Let Your Life Speak Chapter 6 Summary

Let Your Life Speak
By Parker Palmer
Chapter 6 There is A Season

The book concludes with a metaphor. The reader is walked through the four seasons and shown how  the ebb and flow of the human experience is similar in many ways to the cycles occurring every day in nature. "The notion that our lives are like the eternal cycle of the seasons does not deny the struggle or the joy, the loss or the gain, the darkness or the light, but encourages us to embrace it all and to find in all of it opportunists for growth.." (pg96) Few metaphors provide so much insight into the journey that humanity is on, as the seasons. In our modern day we like to think of things in terms of manufacturing, raw materials, production schedules and investment/return. Reminding ourselves that humans grow not merely as individuals but as communities is essential. Humans can't be taken apart and reassembled like legos. Societies and cultures can't simply be unmade and built back up with the same materials. One government can't simply instill a political ideology in another group of people as the USSR learned twenty years ago and the United States is still not learning today.

"We need to challenge and reform these distortions of culture and ego - reform them toward ways of thinking and doing and being that are rooted in respect for the living ecology of life. Unlike 'raw materials" on which we make all the demands, this ecology makes demands on us even as it sustains our lives. we are here not only to transform the world but also to be transformed." (pg97)

Autumn is a season of great beauty but it also a season of decline. The peculiar emotion of autumn is that of the sunset radiance descending into darkness. The majesty of the forest robed in gold is haunted by the darkening days and the chilly nights. This paradox is necessary as all true paradoxes are. Just as the lion will lie down the lamb so does the virliance embrace the darkness for the benefit of all. It is those who fear the darkness of impending winter who miss most of falls splendor. "When we so fear the dark that we demand light around the clock, there can be only one result; artificial light that is glaring and graceless and beyond its borders is a darkness that grows even more terrifying as we try to hold it off." (pg100) The principle is true throughout human experience. Those who demand pleasure at any cost will not only have a cheap unsatisfying pleasure but will be completely incapable of handling life's necessary pains.

Winter is one such necessary pain, a system restart, a recuperation, "a reminder that times of dormancy and deep rest are essential to all living beings." (pg101) Winter sets a bar and the strong jump over and endure while the weak complain and pass away. "Our inward winters take many forms - failures, betrayal, depression, death....'The winter will drive you crazy until you learn to get out into them.' Until we enter boldly into the fear we most want to avoid, those fears will dominate our lives." Such is Winter's lesson

Spring is autumns counter. First its ugly with mud and muck and wet and moist, then it's glorious. and triumphantly jubilant. As the flowers and the trees burst forth into bloom and excitement seems to exude from nature's every facet we are reminded that sometimes life should be celebrated. "life is not always to be measured and meted as winter compels us to do but to be spent from time to time in a riot of color and growth." (pg104) So we have parties and we dance and invent things like trifles. Imagine the oak tree that won't produce acorns for fear that the squirrels will eat them or the flower that doesn't make pollen because of bees. Those plants will die and Spring would be drab. "if we want to save our lives, we cannot cling to them but must spend them with abandon." (pg105)

Summer is the life that was born from winters womb. "Here is a summer time truth: abundance is a communal act, the joint creation of an incredible complex ecology in which each part functions on behalf of the whole and in return is sustained by the whole." (pg108)  So to think of ourselves simply as an individual, or an individual in communication with God would not tell us who we are. There is so much more in this universe than God and me and it is to my determent when I cut myself off from those other aspects of creation for I was made for them and they were made for me just as God makes me for himself.

Rising To The Call and Let Your Life Speak Chapter 5 Summary.

Rising To The Call
Os Guinness
Chapter 5, Dreamers of the Day

Rising To The Call culminates with an encouragement to utilize human creativity. Os Guinness defines two types of dreamers. The one that indulges in impossible fantasies who are far too common in every era. The other is the human who takes what they know and uses that as a foundation for a better future. He separates these two types of people by describing them as dreamers of the night and dreamers of the day. "Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible." (pg84)
     Everybody has dreams and hopes for the future. Most are impractical unrealistic results of an idle intellect. However, the man or women who is willing to submit their intellect and imagination to Jesus Christ will find that their passions cease to long after castles in the sky, instead the Holy Spirit nurtures in them holy aspirations in which the Kingdom of God is expanded and God's name is glorified on earth as it is in heaven.
     Humans are proud creatures and we like to interact with God on our terms. We give to Him out of our wealth and serve Him out of our time. Instead of realizing that both time and wealth are already His and humans are stewards only. St Francis was once approached by a knight desiring to join him. St Francis responded? Long enough hast though borne the belt, the sword, and the spurs! The time has now come for you to change the belt for a rope, the sword for the Cross of Jesus Christ, the spurs for the dust and the dirt of the road. Follow me and will make you a knight in the army of Christ!"
     Answering the call of Christ does not mean coming to God with our dreams of being great and asking God to give us His power so our dreams can be fulfilled. The knight in the story wanted to be a godly knight. He wanted the stamp of divine favor simply to bless his knighthood. To answer the Call of Christ is to put aside ourselves, and our hopes for what we will be. Let Christ be the potter that shapes your life and the substance which fills and overflows to the world around us. This is what means to answer God's call and walk in the way of the cross.

Let Your Life Speak
by Parker Palmer
Chapter 5 Leading From Within

      Parker Palmer spends his fifth chapter discussing leadership. Leadership is not for some but for all Christians. To varying extents and in various fashions our relationship to God necessitates guiding other people into relationships with God, either directly via discipleship and preaching or indirectly via prayers and setting a good example. The difficulty with leadership is the focus that is placed outside of ourselves. To be a leader requires paying attention to other people and the more we pay attention to other people the harder is it to take care of ourselves.
      Palmer spends this chapter emphasizing the point that the best leader, therefore the best Christian is someone who leads from within. "if people skimp on their inner work, their outer work will suffer as well...we could spread the word that inner work though it is deeply personal matter is not necessarily a private matter: inner work can be helped along in community.
     So the chapter concludes with two powerful takeaways for today's believer. First, if we want to be successful we have to work form the inside out. Second,, we mustn't be afraid to involve other people in that process. America is a tough place to be ourselves in because so much of the cultural expectations are based on appearances. However,  if it is our intent to pursue genuine godliness we must kick this tendency of our culture and be willing to do life together for the sake of our ability to do God's will and be authentic believers in this age so fraught with half men and shadows of truth. 

Rising To The Call and Let Your Life Speak Chapter 4 Summary.

Rising To The Call
by Os Guinness
Chapter 4, Audience of One

The chapters intros with the famous story of Andrew Carnegie's grand entrance into his hometown of Dunfermline.  Carnegie marched through his life with gusto to the beat of his own drum. He's famous for quoting, "Thine own reproach alone do fear" (pg66) Guinness continues "The question is not whether we have an audience but which we have." (pg68) Most people live for the applause of their peers. Many of the worlds greatest lived for their own applause. What people don't realize is that they have the opportunity to decide which audience they are going to please. The first step in this process is realizing that an individual can't please everyone or meet all expectations thus necessitating a choice. Those who fail to make this choice end up pleasing no one, not even themselves and fall into failure.
      We know whose applause we live for by recognizing who can hurt us. Winston Churchill was once insulted by a member of parliament. His response was, "If I respected him, I would care about his opinion. But I don't, so I don't." Churchill knew he was right and didn't give two cents for the opinion for someone who was standing between him and his objective. He had chosen to base his self evaluation on something different then the opinion of a random parliamentarian.
      Throughout life individuals tend to change who they center their lives around. Parents, friends, role models, celebrities, deities, fictional characters all come and go as audiences we perform for. What is always learned too late is that only deity's are worth living for. If we are created for a purpose and if we don't know our purpose then our life must be centered around the creator of that purpose. The General Charles Gordon said, "The more one sees of life, the more one feels, in order to keep from shipwreck, the necessity of steering by the Polar Star, i.e in a word cleave to God alone, and never pay attention to the favors or smiles of man; if He smiles on you, neither the smile or frown of men can affect you." (pg76)
      Using all these historical examples Guinness is trying to illustrate first, that humans live for applause and second that the only applause worth living for is that of God Almighty. It's pretty straightforward lesson flavored by the quotes and stories of real people.


Let Your Life Speak
by Parker J. Palmer
Chapter 4 All the Way Down

Palmer intros his chapter by quoting Dantes intro to his Inferno.

"Midway on life's journey, I found myself

In dark woods, the right way lost. To Tell

About those woods is hard - so tangled and rough

And savage that thinking of it now. I feel

The old fear stirring death is hardly more bitter.

And yet to treat the good I found there as well.

I'll tell what I saw...." (pg 56)

Everything in the next sixteen pages is already here just more wordy and less eloquent. Parker Palmer had a mid life crisis in which he fell into serious depression. He was down in the dark woods and had lost his way.  The "good" that he found in those dark woods of depression was Thomas Merton's "true self" The image of God in man. "It is the self planted in us by God who made us in God's own image- the self that wants nothing more, or less, than for us to be who we were create to be. True self is true friend. One ignores or rejects such friendship only at one's peril."(pg69) It is of note that the "Life" in Palmer's title is this true self. When he writes about letting your life speak to you, he's not providing license for following any passion that might seem appealing. So his chapter ends positively with the reality that not even the Valley of the Shadow of Death is a dead end provided we have the right guide. 

Rising To The Call and Let Your Life Speak Chapter 3 Summary.

Rising To The Call
by Os Guinness
Chapter 3, Do What You Are?

     Os Guinness opens his chapter with a short story of violinist Yehudi Menuhin He uses the famed musician's story to illustrate the principle that, "God normally calls us along the lines of our giftedness, but the purpose of giftedness is stewardship and service, not selfishness."  (pg45) The idea is that God creates humanity. Then He equips individuals with certain abilities so that they can share those abilities with others. Therefore a calling is not limited to how one generates an income. Calling has to do with discerning who God created you to be and living into those perimeters. "Instead of, 'you are what you do,' calling says: 'Do what you are."' (pg. 47) Who we are has to do with what God created us to be which brings us back to the gifts God gives us. "In the biblical understanding of giftedness, gifts are never really ours or for ourselves. We have nothing that was not given us. Our gifts are ultimately God's and we are only "stewards." (pg48)  Vocation then, can never be properly understand unless it's thought about in terms of those around us. Essentially, to understand vocation, one must ask, how does my calling equip me to love my neighbor?
     The chapter concludes with four distinctions that ought to be kept in mind when considering vocation. First, a distinction exists between individual calling (examples: teaching, moving to ohio, play guitar ect.) and corporate calling (examples: make disciples, love my neighbor, confess my sins ect..)  What I do as an individual ought to compliment what I do as a member of the human species and the Church of Jesus Christ. The second distinction is similar to the first. It is the distinction between special calling, which only some people receive, that is a direct supernatural revelation to an individual to do or be a certain thing, as distinguished from ordinary calling. The ordinary calling is the universal mandates God places on all people, to follow Christ. Third is a reminder to keep first things first and secondary things second. Understanding central calling compared to peripheral calling is this distinction. This is a problem when pastors elevate writing books over shepherding their flock. This is a problem when workers elevate earning a living over living a life worth working for. They've sacrificed what they were meant to do for something that's supposed to support doing what they were meant to do. Finally the readers are reminded of the distinction between the clear aspects of calling and the mysterious aspect of calling. It's tempting to want to discover all of God's plans for us right now. God doesn't work that way and He reveals elements of his vocation for us as we are capable of processing them.We must not strive too much for clarity or be too scared of ambiguity for both are implements in heavens tool chest.
      After providing these four reminders Os Guinness concludes the chapter with the story of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's life including some parting wisdom from that one man army. "Many lives have a mystical sense, but not everyone reads it aright...The secret of a great life is often man's success in deciphering the mysterious symbols vouchsafed to him, understanding them and so learning to walk in the true path."(pg62)

Let Your Life Speak
by Parker J. Palmer
Chapter 3. When Way Closes

     This chapter opens with a story as well. Palmer pulls a life lesson from his time at Pendle Hill, from a conversation with a wise Quaker woman. "there is as much guidance in what does not and cannot happen in my life as there is in what can and does happen, maybe more." (pg39) Knowing weaknesses is as important as knowing strengths. Knowing where you suck is as important as knowing where you thrive. Despite what Disney might say, not everyone can be anything they want to be if they believe in themselves and invest the time and effort. "Each of us arrives here with a nature, with both limits and potentials. We can learn as much about our nature by running into our limits as by experiencing our potentials. (pg42) Individuals were built for somethings and not for all things.Well intentioned  people often set up goals for themselves to become like Muhatma Gandhi or Thomas Aquinas or George Washington. However noble and good these people might have been the reality remains that we ought only try to learn from them, not become miniature versions of them. Human beings are not machines that, if given enough time can be reprogrammed to do anything or be anyone. We are living beings that were designed to grow a certain way, blossom at a certain time and bear fruit in keeping with the season and the circumstances. If we focus too much on becoming somebody else and ignore who God made us to be be, we'll find our life tedious and actions returning void. "Only when I give something that does not grow within me do I deplete myself and harm the other as well, for only harm can come from a gift that is forced, inorganic, unreal." (pg50) 
      Reality  is like the ocean constantly there but always in motion. God calls each of us into reality, a constant existence based on the perimeters which He has built for us with our abilities, our sensibilities, our instincts. All are called, no two are called exactly like, just as no two buckets of seawater are the same.  Palmer concludes chapter 3 with the following summary."If we are to live our lives fully and well, we must learn to embrace the opposites, to live in a creative tension between our limits and our potentials. We must honor our limitations in ways that do not distort our nature, and we must trust and use our gifts in ways that fulfill the potentials God gave us. We must take the no of the way that closes and find the guidance it has to offer- and take the yes of the way that opens and respond with the yes of our lives." (pg55)

Rising To The Call and Let Your Life Speak Chapter 2 Summary.

Rising To The Call
By Os Guinness
Chapter 2 Everyone, Everywhere, Everything

     This chapter is pretty straightforward with four essential parts. First we have a historical example of what the author will talk about. Next the reader is given a more detailed understanding of calling. The chapter concludes with two popular misunderstandings which often affect our ability to answer the call.
     Os Guinness opens his discussion with the story of William Wilberforce, the 18th century English abolitionist and parliamentarian. Wilberforce provides a textbook illustration for the biblical truth that you don't have to be a pastor or a missionary to do God's work. His story is a parable of sorts which teaches that all types of work are valuable if done properly. It's not a complicated concept but it's one that easy to miss. A wonderful movie about William Wilberforce.
     The idea of calling is fleshed out a bit more in this second section of the chapter. We're provided with the biblical uses of the world. These are simmered down into two functional ideas. Based on Os Guinness's reading of scripture the human being has two callings, a primary and secondary calling.

"Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him, and for him." (pg.24)

"Our secondary calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere, and in everything should think, speak, live and act entirely for him."  (pg.25)

     Simply put, The primary calling provides direction for the sort of person we are supposed to be. God calls us to Himself, to be like Him and share in His godliness. The secondary calling is how we ought to spend our time. As I am fulfilling my primary calling I will discern a secondary which will determine my professional, academic and relational choices.
     Concluding this chapter the reader is warned about two distortions of calling. Essentially they are these, don't elevate primary calling to the exclusion of secondary calling. At the same time, don't elevate secondary calling to the exclusion of primary calling. Recognize both callings are important; both as created by God. One is the compass the other is the map that guide us on the straight and narrow way for which God has created us.


Let Your Life Speak
by Parker J. Palmer
Chapter 2 Now I Become Myself

"Now I become myself

It's taken time, many years and places.

I have been dissolved and shaken,

Worn other people's faces...."

     Beginning again with a poem this time by May Sarton, Palmer provides his own summary of his next chapter. He proceeds to take about thirty pages to tell some of his own story, drawing insights periodically, from his experience that he believes are relevant to his readers.
      After spending sometime discussing the concept of vocation he had in high-school. Palmer explains his current definition of vocation. "Today, I understand vocation quite differently-not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received." (pg10) Following this up with a story from the Hasidic tradition.The Rabbi Zusya says "In the coming world, they will not ask me: 'Why were you not Moses?' They will ask me: 'Why were you not Zusya?'" (pg11)  The underlying concept of course being that it's more important that you be yourself, than it is, that you try to be a copy of somebody else. This idea is cemented on page 15 "The deepest vocational question is not, 'What ought I to do with my life?' It is the more elemental and demanding, 'Who am I? What is my nature?'" Answering these questions forces us to recognize our limitations as well as our strengths and gifts. Knowing who we can not be is important. There is a danger to ignoring who we are, a danger to striving after a life that is untrue to our identity. "If we are unfaithful to true self we will extract a price from others. We will make promises we cannot keep, build houses from flimsy stuff, conjure dreams that dissolve into nightmares, and other people will suffer if we are unfaithful to true self. (pg.31)
      A powerful sense of freedom awaits those who live into their vocation. Unfortunately not everyone is successful. Among those who are, "some journeys are direct, and some are circuitous; some are heroic, and some are fearful and muddled. But every journey, honestly undertaken, stands a chance of taking us toward the place where our deep gladness meets the world's deep need. (pg 37) Undertaking this journey often results in seasons of darkness, uncertainty. The road requires unmaking the inappropriate expectations that have been assumed for us. "The world needs people with the patience and the passion to make this pilgrimage not only for their own sake but also as a social political act." (pg.37)  Thus Palmer ends his chapter with the reminder that people don't exist in a bubble. It's not only for one's own sake that a person ought to discover their calling. 

Five Minutes with Malachi

My covenant with him was one of life and peace and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and no wrong was found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness and he turned many from iniquity. Malachi 2:5-6

There is much talk about who we ought to be and how we ought to live. The scriptures clearly address the issues but often use words we don't like to hear. Humans like to ask questions of God but are only willing to hear certain types of answers. We ask God, "how do you want me to spend my life?" and we expect Him to instruct us in whether we ought to be a lawyer or a doctor or stone mason. It's similar to a man with no chickens, no knowledge of chickens, and no place to keep them wondering about whether he'd like an omelette or a fried egg. First things must be first and God always answers our questions with relevant information. His response to questions about purpose and vocation are usually centered around human character rather than action. Love your neighbor! Seek my face! Fear my name! Be perfect! such are the commands of Scripture. Only by walking in these directions will we find ourselves at a place appropriate for determining the smaller, less important questions concerning how we make our money and where we go to school.

The covenant of Levi is a covenant all of humanity is invited into. It is an old fashioned term for the modern evangelical concept known as "relationship with God". Today we like to sugar coat that idea but the reality of the relationship that God invites us into is just the same as it was twenty-three hundred years ago in the days of Malachi. It was a covenant of life and peace, we can look forward to those realities. It is a covenant of fear, that is our shield against apathy. The covenant bears fruit. The wisdom spouts from the mouth in a fountain of relevant instruction. There, is no shame. He who walks in the covenant of Levi need never hang his head. There is no wickedness in him and he is sought after for his teaching.

Let it be so with us dear brother and sister. Amidst the busyness of life let us not lose sight of the reality of what God calls us to. 

Rising To The Call and Let Your Life Speak Chapter 1 Summary.

Rising To The Call

by Os Guinness

Chapter 1, The Ultimate Why

“It is never too late to be what you might have been”

George Eliot

The book opens with the presentation of a problem. “..”purpose and fulfillment are some of the deepest issues in our modern world.” He quotes Thomas Carlyle who said, “The man without purpose is like a ship without a rudder-- a waif, a nothing, a no-man” We experience this to be true particularly during the years in which we come into our adulthood. This time period characterized by choices presses upon us the weight of destiny, forcing us to consider why we are here and whether our existence has value.

The author continues his discussion by cautioning his readers against well intentioned but misguided effort. It’s possible to do alot of things really well and still fail. He quotes Walker Percy, “You can get all A’s and still flunk life.”  So what do we do? How do we answer the ultimate why of our existence? why do we feel this urge to do something valuable?“answering the call of our Creator is the ‘ultimate why’ for living,...” After giving this brief answer he sets the stage for the rest of the book, “This book is for all who long to find and fulfill the purposes of their lives. It argues that this purpose can be found only when we discover the specific purpose for which we were created and to which we are called.” He assumes we readers are one of those individuals and proceeds to provide a helpful definition of calling.

“Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service.”

So we conclude with his main ideas of chapter 1.

1. Humanity is called
2. This calling requires a caller who is Jesus Christ
3. Only by answering this call will we be able to accomplish our purpose and find fulfillment.

Let Your Life Speak

by Parker J. Palmer

Chapter 1 Listening to Life

Ask me whether what I have done is my life

William Stafford

Beginning with the poem Ask Me by William Stafford, the author discusses the line quoted above. Asking the question, are our actions who we are? Palmer poses the idea that we can live a life not our own. By conforming to the expectations of our culture we can sometimes miss who we were born to be. So we never become who we ought to be because we’re striving to meet the good, and the bad expectations that people, society and ourselves place  on us. So rather than striving to jump over a hypothetical bar Palmer suggests, “before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody and what values you represent.” We like to make lists, to create a nice simple to do list and simple check it off when we succeed or repent and thank God for grace when we fail. However real life is not so simple, we have a vocation. A vocation “is not a goal that I pursue. It means a calling that I hear.” Often our vocation disagrees with our ego, our conscious awareness of ourselves, resulting in stress, frustrating ect. Beneath the loud noise of our ego exists the still small voice of God calling us to a higher, existence. To hear it, one must quiet the noise, calm their heart and wait in silence for the call of the Creator.

February - Jonah 1

Perhaps one of the most famous biblical stories is the account of the prophet Jonah and his rebellion. Now rebellion against God is nothing out of the ordinary; neither in the Bible nor in everyday life. What makes this story so memorable is the particular way in which God decides to handle Jonah's rebellion.   A divine slap on the wrist in the form of a bout of leprosy or a loss on one's stock portfolio would be expected. However, God, in His wisdom initiates Jonah into an aquatic discipline so unusual that it has captured the minds of school children, pastors and sailors across the ages.

We find Jonah, a messenger of God, tasked with a mission which is not to his taste. Thus far he's exactly like us and we might look to his example to avoid making similar mistakes. We to are messengers of God, and our tasks are often distasteful. "Love your enemy", "...be rid of all evil behavior...", "..be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect...", are all specific commands of God, applicable to all people, in all times and are not easy. So, like Jonah we often run away.

Jonah runs in a geographical sense by boarding a ship bound for the ends of the earth. He pays his fair and tries to sleep away his guilt. Awakened from that complacent repose by a storm so powerful it threatens to consume him, and a whole boat load of people besides. Be warned you sinner, who fancies that your entertainment of evil will only hurt yourself. Since when has evil been under your thumb? Who but God Almighty can say to the darkness, "thus far you shall come but no further." Assuredly evil attacks hurts and destroys not only the perpetrators but anyone else who happens to be close by. Though you embark on a journey to the ends of the earth, the age old adage proves true, "your sin will find you out."

In repentance Jonah acknowledge his guilt before the mariners and bids them throw him to the storm that it might be appeased. Before consenting to this, the brave mariners try every effort to save themselves, along with Jonah. How true today is this parable? Though we acknowledge the evil around us, we refuse God's medicine and replace divine aid with human placebos. We pour money, time, good intentions into the black holes that plague society when the answers were to be found, not in gold, guns and positivity but in godliness.  After the men rowed hard to save Jonah from destiny, they gave up, and Jonah was thrown to the sea. In an instant peace was restored. It didn't matter how far Jonah ran, how much he tried to save himself, it only took the submission to God's will to calm the storm. And now we leave Jonah, afloat in a peaceful ocean and will return to him another time.

Consider well and be glad we have a God who is not limited by time, space, or power. The storms that rage in our world are as nothing to Him for in an instant He bids the waves and winds be still. Let us have faith and await the salvation of the Lord. 

January- Zechariah

Each person comes to God with a perspective and sometimes with a bias. God allows this to an extent because humans need on an individual bases and so He accommodates Himself to those needs by manifesting Himself in particular ways to particular people. Obviously this can lead to confusion when one person encounters God in a moment of deep sorrow as a ray of comfort in the darkness of despair, while another person encounters God in the form of a well placed jab at their pride. Two people, two real interactions with God, multiple possible interpretations of what God is like. We've all encountered God differently and we need to recognize this when fellowshipping and ministering.

What does this mean? Practically it means that if someone discusses a spiritual experience that doesn't match up perfectly with your own, they are not necessarily wrong.

However, it doesn't mean that they are necessarily right either. The spiritual world is in many ways more "real" than the world of our five senses and it does operate based on laws of absolute comparability. If someone shows me a picture of an apple and says, "this is an orange," they are wrong based on the definition of orange. This is the case regardless of their negative experiences with apples and oranges as a child. Similarly if someone approaches you and says, "God hates gay people" they are wrong for the character of God does not permit such an attitude.

The bible is a wealth of information about God and the non-material world. Zechariah a prophet of God can be read today and will provide the careful student some information about who God is and how He interacts with humanity. Here are just some reflections from my journal after reading.

1:2 The Lord was very angry with your fathers
     For all the people who don't like to think of God as someone who gets angry.
1:3 "...thus declares the Lord of hosts: 'Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you.', says the Lord of hosts."
    Rather than lashing out in his anger as humans would do, God's anger doesn't change His resolve to call people to fellowship with Himself.
1:11 "...We have patrolled the earth, and behold, al the earth remains at rest."
     Here we hear the report of spiritual servants who patrol the earth. From an Israelite's perspective all is not at rest, war looms large and the kingdom is not secure. However, God's perspective is different and part of growing in godliness is to see the world as He sees it not as we would like it to be. So in the midst of the storm Jesus could sleep in the boat while the disciples were flipping out. (Mark 4:38)

I leave you with just these three reflections. Know that God is not absent from our world and He will be found by those who seek Him.

Advent 2015

Zechariah 2:3
"Then I said, 'where are you going?' and he said to me, 'to measure Jerusalem to see what is it width and what is its length.' And behold the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, "Run, say to that young man, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord and I will be the glory in her midst."

Such glorious promise. The heavenly city shall not be one of feet and inches. It's not about how big a city God builds, or how tall its building. "Jerusalem shall be inhabited by villages without walls"  The primary element of a village is it's villages. Not it's commerce, not it's university, not it's military capability, just it's people. We are privileged to serve a God who values us as more then our utility. To Him we are creations destined to live in His company, not slaves destined to serve His whims.

What shall the Almighty be to us in that day. Shall He be a vindictive ruler? by no means. Will he be a heavenly cuddle buddy like some modern churchmen would have us believe? Not if we believe the scriptures who proclaim Him as one to be feared and loved, not used for personal pleasure. In wisdom and in truth He will protect us. He will be, indeed He is, a living, wall of flame. The function of flame is three. To provide light, to provide warmth, to provide protection. What better defense could be ours then the Living God. With Him as our God, we can rest easy. Under the shadow His wings is perfect peace. Let us not give in to fear but have courage.

Pax Vobiscum until later. 

Advent 2015

Jeremiah 3:2
Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see! Where have you not been ravished? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your vile whoredom.

How insightful is the Word of God. How the plight of Israel and Judah so perfectly foreshadow the personal and collective problems of Christianity today. Where have we not wandered astray? Where have we not floundered in self-indulgence or pride. Lift up your eyes to the heights and see where have we not been ravished? What have we not polluted? With our eyes we have looked with lust and greed.  Our hands hold stolen goods. With our feet we pursue the way of the wicked.  With our mind's we plan evil. We have lent out our bodies to sin, as the Israelite lent theirs to idol worship.
Our sin is not just our own. We have polluted the land. The consequences and effects of sin spread far from their source into the people, places and ideas that surround them.

Forgive us Lord for we have sinned. Our waywardness has caused hurt to your world and disorder among your creation. In mercy and grace refine us. Equip us to clean up our mess. Teach us to take responsibility for our past mistakes and prepare for the future.

Pax Vobiscum until tomorrow

Advent 2015 To Do Nothing

In art exists balance and rhythm. It's eternal power is a result of its ability to resonate with the harmony that inhabits the universe. A necessary component of this harmony is silence. Silence is a powerful tool of music. the power before the base drop is a calm that gives meaning to the storm. The white space in the canvas that accents the color only makes the painting more satisfying. In quiet much can be said that words fail express.

From the artists we can be taught some wisdom. We must learn from the musician who will intentionally not play and the painter who will leave some canvas empty. To a people who attempt to  carve our names in the foundations of the universe, be wary. We also must let the hammer and chisel fall with which we shape our future and learn to watch our destinies be shaped for us. Find the balance between what we can do to shape our futures and what is not our concern. As much as we strive for total control it lives just beyond our grasp.  The art of nothing is the cultivation of a peace that will accept what happens without needing to govern the outcomes. Meditation, quiet, silence, contemplation and self control all remedies for the same need. The need to control, which we covet, often at the expense of the need to do our best and never give up.

I do not write here of simple rest and relaxation for these are intentional activities which equip us for other intentional activities. Even these must sometimes be put aside. To do nothing is to watch to listen, to observe the world as it passes by. Realize that the world does not need us and be humbled. God does not need us for His kingdom to come. Find your place in the universe for there is peace.

The Prince of Peace whose birth we celebrate built for us a place in His universe. There He is and there He calls us to be with Him. It's not in position, accomplishment, control or power in which we shall find our fulfillment. Only in the company of our Maker shall our potential be realized and our perfection accomplished. To Him let us go, in this season let us bow before His throne and allow Him to live and move and empower us for His good purposes that the world would be made right and our futures made certain. 

Advent 2015 Jesus' Christmas List

It's an exciting time of year. More then any other time of year we can look forward to seeing people we've missed, getting off of school and receiving gifts. It's a time of festivities and care free fun. It's helpful to imagine Jesus at our celebrations. What sort of gifts would we buy Him? Surely He would not be interested in the trinkets and cash gifts that are too common in American households.

Obviously conjecture is not really helpful at this point. We can look to scripture though and find some answers to these questions. 

In John 17 we find some of Jesus' requests.

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, (us) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one- I in them and you in me - so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 

Father, I want those you have given me, to be with me where I am and to see my glory the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 

First Christ desires unity among believers. 

Second, Christ desires unity between believers and Himself. 

Third, Christ desires that the world know that He was sent by the Father and that it is loved. 

Fourth, Christ wants the glory of the Father to be known. 

This is not an exhaustive list by any means. What is important to remember is not to give God a gift He doesn't want. I think we all have experienced that. We've received a gift that the giver thought was the best thing ever, which really was not a good gift at all, they just happened to really like it so they bought it for you thinking you would be really grateful, and you have to pretend you're happy to receive a lousy gift. Let's not make the same mistake with Jesus. Let's not give Him a gift, that He doesn't want. Let's not think we're doing Him a favor by giving Him something He doesn't' need and has never asked for. Honor Him with a present He'd actually like. 

Pax Vobiscum until tomorrow. 

Advent 2015 Preparing the Way

A voice cries:

"In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; 

make straight in the desert a highway 

for our God. 

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made 

low;

the uneven ground shall become level, 

and the rough places a plain. 

And the glory of the Lord shall be 

revealed, 

and all flesh shall see it together, 

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." 

Isaiah 40:3-5

The Lord's first advent was celebrated by few. It was a small company that were ready. A few astronomers, some shepherds, two holy souls in the temple, his parents, his aunt, uncle and cousin were all that made up that first Christmas party.  The astronomers brought him tribute. The shepherds sang the first carols. The saints in the temple blessed His future. His parents prayed for help. His uncle and aunt were scared. It was His cousin who fulfilled the prophecy above. The blessed John the Baptist. He is a martyr, a prophet, the baptizer of the Lord. He is rivaled by none. The Lord speaks of His friend John after he was martyred, "I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John." (Luke 7:28) John was privileged to live the life He did, to make the sacrifices He did and He dwells now amidst the rewards for His life. 

Today the second Advent of the Lord draws near. Who shall be ready? Who shall prepare the way? In the desert of ignorance that plagues our societies who shall mark out the highway? The valleys of depression and greed must be raised. The mountains of pride need be torn down. The circling chaos causing such uncertainty in the lives of His creation shall be calm. The rough places, the pain, the suffering, the despair will be made smooth as glass. Where are the workmen who shall accomplish such engineering? Where are the architects that shall outline the plan? 

In the days of old, Isaiah stood before the throne of God and heard the heavenly call. "Whom shall we send? Who shall go and be our messenger?" Today that divine summons sounds forth through the earth.  Today the legacy of John the Baptist is being carried on by the disciples of Christ around the world. It is our part, to join them. The celebration of advent is not to be pleased with oneself. If we would truly honor Christ, truly celebrate what He came to do, it is not enough to gather family and friends and have a good time. Jesus asked for specific presents. Let's honor Him this Christmas season by giving him a present He has actually requested. 

Pax Vobiscum until tomorrow 

Advent 2015 To Be An Adult

The memories of childhood are powerful. Innocence,  excitement, wonder; such marvelous adjectives that adults often use to describe their remembrance of a childhood lost. It's common to look back with regret and in hindsight see a childhood as a heaven now out of reach. The realities of work, school, bills, relationships weigh us down. Our outlook on the world is skewed by harsh realities. Pain, suffering, abuse, corruption, greed, foolishness; the black holes in humanity that devour the futile humans attempts at virtuous existence. So we can find ourselves a few years out of college, entirely disenchanted with the world, with it's future, with our future. In this state it's common for people to find meaning, by investing themselves heart and soul into a person, a pet, a job, a lifestyle, an ideology, anything to hide from them the realities that the world is much more scary.

Is that it than? Are we simply doomed to abandon our excitement about life when confronted with realities darker realities.? Is there perhaps a more excellent way?

1 Corinthians 13:11. "When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put childish ways behind me" .The point is about replacement. We aren't stripped of our childhood optimism to rot in anxious depression at the state of our world. God didn't design us to hide from reality. However we are designed to grow up. Maturing is a process that happens both in body and in soul. As we age, the dreams must change. As kids we dream based on misunderstandings of the universe. We dream bright and glorious things that will never happen. In adulthood our excitement must itself mature and transition into an optimism based the future promised by God.

The reality of God purposes for the universe are worth being excited about. We don't have to cling to vestiges of a highly glamorized childhood. As Christians we have a far more glorious future awaiting us then any childhood any human was blessed to have. Let's not cling to the past but step forward with boldness, anticipating the coming of our Lord and preparing ourselves that we might not be ashamed at his coming.  

Advent 2015 Power To Forgive

Today we have much to remember. Many American's remember today as the day that will live in infamy. However, because horrible history teachers/curriculum/students/parents a surprising amount of children don't know that December 7th is the anniversary of one of the United States worst military defeats in history. A surprise attack by the empire of Japan left a dozen naval vessels unfit for service and several thousand servicemen out of commission. We entered World War II shortly after and proceeded to out produce, out gun and outwit the Japanese for the next three years resulting in bomb craters from Hokkaido to Kyushu and pain on so many levels. The story of WWII is a lesson for today. From Japan we learn how destructive a powerful nation can become when it ignores the education of its youth and prioritize progress over virtue. From the United States we can learn how a divided people can be motivated by a common cause to accomplish unprecedented feats of self-sacrifice and technological ingenuity.

What most people don't remember about today is the event that took place in 1965. At about 239 years old the United States is not exactly an antique civilization.  We aren't familiar with many historical events that happened before the birth of our own nation. The year 1054 was a sad year for Christendom. In the summer of that year, formal declarations of excommunication were declared between the Latin church in the west (Catholic) and the Ecumenical Churches of the east, (Orthodox). Over the ensuing nine decades, misunderstandings happened, hatred was vented, love was shown,  violence occurred, basically everything that happens between two competing nations that don't understand and are filled with sinful humans, happened. Religious terminology was used to justify atrocious acts of violence. Cities were burned and churches were desecrated.  The name of Christ was dragged through the mud of religious power grabs. The days were dark and the end of the world was often predicted. 

Nine centuries of rivalry usually reveal a winner and a loser. The Church of Christ breaks the rules though and does not lose, ever. After the human elements of both churches were spent in ceaseless warfare the Christian elements of the Church were able to gain control. To our shame it is often only after we have tried every other option that we will turn to Christ and trust in His power to work things out. Nine centuries after a formal war was declared the war was ended. It didn’t require an awful massacre that broke the enemy’s military. It didn’t require an atomic bomb that broke the will of the enemy. On December 7, 1965 an apology was issued that turned the enemy into a friend. Pope John Paul II (Catholic) and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (Orthodox) ended the greatest schism in church history by annulling the documents of excommunication issued nearly a thousand years before. Never underestimate what a honest, humble apology can do to a relationship on the brink of demise.

The calm voice of Christ whispers in the storms of life that call for our attention, "be at peace, this too shall pass."  We who belong to Christ belong to something far older, far wiser, far more powerful than all the collected wisdom and power embodied in the ideas and military that make the United States what it is, the good and the bad. So we may rest easy, not cultivating ignorance that leads to death but having confidence in the weapons of heavenly warfare that never become obsolete. 

Pax Vobiscum until tomorrow 

Advent 2015 To Be A Martyr

"Religious platitudes are worthless" said my pastor this morning. He was referencing the quote "Thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of (insert unfortunate event)" How many thousands of people tweet, post, update this message, or something similar with the childish idea that their thirty seconds of well intentioned thought will do any good whatsoever towards fixing the problem or bringing healing to the suffering. No one with who has seriously considered the issues believes that good intentions fix anything. Such foolishness is for postmodernists and relativists. 

Christianity has come too far and accomplished too much for us too participate in this kind of intellectual suicide. Of course it's easier. It's easy to sit on my couch, to here the heartbrekaing news of drone strikes gone wrong, governments politicizing mass shootings, big business's sacrificing people for profit ect.. and shoot off a prayer like another text message. What is sad is that by doing this we believe we've actually done something admirable. Group think is very powerful. *sigh* 

Let's turn now to the men and women who weren't content to do nothing. They saw through the facade and realized that Jesus didn't call us to casually observe suffering with a heart full of pity. These disciples were followers of Christ and not of popularity. What words can describe these holy martyrs. Men and women who had already scarified their lives while still breathing. Not counting equality with God a thing to be grasped they humbled themselves, becoming obedient, even to death. So God raised them up. For in His kingdom the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Few examples better bear testimony to this truth then the life of Mother Teresa. Humbling herself and serving the poorest of the poor, even on this earth she was raised up and was honored by kings, presidents and the powers that be. To what extent she has been honored in heaven I know not but I look forward to seeing upon arrival there myself. 

Her daily prayer is one of wisdom for all who would be like her. 

Dear Jesus, Help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. Amen 

Such is the prayer of a living martyr. One whose life is already lost to them. The fields are so ripe, the laborers are so few, the world is in such need, the heart of humanity has grown cold, people despair and are beaten down under depression and anxiety. In this season we celebrate good news of great joy that will be fore all people. First let's make sure we understand that good news ourselves. Second, let's share that good news around. 

Pax Vobiscum until tomorrow. 

Advent 2015 Eyes That See

"To look is not to see, to consider is not to understand, to pray is not to communicate," is a phrase I just made up but has been meant by other, wiser people who said similar things before. We can participate in something like advent and entirely miss it's meaning.

Famed astronomer William Herschel responds to criticism from his colleagues with some relevant wisdom.

"Seeing is in some respects an art, which must be learnt. To make a person see with such a power (as his own) is nearly the same if I were to asked to make him play one of Handel's fugues upon the organ. Many a night have I been practicing to see, and it would be strange if one did not acquire a certain dexterity by such constant practice."

We who desire to see God must not neglect such diligent practice. If men and women can be so motivated by the stars so as to spend hours in constant study. Who are we to deny the Creator of said stars equal study? The sun, the moon, all the stars of heaven, in all their glorious splendor do not compare to their heavenly Maker. Indeed, they are but symbols of, a representation of Him whom we shall meet face to face in the fullness of time. (I Corinthians 13:12).

So we wait, and we remind ourselves of His impending arrival by observing seasons like Advent. We must not forget His parting instructions in our excitement at His imminent return. As wait for the joy set before us, let us be faithful to carry the cross He has called each of us to bear. Feeding the hungry, offering drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick and the imprisoned are not tasks for those few rare Christians who happen to enjoy doing such work. Anyone who says Jesus' sole response to a problem was prayer, has not read the Gospels. This advent season lets not just celebrate with food, family and fun. Maybe instead we can experience more of what Christ intended this season to be by celebrating with charity, kindness and compassion. Maybe we could take the stress our of the holiday season by making it less about us and more about the people who have no food, or family or fun to celebrate. I am aware that such thoughts are hard to think about and even harder to act on, but I submit to you that despite the difficulty, the return is worth the investment.

Pax Vobiscum until tomorrow. 

Advent 2015 Premeditated Love

Premeditated: to consider or plan an action beforehand. Love is a confusing term which has lots of emotional baggage and implications. Fortunately God is a God of clarity so when it comes to important things like love, he doesn't hide in meaningless platitudes.

John 4:19 We love because He first loved us. 

The blessed Apostle does not speak of how we happen to be feeling. he doesn't mention what a jerk the other guy has been to us. See, the Love of the Christian is the overflow of a the fountain of Love that is Jesus Christ. We do not love someone because they happen to be very kind or they really deserve it. Such love is of the earth and will perish with it.  The disciple's love is a lifestyle not based on the people around us. Loving is hard. Sacrificing for the people who don't want it. trying to be kind to that awkward coworker who doesn't fit in. We were never trained for this. Despite thousands of pages there's little good instruction in the art of Christian charity, and even fewer relevant examples. The only example that is really always applicable is the author of Love himself, Him whose birth we celebrate during these weeks at the close of the year. . From His love we learn to; I. Sacrifice for others. II. Look to the Father for approval, not humans. III. To love for the long haul. IV. The results are not under our jurisdiction. VI. Love always costs your life, sometimes you happen to also die in the process. 

John 4:20-21 If anyone says, "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who can not love his brother whom he has seen can not love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must love his brother.  

Here we find the love test. The logic is flawless, the consequences inescapable. Humans are really good at worming out of awkward confrontations. We don't like to be held up to the light and be told, "you're doing it wrong, utterly and completely." In the love test we are given in no unclear terms the litmus test of love. Do we hate our brothers? Do we desire the ill, destruction of our fellow human beings? Maybe not, but do we consistently put our own wants above the needs of our fellow humans? This is not to make us unnecessarily guilty. As humans we are limited in our capacity to care for and love other people. We are called to be godly, that is god like not God himself. God loves everybody and has already sacrificed Himself for everybody. As little Jesus' all around the world we are called to follow in His steps. Not letting prejudice, hurt feelings, past wrongs or anything else get in the way of making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that is necessary for life and godliness. 

Do not let your heart be troubled, go now and rest for you are weary with hardship and life's toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace. 

Pax vobiscum until tomorrow. 

Advent 2015 The Unfinished Thought

A few days ago a brother was pondering some wisdom aloud. More to himself than the rest of us he spoke of the many different genres of music he has appreciated over the years. He mentioned how when all else fails and when the other genres have grown stale, that he can always come back to the Songs From A Secret Garden.

Obviously his choice of music is not universally applicable but it is important to understand what we trust in. What do we resort to when we're uncertain? When the day to day existence grows stale what sort of activities, people, experiences do we trust in. A few weeks ago, I was unwell. Lying in bed with a fever of 106 I realized that alot of my friends were not people who I would want around when I'm really not feeling well. A few though,  stood out to me as the sort of friends whose company would have been very comforting in a time when I was useless and vulnerable.Funny how some people we rarely think about are the people we want most when life get's difficult.

This blogpost is over because it's two in the morning.

Pax Vobiscum till tomorrow.