Vacation

I am on vacation for the next three weeks, so my posting will be irregular during this time.  I'm up in Minneapolis-St. Paul at my parents' new house. Not planning on doing much up here but am planning on sleeping in and watching bad TV.

The dogs are super happy to see me, but they're playing it cool.

Courage, Part 2

I have been challenged by a friend to think about courage in a different way. While this friend didn't give me a lot of direction, I thought about the different aspects of courage. I thought about the people I talked about in my last post on courage. I did my undergrad in history, and so a lot of times I focus on actions that make change because that's often what makes the history books. But when we're talking about everyday actions that can help or facilitate change there was one that stuck out to me.

Listening.

It's not a surprise that I'm drawn to listening as courage. I practice Non-Violent Communication which focuses on active listening skills. But I want to tell you about an event that happened this last semester which I think shows how listening is courageous.

One class I took this semester was team taught by an African-American female and a Caucasian-American male. During one Q and A session a student asked about how the male professor learns about other ways of interpreting the Bible. The professor said "I listen." He went on to talk about how he was aware of the cultural and societal advantages he has just based on his outward appearance. He said that he can't change many the -isms of our society (racism, sexism, hetero-sexism especially) overnight and he works towards the equality God made us with through listening. He said he gets to talk a lot, and that it is his responsibility to stop talking and actually listen to others. I was struck by his honesty and self-awareness. He made me think about the patterns in our society and how I contribute whether consciously or unconsciously.

It takes courage to listen when one is privileged to talk, and it takes courage to talk when one is demeaned into silence or expected to be silent. If everyone is speaking, no one will be heard. If everyone is listening, nothing will be heard. It seems like people are often pushed into action when no one is listening to their voice.  Think about it. Why did the colonies revolt against England? Taxation with representation, among other things, which translates to the government (those in power) wasn't listening to the people (those expected to be silent). But not all the silenced voices were heard in the 13 colonies, either. There are millions of voices who came from Africa and crossed in the Middle Passage that will never be heard. There are millions of voices of indigenous peoples that will never be heard. So even though the colonies rebelled and gained their freedom many in power continued to talk without listening. But when a balance is struck between listening and talking, I believe amazing things can happen without violence.

This doesn't resolve my complicated thinking about courage. Expect part 3.

Psalm 22

I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast;
my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death.
--Psalm 22:14-15

When people talk about Psalm 22 they don't normally get this far. We like to stop with the first verse ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) because we meditate on that verse during Lent and Good Friday. So it may sound odd that I'm bringing out this Psalm during Eastertide. I think the writer of Psalm 22 went to seminary, or the ancient equivalent. If the writer did not experience higher education, then s/he experienced the same emotions from another experience. The two verses above are what many of my classmates are feeling right now. The 'dust of death' may be a bit over dramatic, but what's seminary without a little drama? After the school year spent reading, writing essays, taking exams, and discussion some of us may be glad for a time when our tongue to stick to our jaw. We've spent the year pouring out ourselves into our studies and internships while balancing other commitments. In some ways, we're very dry. I see the exhaustion in my classmates' face. Many are moving to a new place on campus, many are beginning summer jobs in the next couple of weeks, many are relocating for a post-seminary job, and a few have decided to leave seminary early for various reasons.

I don't really have a point today. I just wanted to acknowledge what my friends and classmates are going through. I'm sure our professors have some similar feelings. This is the time to ask again for the gift of living water that we may never be thirsty again.

A Task to be Pursued with Courage

Recently I was called a "Brief Statement of Faith person" by a friend as we were discussing the spiritual needs of older adults. I have to agree. For those not familiar, A Brief Statement of Faith is the youngest document in the PC(USA)'s Book of Confessions. It was written when two denominations merged to create the PC(USA) and became part of the Book of Confessions in 1991. While I do love the Brief Statement of Faith, I have been reflecting on the following quote from Confession of 1967 lately:

"Life is a gift to be received with gratitude and a task to be pursued with courage." (Confession of 1967, 9.17)

For some reason this sentence has stuck with me for a couple months, ever since we studied the Confession of 1967 in my Presbyterian History course. I was really struck by the multiple ideas held together. Life. Gift. Receive. Gratitude. Task. Pursue. Courage. I especially like that the authors did not define these words for us. Words do change in meaning over time and depending on your point of view. Today I'd like to focus on courage. That's a tricky word to define in general, but what is courage to a Christian living in 2011 America? We can point to people we think are courageous. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Harriet Tubman. Mary. Bishop Gene Robinson. I have many friends at seminary who are graduating this Saturday. One is taking a call in the mid-west and will be ordained in June. One has a job at their denominational main office. One couple has been called to the same church. But several do not have that security.  I think all of them are courageous.

Is pursuing a task with courage the same as being courageous? Being courageous suggests a state of being. Some people seem naturally courageous--globe trotters and dare devils. But anyone can pursue a task with courage. You don't have to be a courageous person to pursue a task with courage. People in abusive relationships may not be thought of as courageous people, but it certainly shows a lot of courage to leave an abusive relationship. It takes a lot of courage to dream of a better world for ourselves and future generations. It takes a lot of courage to dream of a life outside of an abusive relationship or a world where members of the LGBTQ community are considered for ordination on their call and preparation for ministry and not on their sexuality. It takes courage to pursue those dreams. It takes organization, support, and prophetic vision to see what needs to be changed in order to pursue the task. It is no easy feat. So much in our culture tells us to be content with the status quo... but there is a lot of injustice in the status quo.

It's easy to look back in history and say "Well, of course someone needed to change that." Of course slavery needed to be ended. Of course the Nazis had to be stopped. But how many of us are willing to stand up today, name injustice in our world, and pursue the task of change with courage? Courage does not mean there will not be fear or trepidation. Even Jesus asked for the cup to be passed from him. But then Jesus pursued his task with courage. Now that's me reading this confession's language back into the passion story, but the Bible is the basis of the confessions.

Taking time to reflect on these things leads me to more questions...

What are the injustices in our world that need to changed?
Are we participating in communities working towards that change?
What gifts/talents/passions do we have that can contribute to that change?
Are we being the change we want to see? (Mahatma Gandhi)

Well, are we?

End of the School Year

Tomorrow is the last day of classes for the 2010-2011 school year. As I was checking my grades from the long term (and praise be to God!) I was stuck at the range of classes I've taken this year. My first year I was taking a lot of intro courses. This year I've taken classes on preaching, feminist theology, Christian worship (both general and specifically Presbyterian), Jewish biblical interpretation, learning and practicing liturgical movements (like breaking bread and how to hold an infant while trying to pour water), and finding musical resources for congregational use, and others. What I like about the Masters of Divinity program is the wide variety of experiences. My education is not limited to, well, anything. Our internships offer us the chance to learn what we need to learn. We can take generalized or specific courses. For instance, we have to take a modern (Post-Reformation) history course. I took Presbyterian History. Both fascinating and useful.

But I have to admit, I'm looking forward to the summer break. Some time to sleep in, read, watch bad TV, travel, and then come back and start my summer job and Hebrew class. I'm going to be working at the campus book store this summer!! I have held many part-time jobs, but I have to admit working at a book store sounds awesome. But for now, one more final presentation tomorrow morning.

Lost Post

I have been working on a blog post for three days. It brought a the Bible into conversation with two modern books to talk about God's love. Today I was typing in the saved draft, and then it disappeared. It's disheartening. As much as I like the internet and blogging it's stuff like this that keeps me handwriting my class notes and whatnot. I will try re-writing the post later this week.

A Message about Amendment 10-A to the Constitution of the PC(USA)

10A

Amendment 10A has been a big deal to Presbyterians for a long time. If you're not familiar with Presbyterian church government we have two parts of our constitution: The Book of Confessions containing documents ranging from ancient to modern, and The Book of Order which outlines the specifics of our church government. Last summer our General Assembly gave the go-ahead for Amendment 10A to be passed to the presbyteries (local groups of churches) for the final vote. Tonight an 87th presbytery voted and passed Amendment 10A which means the PCUSA has passed 10A. I am grateful for the wholistic look at ordination candidates without focusing on one aspect of the person. The Office of the General Assembly has released a statement. The PCUSA has invited us to join in the prayer below. While I know there are a number of views on this amendment, I think we can all agree to pray together.

Almighty God, we give thanks for a rich heritage of faithful witnesses to the gospel throughout the ages. We offer gratitude not only for those who have gone before us, but for General Assembly commissioners and presbyters across the church who have sought diligently to discern the mind of Christ for the church in every time and place, and especially in this present time.

May your Spirit of peace be present with us in difficult decisions, especially where relationships are strained and the future is unclear. Open our ears and our hearts to listen to and hear those with whom we differ. Most of all, we give thanks for Jesus Christ, our risen Savior and Lord, who called the Church into being and who continues to call us to follow his example of loving our neighbor and working for the reconciliation of the world. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rooted Spirituality: Emerging Adults in the Church

As part of my spiritual guidance course we are interviewing people from three different age groups: emerging adult/young adult, middle adult, and older adult. Last week I interviewed a 20-year-old college sophomore about her life and spirituality. She called her spirituality "Grassroots Spirituality." Her understanding of God came from her experiences at a Christian summer camp and have grown in relation to the physical world around her as well as to her intellectual and emotional growth. This idea really struck me. Rooted spirituality. Those who have the luxury to be emerging adults (ages 18-24ish) are thought to be drifting without roots. They move frequently and explore their identity and career course. But all the reading we've been doing makes me think we've got it wrong, and this interview confirmed it. Stop thinking all young adults want in a spiritual community is a rock show. There's enough in our world that is shallow. We want a deep community with roots. True, some of us also want a rock show; but that's not the only thing. Our roots need to be nurtured as we continue growing toward the Sun. We can't do that alone.

So many members of churches have asked me "How do we get more people your age into the church?" Welcome us. Nurture us. Go out and find us. Realize that not everyone has transportation. Stop thinking that changing something in the liturgy means you're giving up your religious tradition. Read the Bible as a community and be willing to hear voices you don't agree with or voices you've ignored/didn't know about. Be authentic. Be open to listening to our questions without feeling you have to know the answer to everything. Put us in leadership roles. Mentor us. We're not asking you to be perfect. Don't expect us to be like you were at this age. Accept us for who we are and know we're going to transform if you nurture us. Without sun and water plants die. Offer us Living Water and the Light from God to nurture us and prevent spiritual death. Take the time to explain tradition. Offer introductory classes or even informal conversational groups to discuss what it means to call ourselves a Christian and what it means to call ourselves a certain denomination. Don't exclude the single. Don't exclude our LGBTTQI friends/family/partners/selves. Know we may not fit into traditional membership categories and be open to our involvement anyway. Empathize. Don't assume. Recognize us. Know no church is your church or my church; it is God's church. Sing a new song, sing old songs, just choose songs that have theological content. Celebrate worship with many languages. The sacraments are cool; we'd like to talk about them because they're also confusing to a lot of people. Help us find silence and stillness in a world that demands noise because we want to hear God. Don't preach at us. Preach the Word in the midst of us. Feed us. Point out God's actions in the world so we learn to pay attention to God. Enter dialogue with other religions and other traditions from Christianity. Find a way to support those of us who are single parents. Help us get involved in the local community mission/soup kitchen/garden/after school tutoring program/food drive/whatever. We want to make a difference. Show and tell us how Christ made a difference. Don't expect us to believe everything exactly the way you do or to sign up for something we don't want to do. Love us in spite of ourselves and yourselves. We like our agency and intellect and believe both come from God. Even if we are only in your community for a short time know that our roots have been entwined and the journey will never be the same. Be joyful in our transitions through break ups, new jobs, marriages, illness, grappling with grief, changing majors, graduation, and making difficult decisions even when they're hard for us. You are the love of Christ to us during the hard times. Engage us in the hard issues the church is dealing with. We worship God in wholistic ways in our everyday lives and would be thrilled to see Sunday morning come into the week. Guide us into taking ownership of our own faith even knowing at the same time it is the faith of our ancestors. Talk about the Cloud of Witnesses. We don't get many Christian role models in pop culture. We don't want our faith to be fueled by fear, so please don't try to make us do things you think we "should" do by threatening us with hellfire. That's not your decision to make. If we disagree politically or theologically remember we are each children of God and deserve to be treated with respect. Don't talk down to us just because we're young. Know there are some things we can only learn from experience but don't be condescending about it. Take us seriously and with flexibility. Plant some seeds of wisdom. Pray for peace and act on those prayers. Be thoughtful.

Preach the Good News of God's love.

Practice what you preach.

Live the Good News for the world today and into the future with us.

Nurture our roots.

Soul Friendships

During this May term we are looking at soul friendships as part of our overview of spiritual guidance. Our main book for this has been Sacred Companions by David Benner. The second half of the book is about spiritual direction, but the first half is all about spiritual friendships also known as soul friendships. (His use of the term "soul" is not referring to the Hellenistic dualism between body and spirit but instead is using "soul" referring to our deepest and most whole selves which include the physical, mental, spiritual, etc.) 

We have many friends, but how many of those are soul friends? How many friends do we have who we are fully present with and able to be vulnerable without fear of judgement? Soul friends accompany each other's journeys. In a world where "Friends" is a sitcom soul friendship sounds odd. It's an intriguing, ancient idea of friendship. Jonathon and David. Ruth and Naomi. Paul and Timothy. Ross and Chandler? The thing that sets soul friendships apart is the focus on God and the intentionality behind soul friendships. The soul friend pulls you toward God as you pull them toward God. Some people wander into soul friendships, but for the most part it appears to me that people need to discern soul friendships. It's difficult enough to be authentic in a world that values shallowness, but to allow someone else in your life to be authentically themselves is also difficult. Soul friendships also value deep listening also called holy listening. It's part of being fully present with someone. Not trying to think about what you're going to say next, not thinking about your to do list, listening intently to the other is prayerful listening. I've spent a lot of time talking to God, and I've spent most of my time in seminary learning to listen for God. It's an active listening, but it's still prayerful/holy/deep listening. Soul friendships help tune your ears to listen for God and your eyes to look for God in your everyday lives. God pops up in some weird places. Like our friendships, we need to cultivate our relationship with God through holy/prayerful/deep listening.

Who in your life always points you back towards God?

Soul friends. If you don't have one, discern one.

In a Time of International Crisis

Prayer in a Time of International Crisis

Eternal God, our only hope,
our help in times of trouble:
show nations ways to work out differences.
Do not let threats multiply
or power be used without compassion.
May your will overrule human willfulness,
so that people may agree and settle claims peacefully.
Hold back those who are impulsive,
lest desire for vengeance overwhelm the world's common welfare.
Give us the courage to mourn with those who mourn
and the strength to turn our swords into plowshares.
Bless the people of every nation.
Bring peace to earth,
the peace preached and lived by Jesus of Nazareth,
who is called the Prince of Peace.
Send your Spirit,
that we may speak love in the language of every nation
once again.
Amen.

(Adapted from Book of Common Worship, Daily Prayer, p. 411)

Eastertide Reflection

Resurrection starts
with the cry of grief,
an empty place,
a familiar voice.
It's tiny...
like the fingers of a newborn.
Seemingly insignificant...
like the grain that lands in the clam's open mouth.
'Often overlooked...
like the leaf bud on the tree.
Christ has risen.
Waiting for us to take notice.
Christ has risen.
Waiting for us to respond.
Christ has risen.
Christ has risen indeed!

--Katherine Hawker (Liturgy Outside)

Eastertide is a good time to reset. Our time of confession is over; the time of assured grace is now. We worship without prayers of confession; we shout "alleluia!" Lilies abound. Black has given way to white. Christ has risen!

Today my friend Sara preached about living as Easter people. She asked us to fill in this sentence:
"Life is _______."
Most everyone responded with a variation on "Life is more complicated and difficult than it appears." Even the classic "Life is like a box of chocolate" gets to the heart of life's intrinsic complicated-ness. "You never know what you're going to get." Resurrection gives us a chance to open our eyes to new possibilities, new ways of dealing with complications of life. Life looks different in Eastertide. Lent is, in some ways, a time to look at ourselves individually and communally. Easter re-focuses us on the ultimate expression of love streaming from God in waterfalls of mercy. Eastertide keeps this focus as we go back to our 'normal' lives.

But is life really "normal" after Easter?