gracious hospitality

"You shall not oppress a resident alien [sojourner, stranger]; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens [strangers, sojourners] in the land of Egypt." Exodus 23:9

Back in A Former City, I'd tried to get involved in at least one local church where I mistakenly assumed someone with my background and experience would be excitedly welcomed and highly valued. Of course I've long had more than a clue about human behaviors, maybe especially in settings like churches and other organizations where a lot of the daily nitty-gritty gets done by volunteers, many of whom are willing but some of whose skills and abilities would be no more than marginally employable most places. Attendees at church in question basically were mostly Caucasian, sort of youngish through middling-aged through very old with a few young kids; they were more or less middle class and it belonged to a prominent denomination of the "liberal protestant mainline."

Amidst a long series of disappointing rejections and exclusions I still could document if I wanted to bother, a congregation of another well-known liberal protestant mainline denomination happened into my life and world. They needed a pianist to lead worship on the Sundays of the month their choir would sing, so why not me? But almost all these people were immigrants from the Pacific Island archipelago nation of Tonga! This was a self-consciously "ethnic church," in ways not dissimilar to some earlier Lutheran, Reformed, and Roman Catholic parishes in this country, many of which in this year 2012 still retain traces, even dreams of their founding identities in favorite potluck dishes, hymns, and *other* cultural markers.

The denomination the Tongan church belonged to even had a special judicatory representative to help with concerns of Tongan congregations in the vicinity. Their worship in the Tongan language included standard choral anthems the choir director translated into Tongan; after worship we all enjoyed a huge meal of ethnic specialties and then returned to the chapel for a testimony meeting. Some denominations practice "fast and testimony," believing a few hours without food enhances spiritual awareness and draws a person into considering the presence and action of the Holy One in their lives, but isn't "food and testimony" more enticing? "We have the gift of music and the gift of food," a choir member informed me. They also had the gift of hospitality, inviting me, very much a "resident alien" within their culture to weddings, to parties, to holiday picnics, and barbecues.

A few years ago in my formal faith journey I explained, "Both my experiences of inclusion in the community and those of exclusion from the community – especially the community of faith, but also in many places and spaces in the world outside of and beyond the gathered People of God – have been significant to my growth in faith." The way the people and pastor of the Tongan Church received me as a gift seemed so very natural, literally "within their nature," I believe Tongans are born with an active welcoming gene. For sure I had something they needed and had asked for, but I also had even more gifts and experiences that could have become powerful components of the ministry in the church I mentioned at the start of this post. I was a gift to the Tongan Church but they were gifts to me far beyond what I had to offer them.

"You shall not oppress a resident alien [sojourner, stranger]; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens [strangers, sojourners] in the land of Egypt." Exodus 23:9

Akin to studying cultural anthropology in the classroom and particularly to doing field work, the Tongan people's lives as non-native resident aliens in a high desert community of the intermountain west that was culturally, geographically, socially, and gastronomically worlds away from the Pacific islands probably heightened their awareness of the need and desires of others to be welcomed and included. Their own differentness probably had caused a few experiences of exclusion, too.

One of my favorites quotes is from C.S. Lewis' Dawn Treader: ...said the Lamb, "For you the door into Aslan's country is from your own world." ... "There is a way into my country from all the worlds," said the Lamb...and he was Aslan himself...

At the Tongan church I found an unforgettable place of welcome and a memorable time of belonging, signs of "Aslan's Country," of the Reign of Heaven on earth.


Thanks to Trisha for originally hosting this post on her [now sadly not there, as she unpublished or deleted a lot of online content] Your Moments of Grace blog.

March Synchroblog: all about Eve

All About Eve, March synchroblog.

March is Women's History Month; 08 March was International Women's Day. "Anything concerning women in general, women and the church, balancing women's rights with religious freedoms, the differences between men and women … these are all good topics for blog posts."

I'm happy to be participating after a couple months off and I'll go with the "all about Eve" suggestion. This is a lightly updated version of an old piece I haven't previously published on this blog. I did it for peeps who weren't necessarily highly biblically or theologically literate, and I think for the most part they got what I was saying.

Where Can We Go from There?

Parts of scripture contain pericopes - literally "stories," some of which have achieved an iconic, sacred status and truly contain a Word of Life to us and for us. In some times and some places, some narratives in the Holy Scriptures to which we often defer as a norm for everyday existence have been used to legitimate a way of life that makes women second-class, inferior beings—or if not quite second-class and inferior, definitely not first-class and superior or anything approaching equality or parity with the male creature. Also, we need to realize "legitimate" doesn't mean it's just okay for things to be that way; "legitimate" means things should be, are supposed to be that way!

Genesis 2:15 - 3:20

Let's begin with a quick look at a well-known story from Genesis 2 – "Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; then God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and the man began to live."

To continue: after God had planted all kinds of fruits and veggies, filled the air with birds and the land with animals – in the process appointing the guy human as steward or caretaker of creation – after this, the stage was set "just right" for the human woman to appear on the scene...and for that woman-enterprise the bible relates how God formed a woman out of the rib of the man and because of her substantial connection to him, the man named her wo-man.

After the Genesis 2 passage comes the start of chapter 3: the human couple are biding their time in the garden of earthly delights when one of the creatures entices the woman to eat the lusciously tempting forbidden fruit – which she does – and then she shares it with the man. With a stroke of the intimacy between Creator and creature we often find in the Yahwist Hebrew Bible source, God comes into the garden, challenges the humans, chastises them for not exactly following the role-models outlined for them…and then expels them from the garden, which is similar to being kicked out of school since it means then they’d encounter "real life," or the oppressive and sometimes painful struggles of day-to-day nitty-gritty.

Triple aside:

• last Sunday for Lent 4 year B, we heard in Numbers 21:4-9 "...Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live."

• And the gospel was John 3:14-21, "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

• Harvey Cox wrote a book called, On not leaving it to the snake.

Looking a little more closely at these events, much of what is recorded about Eve, whose name means "life," is positive and encouraging. A-dam - named for the color of the earth from which he came - is incomplete without Eve/Ava; she definitely is the chronological crown of creation, as she is the last living thing in creation's entire order. And she seems to have a Queen Complex, or at very least a Princess Complex, in her supremely confident interaction with the snake-in-the-dust and with her own Creator.

"Supremely confident interaction?!" That interaction takes the form of sounds...speech...words! Verbal communication is a major indicator of humanity and it may be the way we're different from the rest of creation. The power of words is a primary aspect of humanity's co-creativeness with the God who creates by the Word—particularly in the creation of new and renewed community; here Eve shares creative speech with God!

But some of what we observe is neither positive or encouraging: Eve clearly is derivative from A-dam—made out of the physical substance of his body, the man also names her and with wo-man, referring back to himself; although man is incomplete without woman, this woman has no existence whatsoever without that man.

Theologian Phyllis Trible describes the woman as "the more intelligent, inquisitive and aggressive of the two..." Maybe so, but the Creator God challenges Eve about the forbidden fruit only after questioning Adam. Although this corresponds to the creation order, it also implicitly puts the man in a position of social primacy, if not a situation of moral primacy.

However, Eve's creation out of Adam's rib establishes human interdependence and therefore rudimentary human community, which simultaneous creation could not institute. In other words, in order to affirm the social, interpersonal nature of the covenant, either man or woman had to be derived from the other, and that the woman rather than the guy is derivative possibly is not quite as unsettling as it sounds...

However again, since these texts originated within Israel, a patriarchal society, most likely the Yahwist – the name scholars have given to the scribe or scribes who wrote down Genesis 2 and 3 – was a guy, and information described and conveyed by anyone inevitably carries with it a gender-bias reflecting the social patterns and thought patterns that go along with being that gender in that particular culture. In that place and time the male viewpoint not only was dominant but also the legitimate view, since that's what got passed on, written down and preserved. We've even got it now!

There is a high possibility of there being "women's versions" of these stories, particularly since the male Yahwist didn't shortchange the woman to any great extent. If we defer to Scripture as a norm for our everyday existence, and if the man comes out a little ahead of the woman in these stories, that's just where it all needs to stay, right? Wrong!

Most churches run with the closed canon of Hebrew Bible and New Covenant scriptures, but in no way is Genesis 2 and 3 a final word as to what gender participation and roles "should be!" But in a profound sense these texts are "last words," in that they're about people who have moved far away from near-total domination and insubordination of woman by man, surprisingly close to a way of life that accords full humanity to the woman and to women. Narrative accounts in books like Genesis 1 and 2 as well as exhortations from the apostle Paul and the deutero-Pauline epistles provide models – and legitimation – for us to move even further, and there's that Jesus of Nazareth dude mightily to consider, but you already knew that!

Postscript: Just as Genesis 2 and Genesis 3 do not represent the actual beginning of God's involvement in creation, but reflect a specific stage along the way, so we as God’s people today can concede that new and re-newed social and cultural forms may be developing now as I write and as you read this blog and may be gaining legitimation as they are perceived as a result of the intervention of the God of Life and Justice and therefore...

The word of life—Amen!

other participants:

• Michelle Morr Krabill – Why I Love Being a Woman
• Marta Layton – The War on Terror and the War on Women
• Ellen Haroutounian – March Synchroblog – All About Eve
• Jeremy Myers – Women Must Lead the Church
• Carol Kuniholm – Rethinking Hupotasso
• Wendy McCaig – Fear Letting Junia Fly
• Tammy Carter – Pat Summit: Changing the Game & Changing the World
• Jeanette Altes – On Being Female
• kathy escobar – replacing the f-word with the d-word (no not those ones)
• Melody Hanson – Call Me Crazy, But I Talk To Jesus Too
• Glenn Hager – Walked Into A Bar
• Steve Hayes – St. Christina of Persi
• Leah Sophia – March Syncroblog-All About Eve
• Liz Dyer – The Problem Is Not That I See Sexism Everywhere…
• Sonja Andrews – International Women’s Day
• Sonnie Swenston-Forbes – The Women
• Christine Sine – It All Begins With Love
• K.W. Leslie – Undoing the Subordination of Women
• Carie Good – The Math of Mr. Cardinal
• Dan Brennan – Ten Women I Want To Honor

Lent 4 / Laetare

God of the Covenants, you gather us from south and north, from west and east – from all corners of creation – and in your son Jesus you embrace us with merciful lovingkindness. May our lives show your steadfast love to all we encounter; may our actions announce your gracious redemption with joy, that all creation would dwell in justice, freedom, and light. In the name of the crucified and risen one, Amen!

Lent B Eucharistic Prayer

• The Lord be with you.
• And also with you.
• Lift up your hearts.
• We lift them to the Lord.
• Let us give thanks to God.
• We rejoice to bring our thanks and praise!

Holy God, Mighty Lord, Boundless Spirit,
Giver of the Law, and Fountain of Grace!
In the wilderness desert you formed a people after your own heart.
Prophets spoke your words of judgment and hope
kings and rulers worshiped before your throne.
In Jesus, born of Mary, you showed us your face;
in righteous obedience he was baptized.
Jesus spoke truth to power, dined with sinners and outcasts, and called us friends.
During the week we now call holy, Jesus was tried and convicted, bore his own cross,
disarmed the powers and principalities,
took the sin and brokenness of the world upon himself,
was executed between thieves, and fulfilled all the law.
Jesus rose from the grave for the life of the world
and ascended to reign in grace.

You baptized us into the righteousness of Jesus Christ
and you baptized us in Spirit and Fire, reclaiming a people after your own heart.
You call us to righteous obedience
to speak truth to power
to resist the principalities and powers
to be the voice of the silent
to silence the voices of greed and oppression
to befriend the lonely and forgotten
to be the living presence of Jesus Christ.

With all the company of heaven and earth we proclaim:

Holy Holy Holy, God of power and might
Heaven and Earth are full of your glory
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of Heaven
Hosanna in the Highest!

And with all the company of earth and heaven we confess the mystery of faith:

• Dying you destroyed our death;
• Rising you restored our life;
• Lord Jesus, come in glory!

On the night of betrayal and desertion, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
After supper, he also took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again in glory.

Send your Spirit of Life upon these gifts of grain and grape, that they would be for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Pour out your Spirit of Life upon this assembly, that we would be the incarnate presence of Jesus Christ in the world.

Endless thanksgiving, glory and dominion
Be to God, Father, Son and Spirit
Amen!

Awaken Your Senses: Smell

March 5^th began week five, the last week of the "Awaken Your Senses" Contest on Facebook, on your own blog, as a comment on Brent's or Beth's blog or on your twitter. Beth and Brent explain:

The sense of the week is SMELL! BTW—did you know that your most vivid memories are likely linked to strong smells? Here's why:

Often, the strongest memories of our past are indelibly imprinted into our memory bank through our senses, especially the sense of smell. ...odors are interpreted as "sweet smelling gardenias" or "foul smelling sneakers." The reason we know the difference is the strong connection between our sense of smell and our memory. (Awaken Your Senses, Pg. 157, 158)

smelling memories

Brent and Beth said there's a "memory bank" we can make deposits into, store the deposits for a while and withdraw them - money in the bank - for various uses when necessary. That's what I'm trying to do by appreciating, remembering and anticipating more smells!

I feel my bare feet sinking into cool wet sand and a surprise of seaspray in my face. I hear mixed modulations of shoulder high waves breaking rhythmically onto the shore. My eyes scan the wide pacific panorama of clear sky, gray-teal-green-blue water and golden sand. Salty, pungent, a little sweet and almost surprisingly fresh, today's ocean smells like yesterday and like tomorrow. "Smells like" a summer in Nahant, parking on Atlantic Avenue, stepping out of the house onto the Truro beach, driving up the north shore or up the central coast, basking in late afternoon city sunshine on Malibu East and many many more. Too many more to list or even to recall. In fact, on this warm March afternoon I can taste those memories because today's smells bring back past tastes and especially because the smells become the tastes. This is where I am today but this is where the ocean has been for eons, and should I not trust it to be there for my tomorrows and help me create new todays that will turn into memorable yesterdays that in turn will remind me there are more days on their way?

women's retreat 5

revkjarla hosts today's women's retreat Friday 5 and tells us why:

This Friday-Saturday is our annual Women's Retreat at my church. It's one of my favorite 24 hours of the year, because we enjoy each other, we laugh, we cry, we support each other...and all of that good stuff! So, since I am in the WR mode, let's talk about women in your life!

1. For a woman author I love to read, why not Renita Weems?

2. Miriam is one of many women from the bible I'd like to hang with for a while.

3. For going to lunch with a woman from history I'll invite Katie Luther; she can provide a few pints of home brew.

4. Dinner with a living famous or infamous woman? Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel.

5. As revjkarla realizes, I already am SuperWoman, but I'd be happy to claim three more special powers of bilocution, understanding what's unspoken, and healing everyone's shattered pasts.

Lent 2 / Reminiscere

God of the Covenants, your word calls forth life from death, and you call us to take up the cross and follow Jesus. We ask that in the Spirit we will resist deadly powers of violence, greed, and exploitation, that as we bear the name of Jesus Christ, our acts of love and words of care will trace the pattern of the cross. In the name of the One Crucified and Risen for the life of the world.

Amen!

Awaken Your Senses: Hearing

February 27 begins week four of the "Awaken Your Senses" Contest on Facebook, on your own blog, as a comment on Brent's or Beth's blog or on your twitter. Beth and Brent explain:

This week's sense is HEARING! "Take a moment and listen to the sounds around you. Pay attention to them in love. What sounds do you notice? What news are they bringing? Are they blessings or calls to prayer? Or both?" (from Awaken Your Senses)

the sound of... weather!

All day Monday was overcast with a winter storm predicted; during the day we had little more than some heavy mist and random rainfall. Monday evening no stars were in sight, clouds covered the moon and gradually it became very dark and truly stormy. I live on the third floor of a 3 story building, a good arrangement for getting a panoramic view of the world outside my windows and an excellent resonator for sounds on the flat asphalt and gravel roof.

Eventually the rains came! At first normal sky tears that made an almost comforting and familiar sound, though I easily could hear the quiet computer keys and some ambient room noise. Before long the sound got louder and then roaringly percussive! I wasn't listening through earbuds--this was surround sound! The building shook just a little, and I remembered the sound and feel of the Sierra el Mayor "Easter Earthquake" in 2010. Was this another temblor? Recently this area has been experiencing many many 3.0 and higher quakes, so it well could have been. I exchanged a couple of Facebook comments with Jessica, who lives on the other side of the floor below me and suddenly realized I was listening to a rare hailstorm! Gradually it subsided, and how wonderful it felt to be protected inside my dwelling place and at the same time to sense such close connection to nature's meteorological activities.

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike, old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!

Lent 1 reflections

about Lent 1, 26 February

A friend from my blog ring started a Lenten Journey group on Facebook. For the first Sunday in Lent for all three lectionary years A, B, and C, Jesus' wilderness temptations always are the gospel reading. This is year B, Mark's year; in typical hasty manner, in a scant few verses he moves from Jesus' baptism, into the wilderness, and then to Jesus' public ministry:

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." Mark 1:9-15

Matthew and Luke provide us considerably more detail about this event; here's Luke's version.

In the group I commented, "every Lent 1 I remember Henri Nouwen's commentary on this text as the 3 temptations of the world: bread - to be relevant; throw yourself down from this pinnacle - to be spectacular; all the kingdoms of this world - to be powerful."

Later I wrote, "regarding the temptation to be 'relevant' by changing stones into bread, isn't bread the staff of life, didn't Jesus, born in Bethlehem, House of Bread, tell us he's the Bread of Life, are there not countless examples of Jesus eating and feasting with friends and finally giving his body for the life of the world? All that is true, but last Friday, as I was yearning for some of the blackberries that have been plentiful lately though there were none in the house, it was all I could do not to run to the store and buy more. Berries, tomatoes, etc. are nutritious, healthful, gifts of creation and can brighten a meal or a day, but it comes down to asking if we eat to live or live to eat?!" Besides, at about $1.00 for 6 ounces at the 99.999¢ store blackberries have been highly affordable, so price is no excuse.

In Awaken Your Senses, Brent Bill tells us keeping kosher is about being intentional and parallels it to the way he needs to plan and be totally intentional about eating as a diabetic. We all can do that about eating and about life and how wonderful it would be if our practice of living with purposeful intention (hopefully with fewer and fewer already-prepared and processed foods) during Lent then would become routine into the 50 days of Easter and beyond, eating, drinking, relishing and savoring the gifts of creation - and gifts of the creative culinary arts - not because we're living to eat, but eating better in order to live and serve more fully.

Lent 1 / Invocabit

26 February 2012

God of the Covenants, from the waters of Noah's flood, to the rivers of Jesus' baptism, to the font of our baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ, you have shown us your mercy and your steadfast love. As we trek mindfully through the desert of this season of Lent, may we trust your Spirit's leading as you continue forming us into your people who show steadfast love and mercy to all. In the name of the One crucified and risen for the life of the world, Amen!

@stickyJesus

...how to live out your faith online

From the Land of Shiny Things to the Land of Streaming Me, @stickyJesus by Toni Birdsong and Tami Heim isn't a book of theology or devotion or reflection, so don't expect that. Book and website are "a resource hub for social media outreach" and "an equipping hub for online outreach." Next of kin to world-changers such as Gutenberg Press in the 15^th century and California Gold Rush during the mid-19^th, the internet has changed the trajectory of history by creating a world so overflowing with connection, communication, [seeking after] community, and collaboration, it has become virtually flat (cf. The World is Flat 3.0 by Thomas Friedman). @stickyJesus isn't a theological or devotional book, and aside from the title and the focus of some content, it's not specifically Christian, but could serve as an outstanding resource for anyone who wants to be safe, effective, and protected in their online interactions in this era that's about Content Fever rather than Gold Fever.

A "sticky" marketing ploy or concept stays put. "Sticky" immediately reminded me of Post-it notes that come in many sizes and styles and stay stuck where you put them until you remove them. Like almost every Christian, Tami and Toni consider the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the very "stickiest" event of all and return to that fact again and again. Communication is key in any relationship and in achieving any goal of any type and historically, crossroads and rivers have led to the exchange not only of goods and commodities, but supremely of ideas, languages and cultures. Earliest print and now electronic media have done the same: you can cite auction and retail portals and probably even more so, websites specializing in news and ideas that have shrunk - flattened - the world. In that case, what better way to disseminate and spread the Gospel than the internet's boundless electronic and human rivers of connection that criss-cross each other and where each comment and connection automatically multiplies almost exponentially?

Regarding @stickyJesus' Christianity-related content, except for a single Roman Catholic and one Antiochian Orthodox (that I could count), most of the bloggers, facebookers and twitterers referenced are from relatively conservative churches that are "evangelical" in the current popular sense--as are Tami and Toni. I'm mentioning those facts because in the protestant mainline from which I hail and in which I basically still reside we have somewhat different ideas about mission and evangelism; those perspectives in turn affect our real-life and online interactions and content. The authors also persistently reference all members of the Trinity as "He" and are conservative on Pauline authorship. Just saying'... That having been said, virtually (yes!) all their advice applies well to anyone spending anytime on social networking sites or even sending emails.

Authors Tami and Toni are so correct about the human longing, human need for connections and relationships; they're also right that many online friendships are real ones, even if and when the parties never meet in real life or talk on the phone. As difficult as relationship is when you have the other's facial expressions and vocal inflections, as tricky as it can be to tease out meaning from a phone conversation where you have the voice but not the face, with neither to help show you what's going on, the virtual world online is far more difficult. From file 06, what better advice anywhere for mission, evangelism, seeking the welfare of the city to which you've been sent or plain everyday living than:

• learn the culture

• listen

• be tolerant

• seek common ground

• be present

Strokes to the authors for never suggesting internet interactions as "virtual church" or as something in place of local church and community. I realize there has been some moving and thinking in those directions, but given that the gospel is a landed, grounded reality you can touch, see, taste, hear and smell, and given how central the physical sacraments and the gathered yet differentiated Body of Christ (speaking from my own confessional position) are to the existence of the church, true "virtual church" is an ontological impossibility.

The book has 15 chapters or "files" full of cautions, explanations and excellent ideas for engaging others online and keeping your online presence and reputation clean. You learn a bit about the useful 4 Rs of Reviews, Ratings, Recommendations, and Rants. For social networking newbies files 11, 12, 13, and 14 "demystifying" Facebook, Twitter, blogging and content gathering together with how-to instructions and diagrams could be useful. Each chapter or "file" concludes with a useful download that provides a chapter summary and a suggested prayer upload. Stories and testimonies from people other than the book's authors are set in a smaller, non-serif font that's easy enough to read but conveys a sense of their being less important than the book's main content and I'd like to see that changed in later editions.

you can find @stickyJesus:

on the website

on twitter

on Facebook

authors Tami Heim and Toni Birdsong also have their own standalone twitter accts: @tamiheim @tonibirdsong

We often feel captive to the Land of Shiny Things, but even in the Land of Shiny Things, "Light trumps shiny every time." [page 13] Tami Heim and Toni Birdsong have provided a guide for any thoughtful reader to bring The Light of Christ into all their spaces and places, real and/or virtual. Very well done!

my amazon review: not virtual church, but living faithfully in a virtual world

ash wednesday

God of the Covenants, you call us to live in justice and freedom with each other and with all creation, but our rebellion, sin and guilt has overwhelmed us. We trust you will guide us through these the dry, dusty days and deserts of Lent, returning us to life as rebuilders of a broken society and restorer of streets to live in. In the name of Jesus Christ in whom we live as having nothing and yet possessing everything—
Amen!

Awaken Your Senses: Sight

February 13 begins week two of the "Awaken Your Senses" Contest on Facebook, on your own blog, as a comment on Brent's or Beth's blog or on your twitter. Beth and Brent explain:

Being able to see truly means that we have to pay attention with our body and soul. We know that when we don’t, it becomes too easy to miss the subtle influences of God’s Spirit around us. ... Too often, we pay attention with part of ourselves while the rest of us thinks about work that needs doing or any of the myriad other thoughts that crowd our minds. When that happens, as photographer David Vestal tells us, “You don’t have enough attention to see what’s around you.” If we want to see God present in the ordinary, in the daily gifts we’re given, we want to move beyond seeing and into perceiving.
Awaken Your Senses (p. 60, adapted)

Watching the subtly changing sky outside my windows is one of the joys of being an early riser. Even though I work closely with color almost every day, trying to match what I see in a scene or an object on paper or on the computer screen often is a challenge. Here's my approximation of this morning's San Diego sky, about 30 minutes after sunrise. As I observed on colour lovers where I made this palette, "dawn today, 'what you really see isn't always what you think you see.'"

freedom 5

freedom friday 5 on the revgals site.

Jan, our host, introduces today's play by telling us:

After spending the past six weeks with my right arm tightly bound to my body with a "shoulder immobilizing" sling due to shoulder surgery, I was able to discard that restrictive device three days ago. Such freedom in movement is to be savored! This brought to mind how we experience freedom in many different ways in our lives. For today's Friday Five, tell us about your times of release or detachment (freedom!).

In "Me and Bobby McGee," Janis Joplin sang, "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose..." Pauline theology/christology brings us concepts of both freedom and liberty. I'll go with Jan's suggested categories, though she suggested we could add or replace them with our own. I love this picture of a computer "key" to unlock freedom's possibilities and I'm playing in green for the one remaining Sunday of this stretch of Ordinary Time and to match the "freedom" key on the keyboard pic.

1. although I'm a fairly major psychological risk-taker, I tend to be very guarded and cautious about physical risk-taking (as in sitting by the fire in the lodge while almost everyone else is skiing on the slopes, as in not going into the ocean deeper than waist-high...), but I'll mention the great feeling after a few days or even a couple of weeks of being laid up with the flu or a bad cold and yes, I really was that unwell and yes, it really was almost impossible to do almost anything; this I know because it's all relatively easy now.

2. for spiritual and all around healthy freedom, get out of all the denials and rationalizations and admit the truth of what I want, what I need, and the truth that in some, in many ways what's going on is not okay in the least. You cannot change what you don't acknowledge!

3. revisiting the past and learning from it definitely gives us a degree of emotional and *other* freedoms; so true that those who don't remember the past tend to repeat past errors, sins and transgressions.

4. Especially given that I wisely realized that not continuing called (authorized, professional, etc.) ministry was better stewardship of my life, gifts and preparation, in a vocational sense I'm very clear that I'd prefer to be earning my keep doing fairly routine, mundane things in order to save energy for endeavors I love, such as theologizing and designing. However and needless to say, I continue to find myself at the mercy of local pastors and musicians, because everything I feel called to do and need to do in those areas (theology, liturgical art, liturgical music) requires an invitation or at very least, permission. Real life is lived locally and literally in the flesh; as wonderful as aspects of the internet have been for me and lots of others, without that actual community, my hopes, dreams and expectations still are burnt toast. In terms of vocational (or any kind of) freedom, for sure it's about bounded freedom, since the style of the setting or the people therein will specify limits, but that's okay and makes a lot of things lots easier than trying to discern and work through everything myself from endless options.

5. Back to recent events I won't blog here about regarding relationships, once again awareness of your own history, the history of the individual *other* or the community is vital in discerning what allowances to makes, what limits of your own to set, and the importance of the person of community in my own life and world. Crass as if sounds, no one has unlimited time or energy and knowing some history helps lots in making wise, life-affirming decisions.