"The wind blows wherever it pleases, you hear it's sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." - Jesus
So, in the last couple months I gained about 8 of the 20 pounds I lost during the last year and half. I think it's due to the fact that I've been running sporadically, and eating not so sporadically. I ran today though... a good long run. It was a bit breezey at times.. The interesting thing about running against the wind on a hot day is that it hinders and helps your progress. On the one hand it blows me back, which requires more exertion to continue the pace I want to keep. But on the other hand, the breeze cools me off on a hot day lowering my body temperature and thereby providing me with more stamina to continue running. In the end I prefer the breeze. It's a refreshing reminder of the wind of God's Spirit. Once it wafts your way, your road gets rougher, but your run gets sweeter.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Apr 14, 2010
Apr 1, 2010
the soil of our souls & the cross
so in the last two days i've had to confront two people separately on some serious sh*t. one of them responded with humility, while the other replied with defensive ire. what was the difference? i don't know. i could compare their beliefs about god, forgiveness, and redemption (which i think had something to do with it), but alas, i'll refrain from such assumptions in this assessment. perhaps it was my approach to each of them, or the subject matter.... i don't know. but the differences in their responses got me thinking about the soil of our souls. how ready is the soil of our souls to receive a seed of truth, rebuke, reminding? how ready is mine? i don't know the answer to that either, but the parable of the sower came to mind as i thought it over. it seems appropriate on maundy thursday to share it, since the disciples had heard jesus speak of his death and resurrection time and again, but even during the last days before his crucifixion, they couldn't hear what he was saying. their hearts refused to accept it. you can't really blame them that much. who would have thought that God's strategy for restoring the world and saving his people first entailed humiliation and death? who would think that maybe that's still the strategy for his Church?
Mar 25, 2010
The Empty Grave (birds and bandwagons part 2)
We're coming up quickly on Holy Week...Easter is a little more than a week away. In light of this fact, I'd like to share a continuation of my previous post (birds and bandwagons). As I mentioned below, I came upon a little injured bird that we took care of until it died the other day. It's body was stiff, and the little tuff on it's head was all fluffed out. I buried it in our backyard. I made quite a to do about it so that my daughter and her cousin could find a little closure in the event. After digging a hole and burying the bird, I constructed a tiny cross out of bamboo and vine that I stuck in the ground just behind the grave. Then I piled rocks on the spot where I buried it. The kids handled it well, especially after seeing the little grave and saying a prayer by it. The next morning before school, they wanted to see the grave again, so I agreed to take them out right before it was time to leave. As I approached I observed the site and cringed. There was a hole where the rocks had been, and the bird was gone. My daughter immediately pinned it on a racoon, and her cousin simply resigned to the fact that "it was his time to go." My mind was moving more in the direction of my daughter's suggestion, but I figured it was more than likely one of the cats.
I must admit that the sight disturbed me. I mean graves are somewhat sacred, or at least taboo.. even the grave of a bird. All I wanted to know was who or what desecrated this site. Kind of silly, I know, but it got me thinking about the following portion of scripture:
"Early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, Mary Magdelene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running...and said 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him'
... but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look in the tomb and saw two angels in white, seatedwhere Jesus' body had been
... They asked her, 'Woman why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus
...'Woman', he said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'
I've always wondered what took Mary so long to get it. I mean angels are there, Jesus himself even shows up, and she's still asking about the body! What's up with that? I've often wondered. Don't you understand? He's alive. But this experience with the bird has given me new sympathy for the poor lady. I mean once you see something or someone dead, the finality of it sticks to your brain. She saw him dead, and so to her, an empty grave had to mean robbers, theives, or gardeners.
To me it meant racoons, cats, or some other critter. And doubtless, if birds return to their maker, resurrection has been delayed for our little friend, and his body was consumed much quicker than I had intended. But hope springs from empty bird graves marked by crosses and invaded by critters nonetheless. Because though consumption comes to all, the cross and the empty grave give evidence that there was one who couldn't be consumed, even by death and decay. A missing dead bird, a small empty hole and two sticks tied together were reminders to me that death has been defeated, and restoration awaits this earth and resurrection God's people
I must admit that the sight disturbed me. I mean graves are somewhat sacred, or at least taboo.. even the grave of a bird. All I wanted to know was who or what desecrated this site. Kind of silly, I know, but it got me thinking about the following portion of scripture:
"Early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, Mary Magdelene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running...and said 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him'
... but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look in the tomb and saw two angels in white, seatedwhere Jesus' body had been
... They asked her, 'Woman why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus
...'Woman', he said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'
I've always wondered what took Mary so long to get it. I mean angels are there, Jesus himself even shows up, and she's still asking about the body! What's up with that? I've often wondered. Don't you understand? He's alive. But this experience with the bird has given me new sympathy for the poor lady. I mean once you see something or someone dead, the finality of it sticks to your brain. She saw him dead, and so to her, an empty grave had to mean robbers, theives, or gardeners.
To me it meant racoons, cats, or some other critter. And doubtless, if birds return to their maker, resurrection has been delayed for our little friend, and his body was consumed much quicker than I had intended. But hope springs from empty bird graves marked by crosses and invaded by critters nonetheless. Because though consumption comes to all, the cross and the empty grave give evidence that there was one who couldn't be consumed, even by death and decay. A missing dead bird, a small empty hole and two sticks tied together were reminders to me that death has been defeated, and restoration awaits this earth and resurrection God's people
Mar 20, 2010
Amalgamation vs Intersection
Pantheism: the idea that god is all things and all things are god.
Monism: there is one ultimate reality.
The two terms above could be used synonymously most of the time. Many Hindus believe in a monism where all things are Brahman. Atman (the soul) = Brahman which is the great sea of souls. Any perception of individuality is an illusion. Therefore, according to the Hindu, I am Brahman and Brahman is me. In fact, me and I are tenuous terms at best.
I must admit that I find this belief somewhat attractive. For one, we live in an extremely individualistic society, and at first glance, this way of thinking is a good remedy for a self centered world. There is also an inter-connectedness that I find rather alluring here. The film Avatar portrays an indigenous pantheism which demonstrates the harmony that ensues from the reality that all living things are adjoined.
Perhaps the reason these beliefs are attractive to me is that since modernity, western Christianity has cleanly cleaved God from his creation. I don't doubt that God is distinct from what he's made, but the modern view has had him living in a far away place on a far away throne, issuing judgments from his faraway field trip.
Interestingly enough, most basic (indigenous) religions believe in a supreme god who created things and then left us to interact with the local spirits, the ones who will actually hear us and act on our behalf. Monism is certainly an evolutionary step away from this belief among the Indian religions. It seems to me that it consists of a desire to be one with the divine; to reconnect with that deity who walked away from this god forsaken earth; in fact, a desire to be so close that there is no distiction.
I find it interesting that in Christian history we have a heresy that attempted as much when it came to the person of Jesus Christ. Eutyches (380-456 AD) essentially asserted that Jesus' human nature was swallowed up by his divine nature; the heresy was later called monphysitism (one nature). The reason this notion was rejected is because if Jesus didn't have a human nature, then he was not fully human as it had been asserted. The insidious nature of this heresy is that it denigrates humanity and gives way to a transcendentalism that seeks to escape this body and this world as opposed to being involved with its renewal.
Perhaps monism leads us down the same path. If all is one, and the purpose is to realize this oneness and escape this world, this body, these illusions, then how shall we live? Certainly, karma is part of the equation, but karma is a personal matter, and so again we enter the world of individualism. We strive individually to enter enlightenment and realize Brahman. Perhaps this isn't so different in it's strategy than many forms of Christianity today. Heaven and earth have been cleaved so cleanly in many denominations that salvation becomes merely a fire escape. Since the world and the flesh are passing away, the only thing to live for is the life to come. Humanity and the world are thereby denigrated and the purpose of salvation is lost in a sea of souls that seek liberation from this world and their dying bodies.
But if we view God as distinct, yet present in his creation; if we view Jesus as divine and human; if we see the world and the flesh as good but fallen; if we realize that salvation entails restoration which is more about bringing heaven to earth than it is about separating them, then we're more likely to move away from individualism and self centered ideology. We're more likely to live for the day, yet retain hope for the future. We're more likely to live in community and for community. I believe, in fact, that we're more likely to live in line with reality and more apt to see and live in the many places where heaven and earth intersect.
Monism: there is one ultimate reality.
The two terms above could be used synonymously most of the time. Many Hindus believe in a monism where all things are Brahman. Atman (the soul) = Brahman which is the great sea of souls. Any perception of individuality is an illusion. Therefore, according to the Hindu, I am Brahman and Brahman is me. In fact, me and I are tenuous terms at best.
I must admit that I find this belief somewhat attractive. For one, we live in an extremely individualistic society, and at first glance, this way of thinking is a good remedy for a self centered world. There is also an inter-connectedness that I find rather alluring here. The film Avatar portrays an indigenous pantheism which demonstrates the harmony that ensues from the reality that all living things are adjoined.
Perhaps the reason these beliefs are attractive to me is that since modernity, western Christianity has cleanly cleaved God from his creation. I don't doubt that God is distinct from what he's made, but the modern view has had him living in a far away place on a far away throne, issuing judgments from his faraway field trip.
Interestingly enough, most basic (indigenous) religions believe in a supreme god who created things and then left us to interact with the local spirits, the ones who will actually hear us and act on our behalf. Monism is certainly an evolutionary step away from this belief among the Indian religions. It seems to me that it consists of a desire to be one with the divine; to reconnect with that deity who walked away from this god forsaken earth; in fact, a desire to be so close that there is no distiction.
I find it interesting that in Christian history we have a heresy that attempted as much when it came to the person of Jesus Christ. Eutyches (380-456 AD) essentially asserted that Jesus' human nature was swallowed up by his divine nature; the heresy was later called monphysitism (one nature). The reason this notion was rejected is because if Jesus didn't have a human nature, then he was not fully human as it had been asserted. The insidious nature of this heresy is that it denigrates humanity and gives way to a transcendentalism that seeks to escape this body and this world as opposed to being involved with its renewal.
Perhaps monism leads us down the same path. If all is one, and the purpose is to realize this oneness and escape this world, this body, these illusions, then how shall we live? Certainly, karma is part of the equation, but karma is a personal matter, and so again we enter the world of individualism. We strive individually to enter enlightenment and realize Brahman. Perhaps this isn't so different in it's strategy than many forms of Christianity today. Heaven and earth have been cleaved so cleanly in many denominations that salvation becomes merely a fire escape. Since the world and the flesh are passing away, the only thing to live for is the life to come. Humanity and the world are thereby denigrated and the purpose of salvation is lost in a sea of souls that seek liberation from this world and their dying bodies.
But if we view God as distinct, yet present in his creation; if we view Jesus as divine and human; if we see the world and the flesh as good but fallen; if we realize that salvation entails restoration which is more about bringing heaven to earth than it is about separating them, then we're more likely to move away from individualism and self centered ideology. We're more likely to live for the day, yet retain hope for the future. We're more likely to live in community and for community. I believe, in fact, that we're more likely to live in line with reality and more apt to see and live in the many places where heaven and earth intersect.
Mar 17, 2010
Patrick's party
sad to say i had no beer on st. patty's day. i guess i could rush the fridge and slosh down my last guiness. but it's already 12:30 am, so i don't know that it really counts at this point.
i think next year i'd like to go to a outdoor celebration. the kind where green beer is a flowing in the streets; and everywhere you look, you see a lovely lass in a green hat; where irish songs echo in the alleys and where the air wafts wildly with the aroma of fish and chips. now that is the way to celebrate the life of st. patrick - a man who brought the jubilant message of jesus to the irish people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
