as we seek to bring peace and justice to our world and to overcome the fear and anger that draw us away from God and from one another.

My friend suggests that the Gospel message, the healing message of the Holy Spirit, is spoken loudest, not through a rushing wind or a roaring fire, but through the quiet voices of people sharing stories from their lives.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and we shall be created, and so you shall renew the face of the Earth.

Change, an Invitation to Life: Care of Creation

Change, an Invitation to Life: Care of Creation: I have spent a good bit of time lately thinking about creation: what it is, why it’s important and what difference that makes. I have c...

Care of Creation

I have spent a good bit of time lately thinking about creation: what it is, why it’s important and what difference that makes. I have come to the conclusion, as much as one can conclude anything, that Creation is Relationship, and Relationship is Creation. I share a personal experience to illustrate my point.

Last week I met a young couple for lunch in final preparation for their upcoming wedding. I have known the bride, now a 23 year old woman, since she was 13. Her great grandparents had been founding members of the church where I was pastor and I got to know her grandmother and the rest of the family when I officiated at her grandfather’s funeral. More relationships were created and have grown from these earlier relationships. Creation is relationship, and relationship is creation.

Reflecting on the first Creation Story found in the first chapter of the Biblical Book of Genesis, we see relationship as the foundation of creation:

"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind (spirit) from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light."

Let there be relationship, let there be creation: and then followed earth and water and plants and animals, and dry land and people and time and seasons.

Creation = relationship = creation!

God created human beings, male and female (at the same time), blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over all.”

“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”

This is truly a powerful story of creation and relationship. The only change I would make, from our vantage point of 2500 years later, is to replace the words “dominion” and “subdue” with “care for” and be “good stewards of.” At the time this part of Genesis was written, survival depended on subduing the earth and having dominion over the animals. Today, survival depends on being good stewards of God’s creation and caring for the earth, air and water that are essential to the continuation of creation as we know it. For this to happen, I believe God calls us to be the Stewards, the Caretakers, of creation. In essence, God calls us to be Co-Creators in the on-going creation of all that was, is and is to come.

As a part of this ongoing creation, I spent several days last week planting roses and azaleas, maple trees and oak trees. I spend time each day watering them and when I do this I also spend time with my dogs: water, trees, plants and animals; creation, relationship.

In the late 1990’s, Dominican Priest Matthew Fox wrote his classic book, Creation Spirituality, in which he blends Christian mysticism with the struggle for social justice and environmentalism, thus bringing us back to the awareness of the themes from Genesis 1. For his efforts, he was silenced, as prophets often are, by the Vatican. Fox’s example reminds us that when we have truth to share, we are called by God to speak that truth, no matter what the consequences. Today, as God’s Children and citizens of the world, we are called to proclaim the importance of “this fragile Earth, our island home.” Without our help God won’t do it, without God’s help we cannot do it.

Of the many gifts God has given us, Creation is the first gift and our relationship to Creation, including our relationship with each other, is our gift to God. John Muir, “the most celebrated celebrator of nature in American,” believed that creation was full of awe and wonder and that we should approach the world with that sense of awe and reverence that inspires us to protect, defend and enjoy this gift and this relationship.

As Muir walked our country he experienced the beauty of creation and was inspired to protect it and encourage others to do the same. On a three day camping trip with Theodore Roosevelt, Muir convinced him of the importance of a National conservation program and thus inspired the creation of the National Park System which we enjoy today. Muir also receives major credit for saving the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and for discovering Glacier Bay, Alaska.

Matthew Fox and John Muir are proof that one person, one church, one nation can make a difference in the care and preservation of creation and the continuing existence of life on Earth.

Creation = Relationship = Creation = Life

Change, an Invitation to Life: Holy Week, A Journey With Jesus

Change, an Invitation to Life: Holy Week, A Journey With Jesus: Holy Week, A Journey With Jesus For many Christians around the world, the eight days, beginning on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Day...

Holy Week, A Journey With Jesus

Holy Week, A Journey With Jesus

For many Christians around the world, the eight days, beginning on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Day are the most holy and powerfully spiritual days of the entire year. I pray that reflection on this journey will help us all strengthen our faith and open our hearts more and more to God’s presence in our lives. The whole purpose of the week is for us to remember and rejoice in our relationship with God and God’s people by participating in the events of the last week in Jesus’ life.

The week begins with the somewhat ambiguous double commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem combined with a reading of the Passion Gospel as a preview of the week to come. Holding Palms, we proclaim, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”

Then we pray for God’s presence during the coming week:

"Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of Our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

We celebrate with joy and music and parades and Holy Communion before hearing the reading of Jesus’ celebration of the Passover with his disciples, followed by his betrayal and execution. Through it all, we solemnly pray for ourselves, the church and the world as we enter into the mystery of the week to come.

On Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. we will celebrate the Passover meal as Jews have done for centuries so that we can gain a better understanding of our own faith through the practices of Jesus and his ancestors. This meal is the foundation of Jesus’ last supper and leads us into the Sacred Three Days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.

These three days are like time out of time.  We continue to live our daily lives, working and caring for family and doing all those day to day tasks that hold body and soul together. We also live into a parallel dimension in which we walk with Jesus Christ in his passion, through his death, to his resurrection. These days are referred to as the Sacred Triduum in Latin, the Holiest Three Days in English.  Worship on these days appears to be three services but is, in fact, only one. Worship begins on Maundy Thursday with the prayer:

"Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these Holy Mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life. Amen." (Book of Common Prayer, page 274)

There is no dismissal until the end of the Easter worship service when we proclaim, “let us go forth in the Name of Christ, Alleluia, Alleluia!”

These three days are truly the center of the Christian year.  On Maundy Thursday we share in the Last Supper with Jesus and his disciples as he gives them, and us, a new commandment which he demonstrates by washing their feet.

"Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord. . . So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you." (John 13:1-15)

"This is my Commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

After this meal Jesus is betrayed, then tried by the Chief priests and later by the Roman Governor Pilate. We end our worship on this evening by striping the altar area of all adornments, symbolizing that the light of Christ is leaving the world.  And then we leave the church in silence and sadness.

On Good Friday we continue our worship with the following words:

"Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross."(Book of Common Prayer, p. 276)

The Passion Gospel of Jesus is then read, leading us on the journey to the Garden of Gethsemane, his betrayal, and his death and burial.  We remember the passion of Jesus by participating in his journey.  Prayers for all of God’s people follow, ending with prayers for forgiveness and silent communion from previously consecrated bread and wine. This day is not a time for celebration. The following prayer closes part two of our three day journey:
          
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death.  Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory. Amen." (Book of Common Prayer, page 282)

On the Third Day we proclaim, “Alleluia. Christ is Risen. The Lord is Risen indeed. Alleluia.” The three days end and the rest of our life in Christ Begins!

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