Harold Camping Prediction: December 2007

We're back!

Our Christmas celebration in Rochester was wonderful. Gracie is growing so much. When I finish my current roll of film, I'll post some pictures. We attended church with them Sunday. Sarah and Grace belong to an amazingly warm, wonderful community of faith. Here is the url to the church's website: http://www.messiahlutheranchurch.net/.

If you ever find yourself in Greece, NY, that's the church to visit. The new senior pastor, Pastor Eileen, remembered our names after just a brief chat before the service. She communed us by name. Even Sarah was amazed.

On a different train of thought, but not really, are we theologians of glory or theologians of the cross? Read this article by Jill Briscoe at Gifted for Leadership. You'll find it at: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/. It's a reminder we all need as God's people, no matter our vocation.

Peace!

Quiet Blog

Things will be quiet for the next few days until we return from Rochester. Have a blessed Christmas!

Today's Scripture Texts

Today's texts are so rich. It was difficult to decide what to meditate on. Here is the link to today's readings: http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=64520793.

I was really torn, but did lectio divina with Ezekiel 47:12, "On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

I meditated on the underlined portion, which brought many thoughts to mind, such as Psalm 1:3, "They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper," refering to the godly in Psalm 1.

So if we are being refreshed by God through Word and Sacrament, daily in his presence in prayer and the scriptures, receiving God's watering, we too can have fruitful lives that will be food and healing for the hungry and hurting.

Imonk does it again

Michael Spencer, the infamous Internet Monk or Imonk once again is cutting right to the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Please read "No Big Thing" at his blog. The url is http://www.internetmonk.com/.

You will not regret it.

Interner Monk and Advent

Read what Internet Monk has to say about Advent our need of a savior. http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/the-mood-of-advent-we-all-need-a-savior

Spiritual Reinvention

Yesterday, I read on the Lutheran Zephyr's blog (http://www.lutheranzephyr.com/main/) about a Journal of Lutheran Ethics article that is thought provoking. The title is "Spiritual Reinvention and the Andrew Greeley Principle." It is sobering, calling us to deeper relationship with the God who loves is. The link is: http://www.elca.org/jle/article.asp?k=769.

The Journey of Faith part 7

The Journey goes on forever and ever

Our journey with Christ does not end in a specific destination; it always continues in yet another direction. The spiritual journey is about taking a step, even when we are unsure where that will take us. An Hasid story asks the question, "When did the Red Sea part?" According to the Jewish storyteller, the waters separated not when Moses commanded them, not when he waved his staff over the waters. The waters parted when Moses put his feet in.

Faith is a journey that is often formed in our weakness. So it is right that we seek safe places to ask questions that lead us forward...questions about death, about life, about Jesus, about tragedy and pain.

This concept of journey as an on-going process was beautifully captured in a prayer attributed to Martin Luther sometime in the 16th Century:

This life is not one of righteousness,
but growth in righteousness.....
Not health, but becoming...not rest but exercise.
We are not yet what we should be, but we are growing toward it.
The process is not yet finished but it is going on.
This is not the end, but this is the road.
Everything does not yet gleam in glory, but everything is in
process of being purified. Amen.

This was taken from:
http://www.explorefaith.org/steppingstones_journey.htm
[28 November 2007]

A More Soulful Religion

There are many outside the church that see it/us as irrelevant. Take a look at what Sally Morgenthaler's thinking about it this regard. The url to her post is: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/2007/12/a_more_soulful_religion.html#more

Shifting Paradigms

Left-Hand Column Cases distinguish mental models from actual conversation. The Ladder of Inference show mental models formed if rungs are skipped. Both are tools “to uncover, test, and change your mental models and those of others” (Erickson, p. 8).

The Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia is my next stop after Regent; I thought. My confidence came from God’s past leadings. I deemed excellent public transportation essential for my husband. Preconceived notions came from trips up the Ladder of Inference.

The Left Hand Column Case applied when asked why I chose Philadelphia. My unspoken belief was Philadelphia was superior to Gettysburg. Some of the church’s best theologians and musicians taught at Philly. Gettysburg has two academic options: grades or pass/fail, making some doubt the academic standards. “Instinctively making sense of a situation is a valuable survival skill … this process of inference also describes the structure of prejudice and stereotyping” (Erickson, p. 8)

I will attend Gettysburg because I listened to Philadelphia’s then Director of Admissions who said to visit both schools. My husband said to choose what was right for me and he would adapt. I listened and God guided.

In Matthew 6 perceived piety and riches are compared to true ones. The left hand column needs aligning with the right. Ladder of Inference: data=needs, select data=God’s provision, the added meaning=God’s love, conclusion=seek God, have everything.

References

Erickson, R. Ladder of Inference. Unpublished paper, Regent University.

Holy Bible (2005). Today’s New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Trapped by Assumptions

Discuss how one who is certain that Matthew 12:30, John 14:6 and Revelation 3:15-19 are true might be able to "suspend their certainty" in order to dialog with one who holds that all religions point to the same God. This was the question presented to us and this is my answer. “We become trapped in the theater of our thoughts … losing touch with the larger reality …” (Senge, 2006, p. 225). Spiritual pride and arrogance further hinder honest communication. Laying aside attitudes of certainty and pride, truly listening to another, we are much more effective witnesses. Bohm’s step three is challenging when the conversation only involves two people, unless we listen to God’s voice through the Holy Spirit. “…the Father … will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth … you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you John 14:16-17 (Today’s New International Version). God does not need defending. Ministering to Muslim university students in the Holy Land taught me the validity of the above, which simply involves good listening skills, humility and openness to others. Initially, I prayed against the spirits binding Muslims when (five times a day!) I would hear the prayer call from the neighboring mosque. Six and a half years later, I was reminded to commune with God. Much can be learned from traditions that differ from ours. I no longer see the issue as paradoxical. God is faithful as we live incarnationally giving “the reason for the hope that [we] have ... with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3:15 (Today’s New International Version). Resources Senge, P. M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Currency Doubleday. Holy Bible (2005). Today's New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

The Journey of Faith 6

Prayers and readings

Here is a link to the lectionary readings and prayers for this week in preparation for the 2nd Sunday in Advent. It's from the Lutheran Zephyr blog.

The link is http://www.lutheranzephyr.com/main/2007/12/daily-prayer-ar.html

Suspending Assumptions

I don't know about anyone else, but I find it so easy to go into a situation with preconceived ideas, assumptions, what are called mental models in systems theory. Here's a short post about that.

Hold biblical assumptions suspended. Otherwise, you will be stuck in defense mode and not really hear what the other person is debating...listening to their contradictions to your beliefs, you may learn something new. Holding your assumptions… just means that you are exploring other possible meanings. (Stewart, 2007, Para 5)

Imagine…we could even be wrong in our assumptions and preconceptions. I blush when I consider my dogmatism of thirty years ago regarding truth and those issues/beliefs that determined who was in or out of God’s kingdom.

“In dialogue people actually feel as if they are building something, a new deeper understanding…Choosing to view adversaries as ‘colleagues with different views’ has the greatest benefits”(Senge, 2006, p. 228). Bridge building rather than wall building is a crucial tool. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35 (Today’s New International Version).

References

Holy Bible (2005). Today’s New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Senge, P. M. (2006). Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization (Rev. ed.). New York: Currency Doubleday.

Stewart, H. L. (2007, November 22). Suspending Assumptions. Retrieved November 27, 2007, from https://regent.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_42110_1

It's official!

Yesterday I received my letter of acceptance from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. I will begin Fall 2008 in the MDiv. program. Here is an aerial view of the campus that will be our future home.

Journey of Faith 5

Each fall for 15 years, up to 100 people gathered every Wednesday night at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, to explore the meaning of the Sacred Journey. Led by the Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, the participants in the class listened and talked about their own journey and the journey of others. The class affirmed the individual nature of each journey and each person's need to explore the questions that can shape their path. The people who journeyed together each fall learned about prayer, community, death and resurrection. They heard questions and reflections from others, and through them came to a better understanding of their own spiritual growth.

We have included an overview of the Journey material here in hopes that some of the ideas may help you on your own Spiritual path. The questions are meant for you to ask yourself and those traveling with you. Use those that are meaningful to you as guideposts, pointing down a road you may not yet have explored.

Prayer
Prayer is food for the journey. Many times we think of prayer as public prayer, and that makes us uncomfortable. Yet prayer can also be a deep and personal conversation with God. Prayer gives us time to acknowledge God's presence in and around us, to acknowledge our place in the world that God has created, and to stop and wait on Jesus. There are no experts on prayer, only beginners. It is not something we learn in a book, but something we must learn by doing over and over again...a practice we must adjust as our journey continues.

Prayer can be expressed in many forms. The starting point for our prayers may be simple one-liners; later we may progress to fuller conversations with God. Some people pray by facing a 'Jesus chair'...a chair where they can visualize Jesus sitting and listening to their deepest concerns. Other people organize prayers using the ACTS acrostic: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. Adoration is expressing our love for Jesus. Formulating prayers of adoration can be difficult and unfamiliar. If you have trouble expressing adoration, you might try referring to Psalms and hymns, which often contain the words to express our feelings.

While we understand the meaning of confession and thanksgiving, these may not be part of our prayers. When we pray, if we pray, we most likely say words of supplication. These are our petitions or requests to God to address our needs and to intercede on the behalf of others. Incorporating all of the elements of ACTS in our prayers provides a simple way to broaden our conversations with God.

Another form of prayer is repetitive prayer. The most common is the Lord's Prayer, which also contains all the elements of the ACTS acrostic. Other repetitive prayers include the Serenity Prayer from Alcoholics Anonymous—God grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference—and the Jesus Prayer—Lord, Jesus Christ have mercy on me, hasten to help me, rescue me and save me, do your will in my life. These are
prayers that can be committed to memory and repeated when we need food for the journey but just don't know how to be more specific.

The Journey of Faith part 4

Each fall for 15 years, up to 100 people gathered every Wednesday night at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, to explore the meaning of the Sacred Journey. Led by the Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, the participants in the class listened and talked about their own journey and the journey of others. The class affirmed the individual nature of each journey and each person's need to explore the questions that can shape their path. The people who journeyed together each fall learned about prayer, community, death and resurrection. They heard questions and reflections from others, and through them came to a better understanding of their own spiritual growth.

We have included an overview of the Journey material here in hopes that some of the ideas may help you on your own Spiritual path. The questions are meant for you to ask yourself and those traveling with you. Use those that are meaningful to you as guideposts, pointing down a road you may not yet have explored.

Journey with the Eternal Christ: Experiencing the post-Easter Jesus

In John 20:19-29, the risen Christ appears to the disciples, who are meeting behind locked doors.Thomas is absent then and doubts what the others have seen. A week later the disciples meet in the same place, and Jesus again stands among them. Thomas, now present, is able to touch the wounds of the risen Lord.

This scripture describes a 'sacramental moment' for Thomas. Sacraments are physical activities that help us experience the spiritual. Thomas touched the risen Jesus and immediately saw Jesus as the Christ. It is Thomas' Easter story....the wounded Jesus returns and Thomas is forever changed.

Sacramental moments are not limited to Biblical stories...we all have them, we just may not recognize them. Sometimes these sacramental moments are called 'thin places'; they're where the world of the spiritual and the world of the physical meet. Thin places may be what some call mountaintop experiences. These special moments of closeness to God can happen outdoors as we experience the grandeur of nature, or occur when we, like Thomas, have retreated to a closed room in fear.

Can you recall a sacramental moment or a thin place? It may be a moment frozen in your memory.Who was there? Can you remember the sounds, sights, smells? The key questions is how do we experience Christ today? One answer is that we experience Christ in these thin places.

Advent has begun! Online Advent Calendar

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the new church year. I have come across an online Advent calendar. This is the URL http://www.markdroberts.com/htmfiles/resources/adventpictures2007.htm.

"The people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned" (Mt 4:16).

Harold Camping Prediction