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December 09, 2010
A God Who Intervenes
Susie White
Elizabeth Edwards passed away this week, after a long battle with cancer. I watched a newsclip yesterday...a montage of interviews with her, taken over the past year or two. I cried.
I cried because I found her story poignant...sad, and yet not without hope. Part of my sadness was for Elizabeth, and the difficulties she faced in life that I have never faced...part of my sadness was for her family, and her children particularly...but more than these, my heart was saddened by how her journey had shaped her perspective of God.
In this interview, she said that the God "she has", had to change. She could no longer have a God who intervenes...though she held on to the idea of a God who saves. Perhaps the perspective is simply indicative of one who has moved beyond their hope for this life, and whose focus has moved to the power of God to save us in the life to come. I don't know...the interview provided a window to her soul of just a few moments...nothing of what it would require to truly know a person, or their heart...
Still...I found that her comments raised questions in me...questions about the God "I have"....is the God I have the same God that you have? Is our understanding of God simply the outcome of our experiences in life...our perception of whether he intervenes in our affairs, or does not? In certain Christian communities, it is not uncommon to hear this phrase: "The God of the Bible..."
And yet, more and more these days, various faith communities debate the Bible itself...how to read it, understand it, interpret it...and we can once again be left with more questions than answers. Who is the God of the Bible? Who is God? What does it mean that God intervenes in the lives of men, and does he?
I feel sure that the children, family and friends of Elizabeth Edwards are unhappy with the circumstances surrounding the end of her life...I was very unhappy with the end of my Mom's life...and yes, I experienced a crisis of my faith during those days...what use was it to pray to a God who would not intervene for my Mom? I relate to Elizabeth's perspective more than I might like to admit.
Still, under the layers of disappointment and loss, I sensed in Elizabeth Edwards a kind of hope that I can also relate to...a core belief that even when we don't feel we have a God who intervenes, we have a God who saves. And for me at least, the place I go for answers to the questions, Who is God and what is he like?....is scripture.
All through the scriptures, the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament, God is described as loving, compassionate, faithful to keep his promises, and full of goodness. The Psalmist says it more beautifully than I ever could:
"The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
I believe in a God who intervenes. I believe in the biggest intervention of all: I believe in the incarnation.
I believe in Advent....when Jesus came to dwell with us...God became a man, to show us how to live, and then to become that life in us...I believe in Advent when he comes into my life each day, in ways big and small...and I believe in the Advent that still remains...that he will come again in glory. Therefore, I proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
He intervenes, and he saves. And in this, we have hope.
Posted December 09, 2010
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December 07, 2010
Drawing pictures in the dirt...
Susie White
This might be a hard saying today, and where to begin...?
The Old Testament reading is from Isaiah 6, and is a quite well-known passage to those of us who have grown up in the Christian church...
"Woe is me, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!"
A modernized translation of Isaiah's lament? "I am a mess, and all the people I live with are a mess, and I'm in no condition to see or be seen by a holy and perfect God."
Likewise, I begin this blog with an acknowledgement: I am a mess. I am imperfect, broken, and rarely, if ever, live up to the version of myself that I would like to be. All of the people I live with, work with, go to church with...? They too are a mess...an imperfect, broken mess. They are rarely the people I wish they would be...or that they themselves would hope to be...and yet, here we are...all of us, living in the presence of a holy and perfect God.
What are we to do with such a vast disconnect? A chasm between the perfect and the imperfected?
Fast forward with me to the Gospel reading for today, found in the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John. The story? The woman caught in adultery, brought to Jesus by the religious leaders of that time...to be made an example of...to be stoned.
Perhaps you've read the story, or maybe not...either way, it wouldn't be hard to imagine a reaction of outrage. How dare those people! What barbarians they must have been! Perhaps you're even given to thinking, "I would never do such a thing!" Really?
Consider for a moment, Jesus' response to the crowd:
"But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, 'If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'"
Jesus did not say, "If any of you have not committed this same sin, let him be the first to throw a stone..." No. Please don't miss this, because it is so very important! He said:
"If any of you is w-i-t-h-o-u-t sin..." Any takers? There were none.
Unsurprisingly, the story ends with all of the accusers leaving the scene...not one person stayed...not one person threw a stone. Not one.
I heard a story today about religious leaders throwing stones...I became so angry upon hearing the story...I immediately picked up some stones (verbal ones) and started throwing. Woe is me, because I am a mess, and I live among a people who are a mess.
It seems to me that there's alot of stone throwing...inside the church, and outside the church. Except for one person. Did you notice? Jesus. He's not throwing any stones at all.
If he was here with us today, drawing pictures in the dirt...he would straighten up and say to us:
"If any of you is without sin, you go right ahead and throw those stones...you just go right ahead."
And I think...just maybe...we might have a moment of insight...we might realize that we're all a mess in our own individual way...and there might be alot less stone throwing.
Posted December 07, 2010
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December 07, 2010
When Christmas and Grief collide...
Susie White
As I read the scriptures for today, I found there wasn't anything that spoke to me...at least not in a way that would allow me to write a blog...I went to sleep in hopes that the morning would bring a new insight, a profound inspiration of some kind...nothing came.
This morning I have to take care of some legal issues involving the probate of my Mom's will, and this "errand" reminds me that I have one foot in the Christmas season, and one foot in the camp of the grieving. This is my first time to experience the holidays with the pain of such a loss so fresh on my emotions, but I know that people all around me are experiencing the collision of Christmas joy and personal grief, so it seems important to acknowledge the reality of it.
I attended a church service on Sunday evening, a "Hanging of the Green" service where Christmas wreaths are hung, and Christmas carols are played and sung. It was a wonderful evening, and yet I cried through much of it. The songs of Christmas that my Mom loved most, and the pastor's welcome comments that referenced families gathered around the piano to sing Christmas carols...both pulled open the door of my heart, and tears rolled out. I wouldn't change the fact that I went, or the fact that I cried for much of the evening...through the tears and sadness of missing my Mom I still found a deep sense of joy in the season, and in all the memories my Mom helped to create...
When grief comes, and especially when it comes at the holiday season, it is good to know that you don't have to choose grief over joy...or joy over grief...perhaps like the prophet Isaiah says about the Lion and the Lamb, grief and joy can lay down together...it is possible to honor both, to give voice to both.
If you're grieving a loss of any kind this season, be kind to yourself...give yourself time to heal and recover, and perhaps, if you're able to bear it, give space for a little bit of Christmas joy. Giving voice to your joy will in no way dishonor your grief...but it might soften the painful edges...which could be a good thing.
Posted December 07, 2010
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December 05, 2010
Running the race...
Susie White
I had the opportunity to work as a volunteer for the White Rock Marathon in Dallas yesterday morning. When we arrived at our "Water Station," they had hung a banner with one of my favorite scripture verses on it:
"Run with perserverance the race marked out for you." -Hebrews 12:1
Actually, the poster only included a partial quote of a short passage that I'd like to talk about, so I'll quote the entire thing here:
"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1-3
During the sermon in church, this Hebrews passage kept rolling around in my mind, and I started thinking about something I heard said on Saturday about transformation...when we talk about our lives being transformed for the better, it seems to me that we need to be clear about the distinction between what our head knows, and what our heart believes. The one is informative, the latter, transformative.... But what is the process of transformation? What does it look like and how does it happen to me?
The longer I pondered the questions, the more I found myself drawn back to the passage from Hebrews. Where do I have my sights focused, and what difference could that make, or does that make? In our spiritual life, we think in terms of "fixing our eyes" on the life to come...very much in keeping with the anticipation of Advent. The writer to the Hebrews said that Jesus ran the race, and endured the hardships...for the joy that was set before him. We need something to look forward to!
There is, I believe, a way to look for Jesus to come into our lives on a daily basis...so that we live every day as Advent...the anticipation of his coming. Even more than this, I cannot get my mind off the question of where my eyes are focused. In our physical experience, we know that where we look determines where we go. Whether you're walking, running, biking, or driving, you will inevitably move in the direction where your eyes are focused...if you look right, you will pull right...left, and likewise, you will move to your left...
In the same way, your spiritual life will pull in the direction of your focus...where you look determines where you will go. It's not for me to say which direction any of you should go, or not go...but I'd like to share one last thing for your consideration...an idea that I read on a friend's blog last week, and that has made an impression on my daily thoughts and decisions
during the past few days:
If repeated 365 days in a row, will the decisions I make today take me where I want to go?
Decisions...little ones, big ones...all of them...and, our focus of attention...left, right or center...both are taking us somewhere...in a specific direction.
We have an incredible opportunity...each of us individually, to spend the next three weeks evaluating the current direction of our focus. We can also give thought to the seemingly small and insignificant choices that we are making on a daily basis...and we can evaluate both in the light of a brand new year. 365 freshly minted days will soon become available to us...days onto which we can fashion the life that we want to live in 2011. I leave to you then, the question: which direction do you want to go?
If repeated 365 days in a row, will the decisions I make today take me where I want to go? Posted December 05, 2010
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December 05, 2010
Red light....green light!
Susie White
Do you remember the game "Red light...green light.."? I was thinking about it as I put my thoughts together for today's blog. I heard a speaker talk about red lights at a conference today, and it put this idea in my head about my somewhat checkered history with traffic lights.
For some...a yellow light signals the need for caution...to slow down...prepare to stop. For others however, myself included, a yellow light usually means hurry, don't let the red light catch you! Red lights are a burr in my saddle...they slow me down...keep me from where I want to go...they are, in a word: annoying!
I have a very dear friend who has listened to me gripe about red lights for more than 25 years...and has patiently endured my lectures on how to get from "Point A" to "Point B" faster, and more efficiently. She laughs at my obsession with saving 10 seconds here, or 20 seconds there...and she is right to laugh...if I was forced to give a full account of why it is so important to save 10 seconds on my way to Wal-Mart, I feel sure that my rationale would be lacking, if not completely ridiculous.
Why am I in such a hurry? I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I heard something today that might be a help...
What if we began to see every red light around town as a metaphor for those moments in life when we need to stop long enough to learn something? If you run the light, as I'm often inclined to do, you miss the lesson that is found in the waiting. Perhaps there is a specific lesson to be learned in your life, or in mine...or perhaps the lesson to be learned is the act of waiting itself. I don't wait well...do you? I have much to learn in this department, and if this simple lesson about traffic lights can help me develop my capacity to wait, it will have been worth the effort.
When next you see a yellow light, welcome the event as an opportunity for spiritual practice! Be intentional about slowing down...preparing to stop...and wait. And while you're waiting, meditate on this thought:
The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Posted December 05, 2010
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December 04, 2010
Clackers and kites and other fun things...
Susie White
When I was still a child...simple at heart...here are some things I loved to do:
I loved 'clackers'. They were glass balls, hanging on a piece of heavy string (mine were purple glass)...and you 'clacked' them together. I don't even know how to explain them to you, but if you know what they are...you know what I mean. My Mom disliked my clackers...alot! They were noisy...and in her opinion, unsafe.
I loved to fly kites...my favorite were called "bat kites," and I guess you can probably figure out what they looked like, without a long description. Kites are fun...adults should fly kites more often, I think.
I loved to play kickball, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, ping-pong, billiards (pool), 4-square, tetherball...do you detect a theme? If the game involved an orb (or pigskin)that I could hit, throw, kick or otherwise play with in some manner, I loved it. I still do, and I try to play as often as I can...how about you? Are you still playing games that you love? Just wondering...
I loved to play with dolls, and Barbies, and stuffed animals, and Hot Wheels. Yes, I said Hot Wheels. MatchBox Cars were okay, but Hot Wheels! Hot Wheels were way cool! They came with bright orange race tracks, and my brother and I used to have sword fights with the pieces of track...very fun!
It's that time of year again. Is anyone else old enough to remember going through the Sears catalogue at Christmas, in order to make your list for Santa? What fun! The imagination can just run wild with all the possibilities of what Santa might bring...and an imagination run wild can be a very good thing.
How is your imagination doing these days? Do you cultivate it? Not too long ago, I was encouraged to make a 'vision board.' This involves buying a $0.39 piece of poster board (maybe it costs more than $0.39 these days, I don't know for sure)...getting together some magazines, and then cutting out pictures and words that depict what you'd like your life to look like...and pasting them to the board. I used an Elmer's glue stick...not the same as the Elmer's glue we used as kids, but it works!
Creating a vision board is an excellent exercise, in my humble opinion! There is no end of possibilities for how you can select words and phrases to create the message you want for your life...and the pictures...all kinds of pictures! It is so much fun...I highly recommend it!
My vision boards (I've made 2 of them recently) contain pictures and words and phrases that inspire me, make me laugh, and give me a vision of the future I want to live. You might think I'm being silly, and to be honest, I'm just a tad nervous that you will think I'm silly...but I'll share a few things from my vision board that have inspired me...maybe you'll be inspired to make your own vision board!
"Discover your inner tango." This is one of my favorites...and it can mean whatever I want it to mean, so don't ask!
"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or a day, or an hour, or a year, but eventually it subsides and something else takes its place. If you quit however, it lasts forever." -Lance Armstrong
I don't know what you think of Lance Armstrong, but I'll say this about him - he's been through cancer that was in at least 4 of his body systems/organs, so as far as I'm concerned, he gets to say something to me about dealing with pain...and about never quitting...life is hard sometimes, but don't quit! The pain, whatever it is...eventually subsides, and something else takes its place...so keep hanging on, even when things are hard.
"It's never too late to make a difference." This is my life theme right now. I write blogs to make a difference. So far, I know for certain that I have made a difference in the life of exactly oneperson...and that's enough!
The main thing to remember...for me...for you...it's never too late to make a difference. You matter. You're making a difference for someone, somehow...somewhere. Be inspired by this all important truth - you matter.
If you've read this far, you might think I skipped the readings from the Daily Office today...but you'd be wrong about that! I read all of the passages, and this one in Psalm 116 spoke to me...about how God loves me...the childlike me...and of course, he loves the childlike you as well!
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Don't ever lose touch with the simple, childlike part of your heart...remember the things you loved to do as a child...remember what it feels like to enjoy unbridled imagination...and sometime soon, invest a few bucks and a few hours of your time, and make a vision board for your life in the new year! If you make one, I'd like to hear about it...and see it. It's fun! Posted December 04, 2010
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December 03, 2010
Let all the earth keep silence...
Susie White
Have you ever flown at night? Whenever I have an opportunity to fly at night, I always try to get a window seat. As I gaze out the window of the plane, there is nothing but black and quiet...the later at night the flight, the better...It is as if no one is on the plane with me, and I am the only person alive in the world. I find that I love the quiet...the stillness...the sense of infinity that comes in a black night sky...I always sense the presence of God in the vast expanse, and no words are ever necessary.
In contemplative practice, we are encouraged to sit...in complete silence and stillness. The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk said this:
The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him.
We Americans don't do silence particularly well, I'm afraid. We are talking and texting, and ever multi-tasking...and even during one of the holiest seasons of the year, it is especially difficult to stop moving...to stop our planning and preparing...to cease our shopping and our baking and our candle-stick making...
I have an idea..a spiritual practice for us to try during Advent. Let's decide right now...today, that before the season has ended, we will, each one of us...take time, a few short minutes, and intentionally sit quietly in the dark. Plan the time...set it aside...bring a candle...just one candle...sit still, in silence...and then light the candle.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
In the quiet...tune your heart to anticipate his coming.
Posted December 03, 2010
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December 02, 2010
Drawn out of Deep Waters
Susie White
There is something both invigorating and daunting about the idea of writing a blog in response to daily scripture readings. I've said this before, but it bears repeating...when you commit to writing a response without knowing what the scripture will say on any given day, it is a risky and vulnerable venture!
I wanted very much to feel "led" to write a response to the reading from the Gospel of Luke, or to a reading in Hebrews, or 1 Thessalonians...but I found myself drawn to this passage in Psalm 18, and it is my sincere hope that what I share will be an encouragement to someone who needs to hear these words today...
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
This passage paints a poetic and vivid image of my personal experiences of loss over this past summer. I hesitate to share, because it is so deeply personal, and perhaps not worthy of the festive nature of the Advent season...and yet I feel compelled by the thought that someone...somewhere...will read this blog, and be comforted by the story, and by the promise of God's care in the midst of painful times.
During the span of just a few short weeks this summer, I lost the relationship that was my most cherished treasure, and my Mother passed away after a long illness and series of hospitalizations. I was, in every way I know how to describe or say, drowning in very deep waters of sadness. As I read the psalmist's poem today, I immediately and instinctively knew the names of my enemies, the foes who were too strong for me in the day of my disaster...they were hurt and despair and fear...they were hopelessness and anger and unbelief. They were, all of them, too strong for me.
And yet, I can say with the psalmist, He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me...
In his love, God rescued me and brought me to a spacious place. As the words of an old hymn say, "sometimes a light surprises!" He did this because he delights in me...not because I've done something to earn it or deserve it...but just because he loves, and I am the object of his love.
Life is full of twists and turns...of joy and sorrow...of pain and ecstasy, and unexpected loss. And through it all, the great God of the universe reaches down to us...as it says in the Gospel of John, he became flesh and came to live with us. He reaches for me, and he reaches for you.
Perhaps today you need him to reach for you...to take hold of you and draw you out of deep waters...I do not know your foes...the enemies that are too strong for you...but I know the God who reaches down. If you are in deep waters today, know that his arm is not too short to save...he can bring you to a spacious place, and he will...he will because he loves you, and because he delights in you too.
Posted December 02, 2010
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December 01, 2010
Living in the Now and in the Not Yet
Susie White
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6
Prince of Peace...one of my favorite titles for Jesus. Even hearing the word "peace" makes me feel better...calmer...more settled on the inside. In Hebrew, the word for peace, "shalom," doesn't necessarily mean the absence of conflict. Again and again, as I read about the word and its meaning, I was struck by a recurring theme: wholeness.
To be whole is to be well, to be complete and undivided in heart and soul, as well as in our health and relationships. Wholeness bespeaks a condition where we lack nothing, having the quality of being finished. When we use the greeting, "Peace to you," these are the ideas that we convey to one another. I wish for you health, and that your heart, mind and soul be whole and complete.
We live in a fractured world, and many of us today are living fractured lives...lives that feel unfinished, broken, and incomplete. And yet, in this Advent season, the Prince of Peace comes to us and offers his wholeness. With him present in our broken world, we can say with the hymn writer, "It is well with my soul." Do you feel it now? This wellness, this sense of peace and wholeness? I do on some days, and then on other days it seems a distant dream...a wish that lies just beyond my grasp.
This is the nature of living in the now, and in the not yet. As we've said before, we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace at his birth...we anticipate his coming into our lives in the here and now, and we look forward to his coming again in glory. We are, in a very real sense, caught betwixt and between...in the mystery of what is, and what is not yet. Jesus himself spoke often of the Kingdom of God...and said it was both here now, and coming in the future.
The kingdom process reminds me of the planting of a seed. We plant a seed in the ground, water it...and wait. Somehow, in a process that we cannot fully see or understand, the seed becomes plant...it grows tall and strong, and eventually bears fruit. Likewise, God has come among us...a seed planted in our world, and planted in our hearts. It is the seed of peace that grows within us today...we cannot comprehend how it works...we cannot dissect the mystery of faith, but we anticipate the tree of life it will become, whose fruit in us is peace.
Peace to you this day.
Posted December 01, 2010
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November 30, 2010
Who's your Daddy?
Susie White
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
- Psalm 100:3
If you happen to be from a faith tradition that differs from Christianity, or perhaps you come from a tradition of having no particular faith at all, you might not enjoy today's blog...though I hope that at minimum, you might find it interesting.
While reading today's scripture lessons, I found that I wanted to write about several different ideas...my decision to write about sheep was partly influenced by the spiritual lessons, and partly because I found the subject-matter entertaining! I hope you'll be likewise entertained.
I did a bit of internet research on the subject of sheep, and wanted to share some helpful insights with you, in the unlikely event that you find yourself raising sheep at some point in your future...
"Why Raising Sheep is Fun"
1. Your lamb will recognize you and know its feeding time when she sees you.
2. Walking a lamb every day after school can be relaxing.
3. Keeping yourself dry while washing a lamb is impossible.
4. Wet sheep smell like wet wool.
This is "must know" information, so be sure to keep it handy for future reference!
On a spiritual note, sheep have much to teach us, and it is not by accident that the scripture is full of verses that describe us as "the sheep of his pasture."
Sheep, like humans, are often fearful and easily panicked. Among livestock animals, sheep require the most care and protection. They are vulnerable to fear, and to frustration. Sheep are also vulnerable to mob psychology, and it takes very little to spur them into a stampede. Like us, sheep can be perversely stubborn, insisting upon going their own way, even when it means doing harm to themselves.
It's possible, I suppose, that you are reading this list, thinking, "I don't relate to any of those characteristics...", and if that's true, I say "Bravo for you!" I relate to pretty much everything on the list, and then some. Sheep are also creatures of habit, and prone to getting into a "rut." They are easily "cast" (flipped over on their back), and unable to right themselves without help from the shepherd.
The good news, for us, and for the sheep, is that sheep always recognize the voice of their shepherd, and the shepherd is always the most calming influence on a sheep. God calls us "his sheep"...and he says it often. Jesus described himself as the shepherd.
This Advent...listen for the shepherd's voice. You'll recognize him when he speaks to you.
Posted November 30, 2010
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