Immersion program to speak God's love; Well-oiled operation

Immersion in the language of God's love?

The sermon of 9/28/2014 was entitled "fanning the flames" and referrred to Paul's encouragement (to ask and to urge) to Thessalonians in which he says that they already are doing a good job of expressing God's love but he wants them to do this same thing (the flame of God's love) even more (fanning the flame). Some of the sermon phrases reminded me of my experience learning to speak a second language: at first I was hesitant and would feel more certain of my meaning when I took the words that I heard, mentally put them into English, and then consider my response in English before putting that response into the second language. Besides tiring my brain out by doing double-duty, it also made things slow and generally created some psychological distance between me and the other speakers as well as between myself and the second language itself as a skin-tight, close-fitting medium of expression. The analogy to God's language (of the heart, engaging in relationships under God's authority and Will) is that one may began haltingly and sporadically, but will ultimately grow most comfortable with the ways of communication by practice, by context, by motivation of communicating with those around you. So instead of depending on the intermediate language of putting the situation into your native (consumer and/or diploma-educated) language, strive to speak the language directly by immersion with no secondary step involved. The result should be, as in the foreign language experience above, faster communication, less fatigue, and closer psychological distance to other people speaking that language, and greater familiarity with the language itself.

Well-oiled machine, mainline Protestant church with momentum

Vigorous, doubt-free clergyman ablely plugs into willing congregants as a series of board, committees and accountability structures. Rituals are held, poverty, illness and the other human sufferings are banished and the whole enterprise presents a good picture to the outside world and to those actively involved on the inside, no matter if they carry responsibilities for operations there or instead are more passive bench sitters who find meaning in simple presence of the well-oiled machine, humming along season after season.

    Yet how well does this vehicle carry believers and believers-yet-to-be forward in spiritual growth and emergent hearts of love - of God and of one's neighbor? Certainly there is structure or scaffolding to bring a person to the right sort of mind-frame and sometimes some ready opportunities to trust and risk a little bit to build new relationships. And there is a glow of encouragement when looking in the cultural and organizational mirror to confirm that the body of believers walks and talks as they imagine they should. When seen at the unit of individual (are you better off now that one year ago, in terms of your capacity to love and the places this takes you); or when seen at the next bigger unit of inter-relationships, it is less clear how well an organized religion is better than the smaller "house church" model of primitive Christianity.

    The danger is that the humming machine lulls a person into outward busyness but inward comfort and blunted vigilance. Seeking, questioning and trialing is less appealing or urgent when all outward signs speak to one's sense of propriety and peer approbation; feeling the love of The World's eyes. And yet, even with the risk of contentment and feeling fulfilled, imperfect though it may be, there is a certain institutional inertia and persistence that less formal gatherings lack. And so, with one life to live, is the path of seeking and growth of spirit better to be had informally but with high-quality instruction and help; or is the way more effective under the pattern of a denominational faith tradition? Maybe the best of all possible worlds is to affiliate and participate loosely with brothers and sisters of Organized Religion, but all the while mindfully sharpening the critical voices and wondering mind to keep inquiring and wrestling with the Word of God. In other words, what may work best is a less well-oiled machine; one in which "some assembly is required," some repair may be needed and decisions may need to be remade by the current generation.

many notes - Free Will, stumbling blocks, overthinking God

Free Will again

The new covenant releases followers from The Law's particular details since one should be guided by what is on the inside of one's heart, rather than externalities. But allowing that the path one may follow is not prescribed does not mean that just any road is equally good. After all one may stray now perhaps even more easily than before without any external structure or guardrails. And yet it is the risk of sinning that makes the effort vital; not that one should stray until hitting that point, but that having no possibility of missing the path would kill any feelings of volunteerism, or being led by what is on one's heart. So we are free, but still the road taking us nearer to God is there, as before; or rather, there are so many roads now, yet for each person the beckoning of the road must be hearkened to while remaining watchful not to fall off the path: we are free to follow or to fall. We are unfettered and can respond to God's call, but not any old ways of leading one's life are equally effective in conducting a person to the destination.

    A similar thing happens in constituting a group of believers or ecclesia ('called out' from the masses). We strive to form a body with clear boundaries and well defined hands and feet of God. But at the same time the door remains open to all; that is, the boundaries are porous. And we strive to be righteous and self-improved, but at the same time welcome sinners less striving as brothers and sisters, equal to ourselves in God's eyes, since all sins are equal in his-her eyes no matter what our mortal measuring stick tells us. And while holding up an image of righteous people, we are also vigilant to guard against self-righteousness (self-referenced glory); that is, we hold ourselves high, and yet at the same time strive for humility and the heart of a servant or slave to The Master. Likewise, again, we leave judgment of a person's conduct or intention to God; that is, our place is not to judge a brother or sister. And yet there are certain right and wrong things in human society, surely. The vast judicial system and property experts, conflict resolution experts and mediation counselors all tread near this judgment function that belongs ultimately to God.

Spiritual growth - an ends or a means?

Many people can sense when a person, place or things carries either more or else less spiritual wisdom, efficacy, or gravitas relative to our own selves. Although we might never have considered the life stages or developmental steps in a person's accidental or mindful growth in spirit.

    A fundamental difference lies in the assumptions about growing in one's spirit. Is this a fixed ladder that one may climb in a sequential and orderly way? Or instead is this a moving organism that needs exercise and feeding and rest, not to mention some teaching by those who have gone before. If one need only recognize the Big Questions to be solved and then proceeds to do so, then the effort is a single project in one's life, whether it be in younger days or in the final chapter(s) of one's time. But on the other hand, if growth of one's spirit depends on repeated and indefinite small events, both as giver and as receiver, then the image of recurring appetite for one to satisfy comes to mind instead.

Stumbling blocks to one's fellows

Paul urges his helpers to determine what practices will best lead the newest Christians into relationship with each other and with God. In particular he urges them not to do anything that may cause the newcomers to stumble or fixate upon the wrong things. So if eating meat from the altar causes them a stir, for example, then don't provoke this response in them.

    Turning the lens around to face the other way; namely, to face the people of the Congregational Church, it would be interesting to discover that hot-buttons set off Congregationals by comparison with other of the mainstream Protestant churches.

Unlikely to wrestle with the words of God from thousands of years ago

The weekly men's bible study has been going over 15 years, I imagine. Except for a few months in summer, the 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. timeslot is dim or dark. Riding, walking or driving up the street and turning in at the parking lot, there are few signs of life: maybe one or two cars are there already and a light at the entry steps is lit. So to move from the outdoor weather fine or foul into the building, it seems hard to believe that anyone could show up and hear the word of God presented in English and open to tangents, wonderings and applications of the lesson as grasped by the men who are on hand at a given date. Maybe it seems improbable that stories going back, in some cases, perhaps 6-7,000 years ago still are being read and wrestled with; words not only distant in time while remaining fresh to those living in  our time and place, but words also distant in language and society, too; traveling across time and oceans to people who don't speak ancient Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic. And yet, one week after another, one book at a time --if only a few verses or paragraphs-- this is exactly what happens. We open the book and pick up where we left off, plunging into ancient things that are freshly made for our lives.

Balancing deed and words - cautions against overthinking God

The book of James includes the part about "faith without deeds is dead;" and yet the particular actions probably don't matter much to God, who does things in his-her time on a much bigger canvas of infinite details. He-she does not depend on our imperfect hearts and feet of clay. However the intentionality, sincerity and general effort that may preoccupy us as we strive may well result in drawing us closer to each other and to God; and that part of the exercise in action does matter. In other words, action is a physical expression of what lies inside each person and also, in a sort of feedback loop, what happens in physical space and time also touches what is inside each person. In summary, abundant action by and of itself is not meritorious. But to dwell exclusively in the interior spaces of mindful reflection or meditation is not sufficient, either. Rather a little of both is needed to reinforce the one (interior faith) with the other (deeds).
    It is understandable that a person would wish to structure a daily cycle or annual schedule that helps create a scaffolding or supporting system to cause one to focus on particular things in specific ways. But giving words to the process and experience of wisdom and discernment and splitting hairs (how many angels could dance on the head of a pin) amounts to overthinking one's place in God's world. Being verbal, analytic or visual in thinking and articulating matters is OK, but it is not a substitute for being with God, being God in some distant way, and doing God's work.

Gospel of small 'g' or capital letter 'G'

Men's bible study on Paul's letter to the Galatians (today's central Turkey crossroads town) opens with admonition that Judaizers were dragging the Gospel of the new church down into the mass of detail inherited from the Jewish way. Consider what Jesus was teaching and proclaiming in his story (small 'g' gospel or Good News to discard all the rules and deal-making with the Almighty and dwell only on loving God and one's neighbor as oneself: the kingdom of God is here, now, at hand; not a distant future place), on the one hand, and what we call The Gospels (capital 'g' Gospel of Jesus' story, including his horrid death with glorious resurrection for Christians, the "Easter People" who count on life everlasting).

    In other words, there is some variance in the emphasis of Jesus' message and that of Christians new and old who follow, one generation after the other. Jesus said that the Kingdom is now, so go about God's work in your small lifetime - this by itself is your reward and what may follow earthly life will come of its own accord as a natural consequence; don't obsess about a future, delayed gratification of a promised reward to earn; grace is given thanks to Jesus once and forever sacrifice, grace is not something to be earned.

Doing Christianity vs. doing so "like you mean it"

Paul and Peter conflicted when it came to the means and the ends to follow Jesus when it came to engaging with Jews joining The Way. Paul said not to be preoccupied by externalities of what is allowed and what is forbidden, or any of the other points of concern among the Jews striving to keep kosher. Peter seemed to think of those practices as a worthy foundation, but not a requirement for all to conform to; as a valuable thing rather than a stumbling block; an asset rather than liability. The subtle distinction Paul draws is between practices that may support certain (novice) believers to serve as a vehicle or means of connecting with God's love and feeding that relationship in patience and with courage, and practices being the object of preoccupation and veneration; of worshiping certain words, actions and ritualized sequences. In other words, there may be many forms that worship can take, but few if any are absolutely necessary or sufficient to connect with God and with one's neighbor.

    What may suit one person may be a distractor or stumbling block for another person. As such it is worth being vigilant about things that help versus hinder the worship of God; and it is worth being vigilant about conflating and confusing a set of specific practices with the thing they are the means to reaching. An example could be the "widow's mite" (woman of limited means who gives her two coins at the collection plate): scaled to her circumstances this meant a big sacrifice, whereas to a wealthy person the same coinage may have no meaning. Thus it is the intent or spirit in which a practice is conducted that matters when it comes to softening one's heart, opening one's eyes and ears, and drawing one closer to God's Will to make his Kingdom Come on Earth as in Heaven. It is not the mere conformity to the particular details that matters: of clothing, Order of Service, the plate offering given, or the Christina radio and lifestyle that one dwells in.

God's love; God's word

The opening prayer at the Bible study ended with thanks, "God you give us your word." There is a  double meaning of Word of God (you give us this collection of 66 books to read in our language and our social world), on the one hand, and Give Me Your Word (you affirm the truth, good faith and good will of your declarations; i.e. statements worthy of complete trust), on the other hand.

    Reading of God's abiding desire to draw each soul close to each other and to him/herself, we resort to the phrase of "God's love," "The LORD loves us so much that he gave his son," or the commandment to "love God with heart, mind, body and soul" (all of what one is). Yet among English speakers the word 'love' has dozens of inflections and connotations. By comparison, the source texts in 2000 year old Greek choose among 4 senses; indeed, 4 different words that all get lumped under the English word 'love': philos, eros, agape, and ___. Going back to the example of "God's love," in light of the abiding motive to draw each person closer to God, it makes sense that "love" of God means a relationship comprising trust and care and even affection, which is simple and direct and unconditional. As such 'God's love" is both more than  and less  than garden-variety love. "God's love" is deeper and longer lasting than the capricious human experience of relationships. And "God's love" is stripes away the cloying sentimentality, reverent memorialization, or dutiful and ritualistic routine that sometimes get blurred with everyday human interrelationships.

    In sum, "God's love" is another way of saying God's desire to be in relationship with each person as they grow stronger in faith, recognize God's voice, and affirm the bond they have with the Almighty maker of the heaven and earth.