The unsettling start of goodbyes

Raclette - 2 grills and bowls of food!

I've spent the weekend on retreat with ministry peers. I didn't turn on my phone until I was on the way home. I have someone else's pictures.

We rested, listened for God's voice, and shared our dreams and hopes in ministry, as well as challenges.

We started the weekend with Friday supper: Raclette (photo). It's a Swiss invention, where food is grilled at the table; under the grill little dishes hold cheese melting over potatoes. We took our time meeting each other, getting settled, and relaxing.

Beth Backus maintains a home for an absentee owner. The setting is gorgeous, a modern house dropped into 7 acres of woodland and lawns. Beth has permission to use the house for ministry retreats. She dreams of drawing weary ministers away from their hectic lives for a time of refreshing.

Four of us on her ministry team helped lay out the weekend. Beth invited Karen Porter and Amy to our inaugural weekend. God met us during intentional hours in community. We also spent 3 hours of solitude without electronics! listening to God's voice.

Beth cooked breakfast crepes and her husband prepared a delicious Italian feast in the evening. Karen led in worship with her guitar. We enjoyed Kim Martinez's soup for two lunches.

This morning we celebrated communion. Vicki Judd prepared unleavened bread dough. She showed us how to roll out (crush) the dough. Then we used a fork to outline (pierce) pictures on it.

After the hot bread came out of the oven, we sat down at the table. Each woman shared the symbols on her bread, tore off pieces to share, and then led us in the memorial: "This bread is my body, broken for you. This cup is my blood, shed for you." We ate and drank together each time, relishing the beauty of what we've learned about Christ's sacrifice.

I carpooled home with my friend Kim, then walked into a full house. My husband and our kids were near the entry, wrapping up their birthday party lunch with Waldemar. Two strangers were finishing a set-up in our former dining room: they'd moved our pool table from the basement. (The big round dining table now lives in the family room.)

The new pool room

I'm okay on the outside, but my heart hurts as my house is disassembled. W's finishing out the basement after we return from summer ministry. I'm glad that the kids want to keep our commercial pool table. Plus, we need the space downstairs for our bedroom/living area.

This last week God has made very clear that this is no longer our house. The kids will move in this fall. As we sort what we are selling, giving away, and keeping, the house is in chaos. W's moving things from the basement, his office, and the attic. After class each day, I come home to great progress ... and piles and boxes in the entry and living areas.

I'm a visual person who lives and breathes in spaces. I'm excited to design and furnish the new space. It will be basic and utilitarian, a stopping place for less than a year and later for short furloughs. We don't have money to waste on fancy finishes. However, the process exhausts me, as beloved pieces drift from where they have lived out the door, into other homes. The stuff we're keeping is stuck amid the disorder until the basement is done.

The summer house-sitter comes Friday, when we leave for mission training and our summer assignment in Singapore. I'll leave the craziness behind with relief. For now, each time I walk through the house my heart feels unsettled, mourning the start of goodbyes. This is only the beginning of downsizing and moving away.

I know all the theology. "Life is temporary; this world is not our home."  As I talk to Jesus, I'm asking for a heart that matches what my head knows.

He's the center of everything, and when the cloud or the fire of his Presense moves, we are happiest when we follow. That doesn't mean it's easy.

Read more:
*The heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever. Isaiah 51:6 NLT

*His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. Micah 5:4 NIV

*Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11 NLT

*John wrote: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Revelation 21:3 (NIV)

Moravian Prayer: Lord of all, we recognize every day that Jesus Christ, your Son, is Lord of all. You are ever-present and ever-loving. We are forever grateful.

O God, our God, how grateful we are that you are here among us, dwelling with us, abiding with us, through triumph and turmoil. This world is temporary; our salvation is forever. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Lent Day 38: Almost there

At this point in Passion week, Jesus knows he's headed for the cross. He has another day. What will he tell his disciples? How will he say good-bye and see you again? What kind of organization will he set up so his followers stay on track in the Kingdom of God?

The final chapters of John summarize the interactions between Jesus and his disciples. How tender he is! How grace-filled. Even Judas seems to have the chance to change his course ... until he commits to betrayal.

There's no frantic micromanagement in Jesus' last days before the cross. No: "Let's get this perfect, guys! We're making history here, so let me make sure everything is A-1 for the Passover performance. Hey, you sit there. ... Hmmm, I think we should have a blue towel, not the one the host brought..." (You get the picture.)

Sometimes we fuss over details because the outcome and the moment is so special. What if we took Jesus cue of being fully present, reviewing what we know about God (His life-giving grace and goodness), while preparing others for challenges and difficulties. Jesus acknowledged (warned of) failure, abandonment, and broken trust. But he didn't attack or demean Peter or Judas or the disciples. After all, he was going to the cross for their brokenness and weaknesses, alongside everyone else's.

When I'm tempted to huff and puff, to stress out, and to juggle details so I can control the presentation, I need to remember the "in-the-moment, with-you-always" Jesus. Eating. Drinking. Communing. Teaching. Loving. Praying.

• with death on the horizon
• with the cross at the end of the path
• with the pretense of "all is well" by those around him
• with his reputation about to shatter through accusations by hateful leaders

 "For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross," wrote an early Christian (Hebr. 12:2).

What joy would help you to endure what is before you this week? This season? This year?

Read more:
*If the godly give in to the wicked, it's like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring. Proverbs 25:26 NLT

*The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Psalm 50:1 NLT

*Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV

*See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking. Hebrews 12:25 NLT

Moravian Prayer: God of light, promise, and hope, may we hear your voice calling us again, as if for the first time. May the stories of this holy week dare us to take part anew in the unfolding drama of your love. Amen.

Myths and Fables vs. true religion

Hindu offering

When did you last marvel at the direction spirituality has taken in the West? For me, it was this morning.

I opened an email from Mother Earth News, offering a free viewing of a film, titled “I Am.” Its caption: “What if the solution to the world’s problems was right in front of us all along? Everyone needs to see this film!” And below, a quote from Buddha: “Be a light unto yourself.” The film was produced for Gaiam TV, a Hindu-based (yoga) network.

The questions filmmaker Tom Shadyac asks: “What’s wrong with the world? And what can we do to fix it?”

Buddhist art

I’m bemused when I hear accusations that Christianity is only myths and fables. There’s more archaeological evidence for the historicity of – and more manuscripts of – biblical writings than any other historical documents of the time. Yet where are the scholars who are tearing into the Koran, Hindu writings, or Buddhist scripts with presumptions that they are forgeries, made-up tales of lunatic writers, or historically inaccurate. Why attack the Bible so fiercely?

Religion is humanity’s attempt to please God or the gods by doing something. Sacrifices, pilgrimages, prayers, and rituals are part of systems responding to the Unseen, appeasing the gods, or winning favor.

Torah scroll

The Creator understood our human need to express devotion and attention, to make appeals and requests, and to understand our surroundings. Books 2-5 of Moses (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) explained to Israelites – uneducated, raw from slavery and oppression, and being shaped by I AM into a innovative culture of blessing to the world – how God could be approached. The laws and rituals realigned them from pagan idolatry to the Creator’s nature of lovingkindness, goodness, and justice.

Alternative "medicine"

But we hate being told what to do! It’s easier to:

·      walk on a bed of nails

·      breathe in and out contemplatively, thinking only of the current moment, blocking out our sins or suffering

·      deprive oneself of pleasures in a monastery

·      endure hunger, heat, and cold in the name of self-actualization

·      devise strict systems of discipline in eating, exercise, and meditation

·      focus on self as the center of the universe and the solution for world peace, environmental care, self-love, or whatever the faddish focus

·      slavishly follow a charismatic guru with wise-sounding philosophies

·      chip off part of God’s Truth and manipulate until it twists and warps to fit us rather than molds our nature to please God …

… than it is to do as God has told us.

The Ten Commandments

God hasn’t suggested inner happiness and wholeness. Instead, he’s laid out for us exactly what it would take to achieve those things. Hard things, that cut to the core of our motivation, like:

·      honor God, not only with words but with actions, with our time and wealth, with our energy and devotion

·      become friends to the poor and needy and help them bear their burdens

·      love others as we love ourselves

·      meditate on God’s Word and let it shape our lives

·      pray, fast, and do other spiritual disciplines as alignment with God rather than as self-discipline and self-promotion

·      be thankful for what God has given us: the husband/wife/single life, the family, the possessions, the job, the ---

·      keep ourselves free from unforgiveness and jealousy so that our relationships are sweet rather than bitter

These things require self-renouncement without external praise or affirmation from others. They happen between us and God. And God judges the heart, knowing how sincere our motivation and how much integrity we have.

DIY - or not ...

Ugh. There’s no faking it with God, so we’d rather turn away from our shame and failings to devise our own systems of right-ness. We feel better when we can attain some goodness without accountability. We prefer “DIY” checklists rather than exposure to God’s searchlight of perfection and his solution of Christ as Savior, Benefactor, and PeaceMaker.

Because of this, complicated myths and fables arise in cultures, becoming systems of worship and self-protection against spiritual beings. Anthropologists record many stories of the Flood, tales of Father and Son gods who save their people, and rules upon rules of behavior that mimic the Ten Commandments. Our first parents knew the stories and passed them down, interwoven with human worship systems.

Muslim pilgrims

Why are religious counterfeits still so compelling and enduring today? Why am I reading nonsense from Mother Earth News promoting self-idolatry? Because we instinctively know God’s ways. In Self-preservation, we reject the laws he has written on our conscience and refuse guidance by his Holy Spirit.

Rebuffing his good direction has always brought deceit and religiosity … without life. It has killed us from the inside out: entire cultures become cruel and self-seeking. We are able to do things so vile – in the name of religion – that other humans shudder in disbelief. Sacrifice of children to ensure the harvest, maiming the innocent for temple worship, mass slaughter of those who disagree with our beliefs. Unthinkable. It’s been going on since humanity’s rebellion against God’s prescription, “Do not eat of this one fruit, because it will kill you.”

To those seeking self-actualization through guided meditation or physical movement, harmony through good works and positive thoughts, or self-medicating with the jewels of materialism, remember that we’re not inventive. Idols have always appealed to more people than the terror, accountability, and overwhelming awe of a relationship with the Living God.

Accepting the sacrifice; telling the Story

Today, we may choose again – for or against Him, but only on His terms.

Achieving a true flow or “harmony” with the Creator’s purposes (glory to God, peace on earth, and goodwill toward humanity) will cost us everything. Our pride. Our self-will. Ownership of anything. Human systems of religious accomplishment and recognition. It will even cost some of us our lives, today or in the future.

But what we win, what we win! Life, inner peace, joy, Love, kindness, goodness, self-control, friendship with God, integrity, and wholeness.

What is that kind of a life worth to you?

Read more:

* Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

*If you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord. Jeremiah 29:13-14

*Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:4-5

Moravian Prayer: O Lord, sometimes it is difficult to hear your voice amid the everyday noise and distractions of our lives. Pause our lives, if only for an instant, to let us hear you clearly and know that you are still with us. Amen.