Voting for country, not party; voting 'God is Love'

 

Only 1 in 50 or fewer front yards are displaying election signs in fall 2020. This one differs to the others because it seems to interject candidate Jesus of Nazareth among the other contenders for state, local, and federal positions that now are contested.

Two weeks ago a radio segment with someone from a Catholic organization offered to interpret how the many varieties of Christians can justify in their own minds the need to support one party or its opposite. When pro-life (anti-abortinn) is the overriding issue, then Trump's promises make his candidacy the one to support, despite the rest of his life, business, and use of these past 3.5 years in the office of President for the wealthiest country on average. But when abortion is less prominent than social justice, then the conclusion is to align against Trump and vote for the democratic challengers. In this way, "people of the book" can be diametrically opposed with each other and still be guided by Christian teachings.

Where words intersect, fields of meaning do, too - 3 examples

 Rescue. Self-righteous. Knowing (God's grace). During today's weekly "Tuesday Men's Bible Study" (online video meeting during the pandemic) we wrapped up 2 Timothy starting from chapter 3, verse 10.

Wikipedia for 2 Timothy, (screenshot)

Rescue: save, salve, salvation, salvage. All these words overlap in some ways. While the Greek of Paul becomes "rescues me" in the New International Version (English), perhaps the original choice of wording in Greek had a different set of intersecting family of words and their fields of meaning different to this lexical string that resonates in English. In any case, when reading or hearing 2 Timothy from chapter 3 to the end, "rescue" does seem to convey a little from all these differing meanings since there is an aspect of being salvaged, saved, and and salved when the moment of rescue comes (unexpectedly).

Self-righteous: self-centered, self-serving, selfish, and the family of "idio" words to mean 'self' (idiosyncracy, idiotic, idiopathic, the Id). Maybe this one rose up from the discussion, rather directly from the text. Since "servant's heart" and "love your neighbor..." are prominently foundational in the Gospels and epistles, SELF (and getting over one's self fascination and anxieties) necessarily is meant to be minimized in order to make space in one's eye and heart for concerns of others. So the several facets distinguished in each of the members of this family of words shed light on dangers of foregrounding "self" and thereby blocking out "other" from one's awareness and care.

Knowing God: know about, know of, by known as, knowledgeable in. English is hobbled by the conflation of 'knowing' a person or place or subject intimately and 'knowing' about the facts pertaining to a subject or person or place. Others of the Indo-European languages make this difference clear by using different verbs according to the situation: knowing a person's name or profile is not the same as knowing that person all one's life. With God, too, there are people who seek "the facts" of God more than seeking to KNOW the creator as a dear friend, parent-figure, and giver of infinite grace and abundant life. So when the NIV footnote for 2 Timothy points out that 1/2 of the humans ever created happen to be breathing during the 21st century, but most of them do not KNOW God or the promise of salvation and other vivid teachings, the emphasis of the footnote writer seems to be "the facts" rather than the personal relationship of a person to God.

Each of these illustrations that came out of this morning's conversation point to the way that meanings overlap and make indirect meanings that echo or ripple out from the initial source. This property of words - that they belong to families of related words, but that meanings and emphasis in one expresses a significant distinction - is a kind of demonstration of the glory of creation: it has so many facets that may at first seem unrelated to each other, but upon further reflection important intersections can be traced so that hidden connections and family resemblances can be revealed.

Outsider religious way versus seat of power

 The roots of the Jesus Movement to fulfill the teachings of YHWH center on houses of worshipers meeting secretly, since neither the Establishment of Jewish leaders, nor by extension the Roman occupiers wanted to see something that did not conform to peaceful social order and status quo. Later, the early church spread along the trade and transportation routes around the Mediterranean basin and attracted not only Jews far from Jerusalem's sway, but other God-fearers, as well as pagans - citizens of Rome, its slaves, and those from inside and outside the Empire.

The status of outlaw sect of Judaism changed overnight with the declaration by Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century C.E. that Christianity would be the State Religion of the Empire and that he would be its champion in the wide world (the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire). His pledge to do this if YHWH would allow military victory thus was fulfilled after defeating the attackers at the battle of Milvian Bridge.

From now on the followers of The Way could own property, govern themselves openly, establish schools of learning and all the things that make a group of people an organization and perpetuate it until at last becoming a self-sustaining institution. Hierarchies grew, buildings were endowed, traditions of knowledge expanded, and doctrinal hairs were split ever more finely. With power comes corruption. Reforms came and sometimes gained traction. Sects splintered and power in the World grew bigger and bigger.

Importantly, Jesus answered Pilate by saying "my kingdom is not of this world." And a good deal of the meaning behind the phrase of the Lord's Prayer, "...Thy will be done; on Earth as in Heaven," is about one's own heart. That is, the Kingdom is not something standing on the surface of the planet, but instead dwells within each practitioner's own heart: the person's attitudes, habits of talking, strength of relationships, daily exercise of care for others, expressions of humility and also unshakeable faith, and so on. Therefore, the watershed begun with Constantine the Great to bring Christ-followers into the light of the world to freely worship and evangelize, is a mixed blessing and curse. The blessing is the reduction in persecution. The curse is the accumulating power, generation by generation, that imposes temptation and corruption.

Given the choice of fringe religion and mainstream institution, perhaps most would opt for today's model. But maybe there is a third way, neither institutionalized rigidity nor small-time desperation. Perhaps the sweetest form of The Way is to be in the World but not of the World; blessed by the material well-being and physical abundance that may be put to good use, but not redirected from stewardship of God's creation and distracted by stewardship of "stuff" bought or bequeathed from the faithful.

The question remains: can it still be Christianity when there is wealth and power and prominence involved?

Us versus Them restated as "we together"

Early August 2020 the guest on the weekly radio show, "On Being," was the poet Marilyn Nelson, in a rebroadcast of the original 2017 conversation with host Krista Tippett. She compares God seekers who expect to find God and God-at-work somewhere outside themselves ("magic mentality") to the people who see God at work in all places and times, including in their own selves ("alliance mentality").

Image search result for 'Marilyn Nelson poet' (8/2020)

Quoting the interview (full text link appended, below), she says:

I think people who have a “magic mentality” believe that God is something out there that we have to find to connect with and people who have an “alliance mentality” know that God is inside of us and in our connections with each other and with the world, that God exists within and between, not exterior to us, but within us and between us. I think that’s what he was trying to say... There is no separation. We are a part of God. That’s — isn’t that the ecstatic experience? We recognize that. And some people know that just naturally. Other people have to learn it. [emphasis added]

Other authors and thinkers from the Stewards of Earth tradition in Abrahamic religions have said something similar with regard to perceptions in public about "nature" versus society, or  "the natural world" ---as if the definition of "nature" consists of everything apart from human lives. Whereas industrialized, Western societies have cultivated an imaginary separation of human (cultural and technologically mediated) environment from all of the land and waters that people require to live, other societies have viewed the human/non-human boundary as much blurrier and movable. One instance of the "nature" concept being cut-off from human life comes from the translation into Japanese from the English concept of "nature." There was no exact pre-existing Japanese word, so a new one was coined, ShiZen (the kanji character 'shi' means "of itself" and 'zen' means something like "wild vitality").

In the particular phrase, above, "We are a part of God," there is a poetic double-meaning, or perhaps it is best described as ironic reflection. One meaning is "a part" or one of many pieces that all together contributes to the whole. Another meaning, this time a clever pun, is "apart" or separated from the rest. Taking the spoken word and transcribing it as "We are a part of God" means that we cannot be separated from God since we are integral to what and who and why God is. But taking the spoken word and transcribing it as "We are apart of God" means that we stand outside of God's ways and spend our waking hours seeking a way back in.

[from https://onbeing.org/programs/marilyn-nelson-communal-pondering-in-a-noisy-world/#transcript ]

Jesus as the model, St. Paul as the coach

So much of the 2nd (New) Testament seems to be comprised of letters from Paul to the various congregations and synagogues around the Mediterranean who knew him. He offers encouragement, admonition or correction, and instruction to guide them, either in reply to things they brought to him, or in his circular, general teaching letters. While there were many things in common between both men, clearly they play different parts, both then and now, for those who follow the Way, narrow though it is.

Authors in many decades have lined up the words and meanings of each teacher to see if the message from Jesus and the demonstration of God's love by Jesus somehow is filtered in particular ways, due to Paul's own biographical pattern and life themes.Their formative experiences were not so far apart in time, although Paul (Saul) is from Tarsus to the north of today's Israel, while Jesus is from Nazareth, still within the orbit of greater Jerusalem. Saul had privileges in education and refinements of life, while Jesus grew up with modest means. Maybe most striking of all is the fact that Paul persecuted the Jesus followers at every turn until the point of his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. Jesus and those who came after his time and public ministry were the object of punishment for officials like Saul.

For those early congregations that Paul fostered, he was regarded as the nearest thing to the flesh and blood Lord and Savior; lamb of God. And so it is natural that they would model themselves on Paul's example in his person, as much as they would aspire to be like Jesus in the stories passed down. So instead of comparing and contrasting the Jesus message in the lens of Paul versus in the lens of Jesus as committed to print in centuries after Paul's time, perhaps it makes more sense to separate their functions: Jesus as model for each person to look to like a homing beacon, Paul as Paraclete - one who walks alongside a person to encourage and share what burdens there may be.

"Be like Jesus," or "follow Paul's advice about what to seek after (positive examples) and what to avoid (negative examples)" may be heard. But inundated by consumer culture and the urge for "liberty," "low maintenance," "convenience" or fun, "path of least resistance," and "least restrictive environment," modern minds can easily be distracted from Paul's guidance or Jesus' example. The surrounding society invites us to search for our identity, find out who we are, or just "be yourself."

Going back to the imagery of the Bible, we are meant to be God's person, not our own impression of what might be interesting or likely to attract peer accolades. To be God's person means to produce "good fruit"; Fruits of the Spirit come from a particular tree. These attributes that grow from such a Jesus-rooted tree will not appear on other trees. We grow into the person God wants us to be; fulfilling our fully integrated ("you are the branches, I am the vine"), God-fearing and loving selves. We incline always to seek to be closer to God and to be loving of neighbor as also of ourselves.

The modern currents, flows, and undertows swirling around us may pull us toward the easiest, most pleasant, or least uncomfortable path, but whether the way is convenient or it carries friction, that is incidental to being God's person in the wide World. Sometimes the modern society and God's way may happen to run together; other times they may intersect as the paths cross, or the roads may be diametrically opposed (mutually exclusive) to each other. No matter what the surrounding society may urge, it should first be God's way that we seek and if it happens to coincide with the society's culture and language, so be it. Where the two ways differ so be it. also.

Ephesians 5:3-10, being warry of self-satisfaction

In the weekly Men's Bible Study we heard the list of old habits that the recipients of Paul's letter were wont to do. This is followed by reference to living in the light and not wallowing in the dark.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^{[a] 6} Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.
⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord.  [source at Bible Gateway.com from NIV]

The distinction of light and darkness reminds me of Barbara Brown Taylor's book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, about all the important developments noted in the Bible that *do* require dark. Elsewhere in the Bible there is reference to darkness and light being identical in God's knowing: there is little  difference since all is known to God, with or without photons to stimulate one's visual cortex.

Continuing on the theme of light, visibility, seeing-as-knowing (at least among mortals), it seems that perfect vision leads a person to believe that everything has been grasped; to see is to know. And yet there is much the eyeball misses: the old guy searching in vain for something right in front of him, the person disregarding pandemic preventative measures because the virus is invisible to the naked eye, the edges of the visible light spectrum that are just beyond human capacity (but which dogs can see; and the things that birds can 'see' but not with light to perceive the Earth's magnetic lines). The line from St. Exupery's book, The Little Prince, sums up the limitations of the visual senses that lead a person to assess and judge in confidence the appearances that present themselves: "It is only with the heart that one can truly see."

By extension, also the book of James emphasizes deeds over words. This form of engaging others can change one's heart as a side-effect, but rote good deeds do not "make merit" or improve one's Godliness, since only by grace (not by works) is a person forgiven and salvation advanced. A person who is preoccupied with doing good deeds can easily be lead to the sense of achievement and rest: that all efforts are completed and all duties are fulfilled; vigilance can be relaxed, and the awareness of opportunities to lend a hand can dim.

A third instance for a person to be led to believe that a goal has been accomplished is with knowledge; it could be the Gnostic game of "secret knowledge" (if only I knew the key Bible passage, mysterious number, or symbolic meaning, then my spiritual growth can reach perfection), or it could be more pedestrian knowledge gained by memorizing, reading commentators, taking part in seminars, and so on. All three of these instances - seeing in the light, accomplishing tangible results in one's deeds, and adding to one's store of knowledge - have some value as a process that leads to something else, but can also be a danger in leading the person to self-satisfaction, perceiving the goal has been attained and therefore that no further (self) examination is needed.

In the end, the premise upon which God knows all the creatures, including each person, is love; or maybe a better translation is something Buddhism's Loving-kindess, an agape basis for caring for self and others. Once a person accepts this fundamental relationship of belongingness, then strangers are not really strangers, but instead are in the same family of God that everyone and everything belongs to. There is the instruction to strive to move one's heart and being ever closer to God's ways and will; and to take Jesus as a flesh-and-blood role model. But knowing that Jesus is infinitely closer to God's ways than we are, or could be, a better first step would be to see among one's peers some examples of habits, routines, phrases and aspirations that are closer to our own - ideally a step or two ahead of our own condition, but not in the pinnacle position of Rabbi Jesus. Even when it is not immediately clear how to be more like Jesus, at least there are many temptations and distractions to discard and disallow: knowing how NOT to be like Jesus reduces the universe of possible ways to be. Then the remaining alternatives in this narrowed field come into sharper focus.

God of Abraham in the Internet Age

Two subjects come to mind during the Covid-19 pandemic. One is rapid reliance on the video conferencing service called Zoom. Since middle March many churches and their small groups and discussion circles have been using Zoom Meetings to interact online, following the directive for "stay home, stay safe" that the Governor of Michigan issued, and which she extended a few days ago with legislature approval until April 30.

After the Easter Sunday worship and well-wishes, along with prayers at certain points in the Order of Worship, a few reflections on the on-screen experience came to mind:

<>Briefly seeing and hearing church friends is very positive.

<>Perhaps (virtual) coffee hour, small group (book), or prayer would work to similar effect?

<>Music adds zest and ?intimacy (shyly vulnerable from feelings of Performance  Anxiety), thereby inviting us to be players not spectators.

<>The kernel of the sermon, to know that God is there when times are uncertain, speaks loud and clear. It seems to be the Incarnation of what faith means, to go forward, even when uncomfortable or unsure. 

The other subject is the presence of Christian-signifying words and images in the mostly secular Social Media.

This screenshot from the day after 2020 Easter shows the resurrection message: heavy stone rolled away from the tomb. The scene and story are familiar, but it seems out of place to see this on Facebook in the midst of the advertisEMENT, inane op/ed darts expressed by some postings, and the mix of business, non-profit, and personal photos and experiences. Following the old thought-provoker, "What Would Jesus Do" (wwjd), it is possible to see Jesus going to places where is people can be found. In the Internet Era, the place where many of his people can be found is online. So, yes, it should not feel incongruous or dissonant when a religious representation appears in the middle of the other things. It should not, yes, but nevertheless, it does stand out; if for no other reason than because of the historical and cultural clash of sandal-clad rabbi contrasting the shiny young stars that can be seen showcased on social media.

To catch a fish - reflecting on the path of spiritual maturity

Tuesday Men's Bible Study bowed to the Covid-19 social distancing imperative in Michigan and put to use the ZOOM online meeting service. We wrapped up Ecclesiastes and settled on the next book, Ephesians, to begin next week. Part of the conversation sparked by chapter 11 onward was the stages of development as one matures spiritually - not by chance, but with some effort on one's own part.

One image that came to mind was the way that there is something in common for a total beginner ("the heart of a child") and a person with considerable experience or expertise in any field of endeavor, including spiritual growth, in this case. For both points along the trajectory the experience is highly personal or personalized. Using the illustration of fishing, one of our leaders described the progression in one's development. First the object is to catch a fish, any fish. Next the goal is to catch lots of fish. After that the challenge is to get the biggest one. Anglers with a lot of experience may try more difficult styles (fly-fishing), or more difficult fish, or circumstances that call for a lot of skill. Possibly the next higher step will be to go after a specific fish that resides in a particular place and may even have a name given it by the fisher. In other words, for the beginner the sensation of hooking a living creature produces a very personal encounter. Later stages include increased knowledge and pool of experience, perhaps more analytical (or software apps) relationship to the outing. At the highest level here, though, the person with the fishing tackle is taking things personally: pitting self against one particular fish, matching wits. Maybe there is an even higher level, when the angler achieves satisfaction purely by approaching the water and replaying the hundreds of experiences and hours on the water - no fishing gear involved; the outing is almost entirely conceptual. It is a state of being present at that time and place, fully immersed in that world.

display case, Grand Rapids Public Museum, grpm.org 9/2019

Transferring the fishing example to Spiritual Development, perhaps there is a similar unity between newcomer/beginner and the person with very deep wells of experience and vision. For the beginner it is easy to get lost in detail, so they seek direct, personal experience to connect to the worship process. For the very mature seeker after God's way, too, there is an appetite for direct, personal experience: less teaching and analytical precision and more of the holistic synthesis of the overarching glory. Each relationship, decision point, and interaction in a day turns into intensely (God-filled) personal moments of precious value. Interestingly of the fishing analogy and the spiritual growth situation, all that is real and what matters to the beginner and the master can be found in the same place: that same stream or lake (fishing place), or that same social interaction or pause to pray (seeking God). What has changed is not the setting but the way that it is viewed and therefore engaged in.

The other rich analogy that came up was of sailing, emphasis ING; the process, the gerund for that verb. (1) Recreational sailors may have a particular destination to aim for and as the wind shifts, the person must adjust the sails, read the puffs of air hitting the water ahead as a precursor to hitting the sailcloth, and turn the tiller as the boat deviates from the aim. In other words the process is in flux, dynamic rather that firmly set in place. This illustrates the way to seek after God's will: as one is buffeted and pushed off course, so long as the person firmly holds the destination in sight, the it is possible to make corrections as needed to line-up with the goal. (2) In contrast to the recreational sailor, there is the "straight-line sailor" who does not hesitate to furl the sails and turn the ignition on the auxilliary motor in order to traverse in the shortest distance (straight line), expediently getting to the destination. So if the paramount value is arriving quickly, there is logic in motoring/sailing to get there. But if the goal is gett+ING there (i.e. the experience produced along the way), the GETT+ing there (as in, objective attained), then the straight-line control and impatience will minimize the time and exercise of tactics and skill that sail+ING makes possible. This illustrates the way to seek after God's will: as one strives to know God more and more, "getting there" (as in final epiphany and omniscience) is not as meaningful as "getting... there" (the days and hours and events of one's life along the path). 

In both analogies - fishing as a process of growing capacities & sailing as a dynamic environment that is all about the experience of covering distance (not simply seeking expedient arrival) - the way to get closer to God and know personally one's creator is a long, patient process involving intention and effort in which much of the reward comes in the doing and being, rather than deriving from any sort of finish line, final project, or ultimate understanding.

Cain and Able in tension; intention

Men's Bible Study is taking up Ecclesiastes after a long couple of years. The line about "chasing after the wind" and futility in trying to build one's tower of earthly or worldly achievements is always fresh and relevant, especially in immigrant societies, where identity of self and in the eyes of others comes from "what you DO" and not "who you ARE" (your relatives and line of family trophies from the ages). And during the age of consumerism, where status can be staged or posed by material goods accumulated, the Ecclesiastes message that all that striving is meaningless does rebuke the myriad day-dreams of what to buy, what to build next.

in tension? intention? [clipart.com royalty free]

Interestingly, one of the Bible Study guys keeps a copy of the multi-lingual Bible open and found that the source word for 'meaningless' is the name of Able, the one whose sacrifices pleased God and whom brother Cain murdered. Playing with the words that intersect with 'meaningless' casts a little light on this advice about not confusing one's worldly glory with spiritual glory: meaning, intention, purpose, goal, target. Contrasting this is 'sin' -- as in the technical or literal/visual sense of "missing the target" or getting off the track when aiming to seek God's Will. In other words, Sin misses the goal; sin gets off track from the purpose, sin is the absence or the fouling of meaning. Thus "sin" and "meaning" are in opposition; they are in_tension (wordplay - at least for English - for 'intention' or the thing one is aiming for). The provisional conclusion, then, is that the tension between sin and righteousness is a basis for intention, and by extension also, meaning.

Worshiping with others - 2020 annual Worship Symposium

Something happens when a worship space fills with people who mostly don't know each other, but who all come with some sort of prior Christian worship experience and now are willing to try to fit into the general order of service that may well be unfamiliar or possibly contradict or at least contrast their own worship habits at a home church. It is a kind of affirmation that seems to emerge from this experience of not being in control; not knowing how things are supposed to (or may be expected to) go. Everyone seems committed to going with the general flow of events and not judge or criticize or compare or condemn. So with nothing to defend, the overall experience is fluid. Those attending are guests of the hosting worship leaders and can let go of any worries, responsibilities, or performance anxiety. Instead, the main purpose is to be a gracious guest and accept what has been prepared and now is being presented, inviting participation as much as one is able or comfortable to do so.

This photo collage comes from the opening worship in the campus chapel of Calvin University as part of their Thursday-Friday-Saturday Worship Symposium at the end January every year since 1997. It shows the miraculous transformation from pre-worship space mostly empty, to the seats filled and voices raised (complete service online), to the assembled worshipers departing the chapel.
[click the photo for larger view]

Thursday, January 30, 2020 at the Calvin University chapel

 People come to the annual event from all over North America and many countries overseas. So only a few of the repeat attendees will know each other by face, and fewer still by name. Probably for most of those worshiping this morning the experience is a peculiar mix of familiarity (yes, this Bible is one that is identical or at least bears a family resemblance to one's own) and strangeness (order of worship, styles of music, customs of greeting one another). When one almost exclusively worships with the same people, same place, same weekly time/day, then any worship outside of that seems slightly unfaithful in a double sense (being absent from one's familiar co-worshipers; but also being present among strangers in a strange place and acting in ways unfamiliar). Somehow, the space is filled with fellow worshipers who have possibly similar mixed feelings and despite that, the overall experience together does flow, does teach, does inspire, does ring true to the God one seeks after.

When I pray; Precious Jesus

etymology online for "prayer" click for larger display

Personal statements differ from more distanced, 3rd person descriptions. Here is a flash of insight from Barbara Brown Taylor's chapter on experiences praying,

...my sense that there are real things I can do, both in my body and in my mind, to put myself in the presence of God. God is not obliged to show up, but if God does, then I will be ready. At the same time, I am aware that prayer is more than something I do. The longer I practice prayer, the more I think it is something that is always happening, like a radio wave that carries music through the air whether I tune in to it or not.
     An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith, page 190

My own process of aging and wondering at things around me included a time near the start of middle age when I started going to a weekly 7 a.m. Men's Bible Study. Most of the other 5 or 6 guys were older than me and had been meeting to read, chew on, and reflect on the Bible a few lines at a time, going from the start to the end of any given chapter, sometimes taking months to complete one chapter before polling everyone to pick another one. One guy in particular has a powerful way of directly engaging God and the Word of God that included the phrase "precious Jesus." At first I doubted the genuineness of what seemed on the surface to be a cliche or set-phrase. But little by little I learned to see how deeply this meaning was for him. It was personal and he was not shy about professing it before the others sitting around the table.

That feeling of confidence and lack of performance anxiety in putting something very personal in plain view is what helped me to do something similar; treating prayer as a direct expression of what can be articulated or sometimes is too big or small to fit properly into words, but at least can be hinted as. As a result, a few times I have paused at restaurants or other public eateries to say a brief, usually silent prayer ahead of rushing to the plate. And at family gatherings when asked to pray before mealtime, I don't feel too shy either.

Each week at the Men's Bible Study there is an opening and a closing prayer that is pretty open-ended, but normally includes at least one element of praise for God, and one element of thanks to God. Otherwise there is a mix of supplications for people named in the circle, for our own hearts, and for fellow believers. What seems to matter most, though, about getting accustomed to praying to punctuate events, but also when anxious, afraid, uncertain, or even when full of hope, is that by pausing long enough to collect some calm and to quiet one's heart something important seems to happen. Rather than to trust in one's own powers and direction, the posture of prayer demonstrates to self and others that answers lie outside of one's control, wishes, or power. Furthermore, the certainties of a hard heart also loosen up by the habit of prayer as one can see the shortcomings of people, including oneself. In other words, the more one prays, to better one hears and the more carefully one listens to one's own heart, and listens also to the people in one's life at work or at home.

Like any habit, it develops and emerges over time and through frequent use. At first that might take the form of collective, unison (printed or memorized) prayers. Later there might be opportunities to pray by improvisation, without great rehearsal. When the circle is small, there is a blanket of trust to support the awkward first steps. A bigger, more public setting may overwhelm, by comparison. But with more and more experience, even a prominent speaking role is within one's abilities to engage in.

Looking back, there is a lot of worth (worth-ship; worship) in the phrase "precious Jesus" and I am thankful to my fellow seeker for that.

Rough and tumble? Consumerism vs. Christ'ism

image search "coupon" collage shows full color wares to buy

How best to follow Jesus when descriptions show him challenging the status quo of Pharisees and the strong language and actions he metes out to his all-too-humanly-frail disciples? He demonstrates infinite love and patience in many ways, but also insistence and impatience about fools and foolishness.

Ever since the "single use" disposable approach to mass production, distribution, consumption, and landfilling, the worldview of consumerism and advertising has almost completely dominated our societies: to spend (therefore to earn) is to live. That seems to leave little time to reflect and seek relationship with God, all of creation, and one's neighbor. So the iconoclasm we read of in the Bible by Christ's example seems to be less Pharisees (although the legalism, head-smart but heart dumb, bull-headed self-assuredness can be seen today in pulpits and lay leaders and followers, too) and more a problem on consumerism that blinds us from seeing each other. Perhaps in our time to "be in the World but not of the World" means to reject the many incentives and rewards of buying more and more. And it means not to measure self-worth or the success of others by brand of clothing or personal automobile. So long as we consist of flesh and blood, the body will be blessing and curse at the same time; something that shapes our engagement with all that is around us and thereby a source of being prey to temptations. And yet, when eternal life or else damnation is at stake, the present moment of living is no time to obsess about 'being a nice person' if that separates you from God and God's will, or it separates you from one another as a wedge instead of a bridge. In the end, following the Jesus example, is to "speak truth to the power" that so dominates our minds and times: consumerism and reducing and simplifying the world of experiences into "maximizing utility" as an economic animal.

Grace is similar to Mercy in that it is given, no matter if merited, earned, or paid for. But it differs in that grace makes whole, holy, completed. By contrast, mercy is granted in place of expected punishment or debt that is owed; it does not by itself create wholeness or completed relationship (repair). And grace differs to righteousness, too. Righteousness means being attuned to God's word and desires, in tune with God by direct and correct relationship. Grace repairs and fills the gap that separates self from the Creator. And so with respect to Jesus' example of himself disregarding The World in order to keep in constant prayer and communion with Father/Mother God, this idea of grace is central, because it fills any gap or separation or shortcoming.

With something like 1 in 4 residents in the USA defined by income as impoverished --this in the wealthiest and most resource-wasting society on the planet-- Jesus would surely engage directly and persistently with people struggling to survive. Again and again the ones with ears to hear and eyes to see are the ones he meets at the margins of society, the edge of the road, or the outer part of gatherings. People who are ill, or who are impoverished, or who have been humbled by circumstance (or possibly by their own disciplined habit) are most primed to embrace the message of love that is abundant and unending, without conditions and status.