Relationships for getting to know God and God's Way

 

Relationship of two parts overlapping [clipart for "Venn diagram"]

Again and again Jesus demonstrates that God's love is a personal, direct, hands-on, relationship thing; not something rule-based or a statute-derived way of being among friends, strangers, and even enemies. But when latter-day followers of the Nazarene Raboni talk about a "relationship with God" and seeking "to know God" more deeply and clearly, what does that mean more precisely? In other words, using a human frame of reference there are many kinds of relationship. They differ in duration, intensity, context or purpose, among other things. Some grow wider and deeper, while others are much more modest or even unchanging. 

In the English language the word 'know' blurs two very different senses that other languages separate with distinct words: know a fact (e.g. Spanish 'saber') and to know a person or place or subject by experience (e.g. Spanish  'conocer'). As a result, the goal of "knowing God's Will" in the English construction can and does carry a bit of both: knowledge of information and decision-making, but also "being acquainted with, or getting familiar with." Certainly, there is room for both dimensions of 'knowing' when grappling with God's word and the examples of his people. But since God incarnated in flesh is not exactly the same as ordinary mortals, it is hard to understand fully what a relationship looks like and how it grows. Some clues come from person to person relationships --husband to wife, parent to child, sibling to sibling, ruler to subject, self to stranger, host to guest, business partner, church friend, colleague, teacher to student, and so on. Among mortals there are first impressions, official title or position, uniform or other identifier, special vocabulary and knowledge, and other status markers and dimensions that form the First Impression. 

Going beyond that surface interaction, common points of interest or mutual stakeholding may bring the persons together in common cause or heartfelt cares past or present. The simple accumulation of shared experiences, easy or hard, adds layers of memory and increased ability to gauge the other's likely reaction to any given situation, too. If there were a science of relationships (therapist? counselor?) then that might offer tools for documenting, comparing, and talking about the nature and shape of relationships - not only the interpersonal kind, but by extension the person-to-God kind, as well.

So much of Jesus' life, parables, and person is about 'heart'. It is no wonder that imagery across many centuries and generations shows 'sacred heart' and 'passionate heart' and 'broken heart' and 'flaming heart' to signify the layer of love that forms in relationships of quality and durability, ones with deep trust lived out in good faith. The one about the widow's mite carrying greater value than the rich man's heavy gold coins teaches several things, including the worth that comes from great sacrifice (not the face value of the coins, but the importance within the giver's own heart). Elsewhere we learn that God wants us to lend our hands and feet to do holy work; the Great Commission ends with the command to "feed my sheep" (flocks of people). It is not that any one person's contribution is indispensible. No, God's Will can succeed no matter who does or does not help. The value from each generation's participation in God's World comes from being present in mind (attention) and in body (embodied: taking up volume, having mass). 

In summary: knowing God better and better is similar to personal friendships in some ways. Mutual respect, responsiveness, sustained common cause, and so on fill out the framework to make it alive. Specific examples are marked out for special attention: "care for the least of these," and "caring for widows and orphans," and "preach and teach when others ask of you." But beyond the actions, words, and thoughts/attitudes closely attached to the embodied religious experience of moving through time in a body that changes from young to old, the Bible seems to be most concerned with one's heart. As a heart grows cold or hard, it needs to be broken or softened so that the lives of others can touch it and thereby add life to one's own life. Beyond the real-world improvements, relieving suffering, and dispelling ignorance, the pattern of (spiritual) growth of a person's heart seems to be a way to gauge how well one knows God, above all other gods, the Great I Am. Growing from being timid and fearful to being generous with the abundance of God's Love is one indicator that one has gotten to know God in a personal kind of way.

The poetic lyric about "I drink from the saucer because my cup overflows with God's Love" seems to say it all. Sin is not so much a recordable offense as a distraction from looking for; looking at God. "Missing the mark" (as in archery) is one of the images that goes with sinning. In the end, it is worshiping God that started everything in the Garden of Eden; making man in order for man to worship God. So the better we can know God and God's Will, the more we will continually focus and give attention to God winks, God's marvelous creations of land, sea, and air, and indeed the life of God's only begotten son, the Son of Man, Living Word and Prince of Peace.

Trust but verify... Mark 9:38

Acting in Jesus name & heart, good work is for all to do.

 

In the late '80s when U.S. President Reagan met face to face with USSR President Gorbachev, the "trust but verify" phrase was made famous in the discussion of missile deployments and nuclear warhead agreements being made. But the same principle seems apt on the field of interpersonal relations and the eternal vigilance needed to look out for false teachers and prophets, whether they are off track on purpose or unbeknownst to themselves and their followers, too. Then in the Wisdom Books of the Old Testament there is the visual interpretation of wisdom to resemble a snake in its sharp-eyed way of evaluating things. In other words, there is an important relationship seen in Jesus' living example between loving forgiveness and righteously judging.

Like Jesus, we should live in the  physical world to embody and live out God's teachings rather than to sit idly by in meditation alone. Part of that exertion and exercising of body and mind comes from looking with care and love upon sins of self and others with a view to close scrutiny and discernment. When it is appropriate and there are "money-changers in the Temple," then we should call it out and make judgement; not the preachy, hypocritical, or judgmental kind but a firm and loving kind. Put another way, while God judges each person in some ultimate sort of way, during each person's sojourn on Earth, judging others should be practiced - not carelessly, but judicially. Not with the goal of excluding, condemning, or damning the person, but rather with the purpose of accountability that leads them on course correction back into God's Way. Judge, discern, look closely - but always with a heart of love and for the purpose of redeeming salvation that comes by God's own grace, not something given by human powers that be.

In the words of Ronald Reagan, in order to sustain the relationship between us, we should trust each other but at the same time never stop verifying. Be ready to forgive but not to forget sins. Be ready to judge, but not necessarily blurt out unthinkingly. In all things, though, it is on God's authority and message, not on one's own: Judge but not judgmentally, be righteous but not self-righteous.

A personal scale for "be in the World but not of the World"

From the tree with knowledge of Good and Evil in the world?

The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) are closely associated with the aim to be "in the World, but not of the World." The idea is to do God's work in relationship with the high and the low of society but remain slightly at a distance in order to keep from being swept up or tripped up by the messiness and incompleteness found there: go into the trenches to wage battles with sin, but avoid being buried in the mud. Now instead of trying to grapple with the tension between mingling and holding one's distance, the scale of the tension can be shifted from the philosophical or the organizational to the boundaries of one's own body.

"Deny the flesh" is a phrase used to describe the discipline gained by being vigilant about one's motivations and the attractions to puffed up Ego, conspicuous consumption to wow others, and wasteful ways that contradict the Bible's instruction to be good stewards of the land, seas, and air. In a sense, this body-sized, corporeal medium is a place for striking a balance between "Delight in all of Creation" and "Deny the Flesh." This echoes the "be in the World" (garden of Earthly delight) tension with the "be not of the World" (deny the flesh). Maybe the ancient philosophers of Greek said the Golden Mean best, "in all things moderation."

By enjoying the pleasure, wonder, and rainbow of emotional responses to being a person in the world of nature and society and ideas, but at the same time seeking heavenly value and purposes, the result is a sort of "feet on the ground and head in the clouds." God is immanent in the people, places, and things of the World, but those tangible things are only place-holders or signposts that point to God's glory that runs through it all. The sated senses are only the surface of things; not a destination or stopping point. They are instead a gateway or entry to the fuller meaning of The World and of God's Ways.

How to "pray without ceasing" by using trigger phrases

autumn clouds late October sunny afternoon 2021

Paul writes (1 Thessalonians 5:17) to pray without ceasing. Clearly the image of forming a prayer and giving one's attention to one's Creator has a wide range of forms it can take; not just knee bent and head bowed. Rather, he describes a constant awareness of gratitude and knowing God's abiding presence in good times and bad, and all the other times, too, that are not particularly good or bad. Some write that the instinct to pray in this wide-meaning (heart of gratitude; mind of loving) should be like breathing; automatic and hardly requiring effort; the basis for sustaining life. But the question is what that might look like; who in one's daily round of activity demonstrates this example? In other words, what might be some ways to put the "pray without ceasing" into practice?

One clue comes from the realm of parenting classes 20 years ago. For times when a child challenges the parent with a complaint or refusal, the teacher suggested the phrase, "That may be so.... but [parent puts forth the opposing position]." In other words, reaching for that simple phrase allows the parent to acknowledge the child's position, and then to step around and past the obstacle in order to go forward. Likewise in the case of "praying without ceasing" there may be some simple linguistic phrases that make it possible to overcome the rut of everyday, consumer thinking and compartmentalization of "God's day is Sunday, not the other days." Here are a few examples that each reader can improve upon, take as food for thought, or adapt for purposes fitted to personal circumstances.

<>"Thank you, LORD" is a good one if something unexpected, not planned, distracting, irritating or frustrating intervenes in one's train of thought or best of intentions. Take a negative (steered off track) and regard it as a source of stopping and looking around; a chance to count one's blessing so far and then to get back on track again. St. Paul thanks God for the thorn in his side (or whatever the physical complaint is that he refers to).

<>"Beautiful!" is the reverse of the one above. Instead of acknowledging a distraction or detour from one's intended purpose, use a positive break in the train of events as an opportunity to pause long enough to acknowledge the delight or surge of joy. Not every bit of wonder or beauty needs to be photographed to share on social media. Sometimes the sparkle on the river, the flicker of starlight, or the raucous sound of a bluejay is there as a gift; a kind of private blessing for your pleasure to be truly thankful for.

<>"Walk with me, God" is a natural reaction for moments of anxiety, fear, or perceived danger for self or others.

<>"Help me, Jesus" is closely related to the previous, but instead of asking for company the need is more direct; a cry for outside intervention or guidance.

In general, the idea behind a compact set of well-worn phrases is that you can reach for them automatically, almost as easily as breathing or taking a cool drink of water. Whether it is a "God wink" during your day, a small or big crisis looming or one that you are in the midst of, or just a small annoyance, by drawing on formulaic phrases such as these examples, the door is open to engaging with God in a no-nonsense, unadorned, honest and personal way. In other words, something as human as language now becomes an everyday way to spend time with God without ceasing.

Wiser wordsmiths will be able to make short, easy to use phrases even more practical and powerful than these examples, but these words illustrate the point: short expressions (maybe even non-verbal expressions work, too), repeatedly used, and spoken or mentally used with no fanfare or performance anxiety. Like the earlier case of parenting class and deft use of "that may be so, but..." here in the case of "pray without ceasing" the deft use of a short prompt can make the relationship flow more smoothly; communication can resume in a healthy, wholesome, holy way.

Beware... elders, chief priests, teachers of the Law

In the weekly Bible study it was Mark 8:27 that started the discussion and train of thoughts with reflections by the handful of men on Zoom and in-person. For some reason the part about Jesus predicting his suffering and death by the hands (or mouths) of elders, chief priests, and teachers of the Laws [Pharisees] stood out. Stopping to consider the status or foundation of authority in each class of person categorized here, 'elders' take authority by genealogy entitlement, 'chief priests' by title held, and 'teachers of the Law' by virtue of intellectual merit. As the passage continues, Jesus communicates that none of these automatically confer righteousness or holiness. While it is possible such a ranked person can be pleasing to God, it is not a given; in fact, the baggage of perceived self-image can be a burden that gets in the way of such a person being able to see or hear God's will.

Stepping back a little further, this pattern continues in which Jesus is showing and telling that the relationship of This World (consumerism of the 21st century, too) to God's Kingdom is topsy-turvy; paradoxical; upside-down: the last shall come first, you much lose your life to gain it, the vinyard workers paid equally no matter how long they spent in the fields, and so on. Perhaps the "sound byte" verson of Jesus' teaching begins with "God is Love" (but so much can be unpacked from that compact statement) and then could be summed up as "things are not how they look." So be thoughtful to discern if you truly are hearing God's voice or some other source. Be vigilant ('trust but verify' as President Reagan told Premier Gorbachev) when someone claims to speak God's teaching or will. In the end, Jesus does not want the "mountain-top experience" that he has with Peter, James, and John. Rather, it is going down to the valley where the Gospel work is to be done. In other words, The World is not a place to shy from, filled with distraction and other forms of temptation; nor is it to be embraced blindly. It is imperfect, but since Christianity is an "embodied" (lived in time and space, requiring physical effort and friction and obstacles to overcome) form of religious practice, it is precisely in "The World" where one's spiritual muscles can exercise and the place where growth is possible.

As the passage is put in BibleGateway.com in the translation by Hawai'ian Pidgin English, here, those with ears to hear and eyes to see should beware of "the older leaders" (elders), "the main priest guys" (chief priests), and "the teaching guys who teach God's Rules" (teachers of the Law). That is a lesson to all who seek after God's presence in the world past, present, and future.

What’s left of church after removing layers of customs & cultural traditions?

 

screenshot of image search for "Mark 7"

Men’s study of Mark only got a few lines into chapter 7 before one tangent after another came up to understand Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees and Pharisees as a demonstration of God’s authority and power. Each week this lively conversation is a high point in person or via Internet. Here is one question: Jesus faulted the church leaders for obsessing about handwashing (not part of Leviticus or Old Testament instructions from God) rather than obsessing with something that matters for expressing and receiving God’s love. Modern-day worshipers eagerly reach for routines and comfortable expectations week after week, rather than fixating on the main prize: God’s love, spiritual maturity, care for one another. It is impossible to worship like free-floating “jazz improvisation,” although Quaker silent meetings do that sometimes. But to obsess about rigid liturgy is misguided if you read Mark 7 as an indictment against worshiping institutional features instead of worshiping God’s power and untamed wildness. Putting God’s words into a well-worn box or Sunday morning time slot does not help anybody to embrace and grow and reach out to others. So there is the question: what would it look like to peel off the customs so that only the teachings remain visible? Would worshipers clean themselves up for church on Sundays or instead “come as you are”? Would favorite seats in the sanctuary matter much? And would the same cycle of functions, efforts, and concerns preoccupy people between one fiscal year and the next? Maybe the Puritans were on the right track by obsessing about purity and discounting anything that gets in the way of God and his people. Then again, they were puritanical sinners, too. 

On top of this balancing act between externals like Order of Worship and weekly worship with others & the most important thing: hungering to know God better, there is a biographical dimension or growth path for each person: “going from the spiritual milk to the spiritual meat” as experience, knowledge, suffering, and love extend into one’s life. Some beginners DO need simple externals to grab onto that later are less necessary for relating to God, hour by hour and year by year. In other words, customs and traditions might not be Christianity, but they present a source of meaning and express (Worldly) certainty.

Another question that came up is about “gatekeepers” who set standards or expectations about what it looks like, sounds like, feels like to “be” a Christ follower and God seeker. On the one hand Jesus, again and again, criticizes the “white washed tombs” of death that the Pharisees represent, saying that those kinds of sanctimonious externals are wrong-headed and can lead others to the wrong idea, as well. It is not what sacred foods you eat or impure things you avoid that matter so much as what is in your heart. Heart not stomach is what counts in Mark 7. So this idea that God can work with just about anybody and any situation is another way of saying that there should be no gatekeepers; the bar is set very low to encourage everyone to come into relationship with God. At the same time, though, we read “the gate is narrow” as a visual image to mean that, yes, anything is acceptable if your heart is in the right place, but that The Way calls for effort and devotion. Another related image that came up during the discussion uses the radio receiver analogy: God is broadcasting eternally, but each of us needs to turn on the radio and tune the dial to hear the Word. It is there for everyone day and night, but so few make a commitment or know the first step to take.

Finally, branching off the Mark 7 passage about the difference between externals (like Sadducees washing hands in a ritual formula) and what is in a person’s heart, the analogy from legal trials came up. When a person dies as a result of someone’s action (or inaction), then judges want to determine if this is Murder (1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree) or Manslaughter. For the deceased and all  those who are bereaved as a result, calling the event murder or manslaughter makes little material difference. But if the killing is a premeditated ambush versus spur-of-the-moment versus completely unintentional then the perpetrator is labeled differently and will see him or herself differently, too. When it comes to actions & intentions, maybe the same is true of worship routines: going through the motions (your heart is not in it that day) differs a lot from doing it “like you mean it.” The same is true of weekly Bible study – showing up and going through the motions yields less fruit than being fully present and speaking purposefully with words well chosen. Necessarily, this summary of September 28, 2021 only scratches the surface of the tangents, ricochets, and fireworks that go off in the space of one hour. It is not a conversation to be missed.

The Living Word, Way, Love, Light ---diverse images

 

"Trust" in Japanese: person (red dot) stands by word (blue)

When reading the Bible with others in a small group, certain interpretations are offered and fine-tuned in dialog as each person brings insights, life experience, outside readings and other sources to the discussion. Gradually a fresh understanding comes into view, sometimes unexpectedly. English language versions of the original Greek (New Testament) and Hebrew (Old/first Testament) carry some resonance of modern times by choice of word or way of phrasing the meaning on the page. Likewise, other languages do something similar, not only rooted in a culture and a landscape, but also reflecting the moment in history (compare King James to the Good News Bible). This role of language in both bringing God's word closer, but paradoxically separating us from the full and long-lasting meaning is a topic that came up today in the Men's Bible Study on Zoom (and in person, for those at the church this morning).

On the one hand the Gospel, including God's only begotten son as a Living Word, is how humans learn new things and interrelate to one another. Just pointing out the limitations of spoken and written words, and the strong urge to frame logical propositions in linear chains, does not mean that non-verbal forms of knowing God (loving God) and getting to know one's Neighbor (love they neighbor; love they self, equally) are discounted. It seems natural and normal and transparent to privilege the verbal medium, especially when comparing it to alternatives like musical expression, immersion in the glory of the natural world, and visual art forms. From the printed page and spoken teaching/preaching we learn how to be God's people, the hands and feet of the Lord on earth, functioning as witnesses and agents authorized to enact God's love. And yet, on the other hand, words have limitations and can be pulled up from their context or be seized in ways that are unloving so as to be used to puff up one's pride or diminish another's worth. Spiritual babes hunger for clear lines of demarcation and simple formulas to follow. But with wider and deeper experience and knowing Jesus' life and examples and teachings, that same person may grow and require less of the "spiritual milk" and more of the spiritual meat so that what may have seemed at first contradictory, paradoxical, or baffling now can be seen without any fear or sense of threat. Differing ways and interpretations, so long as they hold to the core understandings that unite seekers of all kinds, can now be viewed for their value on their own terms, not be discarded for failing to fit into one's own container. 

Mere mortals may try (and should try) to encompass God's meanings and God's will. But clever words or hearts hardened by fixating on one narrow interpretation will never understand all of the Truth. Only humility, vigilance, and persistence will take a person closer to the goal, even when nobody can fully know God in a totalizing and infinite way. Words are what we rely on, but these same words can lead to delusion or instead to clarity. Heavy handed versus having a light touch when wrestling with God's meaning can lead to different outcomes. Perhaps the truth, when it comes to the limits of words, is to be found when the words are treated like temporary vehicles to a larger and much bigger meaning; knowing the words is only part of the way into God's meanings. By memorizing a passage or by rereading a text or by vigorously wrestling with it in the company of others those words sometimes begin to blur and instead there is sometimes a sense of reading "between the lines" (what is not articulated; what is conspicuously absent) and word-roots, Hebrew imagery or Greek choice of words may intersperse with the passage being scrutinized. The result is the words on the page begin to melt and mingle with related meanings and instances from elsewhere in the Bible and in outside sources, too. As such the Word turns into a liquid; something alive, not frozen solid.

Great care, scholarly effort, publishing history has gone into the Bible and many translations to distribute copies around the world's many languages and locations. That is surely important. But while it is necessary, it is not sufficient. The Word of God lives in people's hearts, not in the ink marks on dead trees pulped and bleached for paper. And without people to wrestle with those words according to the lives they live, then the Word is not being lived or being enlivened. Only when the Word meets readers and listeners and those who reflect on it will something valuable arise. Hence, God DOES need people in his universe, not just as hands and feet to carry out teachings, obedience, and be the "show and tell" of Christianity. There is a kind of mutual dependence: People need God, but also God needs flesh and blood, fallible mortals to be the ones who (voluntarily) accept the grace being offered when sin was paid for by Jesus' sacrifice. And His Word (the one between the covers of the bound edition of the Bible) only has reality and consequence when humans open the covers and wrestle with it: Word + engagement = living interpretation rooted in a time and place and language.

Circles of logic - rings of reason

Online weekly conversations with a fellow Bible study man brought to light the curious tension between self-identity and efforts at righteousness that comes from deeds/doing, not based on simply being. Particularly in USA, and maybe above all among men, there is an equation that weighs one's worth according to (visible) achievement. In other words, to be without use or purpose is to be without worth or value: useless is worthless. Feeling no purpose feels like having no meaning or consequence or point; not mattering. And yet, to the extent that all life is loved by God, it is enough to be; to exist; to occupy space and time in order to be in relationship with others.

On the one hand, there is the idea of "Works salvation," as if one can earn God's love and the redemption paid by Jesus for all nations' sins. "Faith without works" is said to be incomplete or empty; without substance or consequence. On the other hand, there is the idea that God's project will not crumble if one person fails to be righteous or does not accomplish the task held in that person's heart or mind. God can use sorrow, joy, stubborness, and kindness to accomplish all things. The point about actions and Earthly accomplishments is not that God depends on what is produced; nor that those involved need to prove their worth in God's eyes and to each other. Rather, the function of doing things lies in the doing: the process brings people together in the making and, once finished, in the operation of the thing. By enacting God's love a believer can bodily express righteousness; the world of Works completes the teachings and allows those involved to express their love in tangible ways. Christianity is an embodied faith, one lived out, not just reflected on or studied or discussed.

Getting back to the worth of one's life as measured by "doing" compared to assessment of "being," it seems that both dimensions of human experience are important. There is worth in being God's person out in the world. And the grammatical form of ...ing suggests action or process, so that BE+ING suggests a dynamic experience, maybe like treading water: one is in motion and yet a steady state is all that is visible by an outsider. It looks like the person is not moving. And, yet, under the surface of the water the arms and legs are not standing still. Likewise, "being" God's person or "being" a human being sometimes gives the appearance of just sitting there, not doing anything ("don't just do something, be there"). But under the surface, perhaps, there is a lot of activity going on in order to maintain the steady state of being there in dynamic equilibrium.

Although it might seem like a clever sleight of hand, discovering one's worth in "being" rather than by collecting trophies from "doing" great deeds really does seem to be BOTH inaction (just existing; occupying space and time; quietly metabolizing, seeing others and being seen by them) AND also activity that produces a steady state of being. In God's estimation, being and doing are two forms of the same righteous thing, sort of like Einstein's assertion that E=MC squared: matter and energy equal different forms of the same thing. Matter is not destroyed, it just changes from one form to another. Likewise, "being" and "doing" share a common relationship to God's Will. Righteousness comes both from being and from doing.

Even if one could dedicate all waking moments to being in-tune with God's Way, there are outside distractions, obstacles, sleep-cycles, and preoccupations and fascinations that interfere. Instead of striving to be in total thrall with God's abiding presence and Will, perhaps it is more practical to tailor one's form of righteousness and the kind of prayer to the condintions that ebb and flow during the course of a day, indeed during the course of a lifetime. There are so many ways to pray and each one may be suited to different times of one's life: crisis, calm, impatience, joy, sorrow. The biorhythm of one's daily cycles may also make certain forms of reaching out to God better than others: when focus and presence of mind is sharpest then maybe deep communion with God works best to exercise one's heart of love. When senses are dull, then perhaps it is labor and physical forms of spiritual exercise that work best. In between the times of least and greatest focus, maybe an intermediate form of prayer works best: a mixture of visual imagry (non-verbal engagement) with some spoken or written patterns.

All in all, the many forms of being and doing have some worth and as such are a good basis of "worth-ship" (i.e. Worship). Likewise of making prayers: there are many ways, each suited to different frames of mind in one's day or lifecycle. One's heart and body may shift in condition, but what is unchanging is God's Word and the eternal effort needed to seek righteousness that does not stray into sin. Learning to appreciate "just being" in self and in others, rather than to evaluate accomplishments and achievements according to Earthly habits can be a challenge. But it one that is worth the effort to know better one's self and one's God and one's neighbors.

Avoiding rust by using one's talents - being in fellowship

Street repairs stopped Friday; Saturday's rain made Sunday's rust.

 

T-shirts and bumper stickers sometimes repeat the folk wisdom, "use it or lose it," meaning that a muscle, a skill, or an expertise needs to be exercised to remain useful and perform at top-level. The same logic seems to apply to the bucket of this front-end loader. When the city workers stopped Friday night and left the equipment parked on site during the weekend, heavy rains fell on Saturday night and by Sunday noon the shiny base of the bucket, polished by hundreds of loads of sand, dirt, and gravel now shows a vivid coat of orange rust. By extension to seekers after God's Way, there is a similar imperative to be active in one's use of talents, mental and physical powers, and the place in the world one occupies: not to sit still (although there is a time to meditate, and a time to vegetate, too) but to engage in the people and environment at hand. The photo is a good reminder to minimize rust by keeping active in fellowship, in study, in service, and worship, and so on.

The Zoom meeting of the First Congregational Church of St. Johns, Michigan for the first Sunday after the April 4 celebration took the book of 1 John, chapter 1 as the starting point to talk about how to be "Easter People," the Christ-followers who center their lives around the example of resurrection; born all over again, born from above. The concluding thoughts in the sermon put fellowship with God as something to aim for day to day and something to enjoy by fellowship with other Christ-followers. This is not an exercise in mutual self-righteousness; instead, it is a habit of interacting with others who share in common a humble, open-hearted, and other-responsive posture and mind-set. By living this way with fellow Christians, but also engaging in others not yet seeing and hearing God's love, the result is Kingdom Experience right now on Earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom of God is within you, but also when fellowshipping with others equally humble, open-hearted, and other-oriented, this same kingdom is put into flesh-and-blood form, even if imperfectly. No matter how short one falls from the ideal, by striving (one must use it) the goals come closer (not lose it). The corollary to "use it or lose it" also comes from folk wisdom, "It is better to wear out [from frequent use] than to rust out [not put to use]."

Word play - "out of love"; also Christian "nice"

Researchers of ESL, teaching English as a Second (or Foreign) Language, sometimes point to the observation that more than 3/4 of the meaning in language comes from context (place, time, non-verbal cues). Another large portion comes from prosodics (that part that is not vocabulary and grammar): tone of voice, pace, accent, rise and fall, and so on. Relatively minor in the grand scheme of things is the contribution made from word choice and correct conjugation and punctuation. These insights can be applied to the phrase, "out of love," when speaking of how one Christian reaches out to another -- indeed reaches out to a fellow human, regardless of affiliation with a spiritual tradition.

One interpretation is OUT of love; that is, the interaction should be built upon a foundation of love for one's neighbor equal to love for self.

One interpretation is OUT OF Love; that is, the medium in which the interaction is composed should integrate loving manner and meaning.

One interpretation is out of LOVE; that is, commonplace secular "love" should be ejected so that Agape Love can fill that void.

Based on the passage in which the original text (in ancient Greek) is used, the dominant meaning should be identifiable - one of these examples, or something altogether different. And yet, by the logic of "word play," even when the speaker or writer intends just one dominant significance for a phrase, since the overthinking mind can use mental gymnastics to conjure other possible meanings, perhaps the phrase can be both: it can carry the speaker's main purpose at that time in addressing a particular recipient of the message. But the meaning can also support these latter-day interpretations at the same time. The original use is the melody and the echoes of alternate interpretations are harmonic or overtone waves of expression that come with the phrase. In that case of sympathetic, passive reverberations, then "out of love" can carry along all these meanings.

A different kind of word play comes from scrutinizing the instruction to "be nice" to others. Of course, Christians are not the only ones who can do a good turn to strangers and friends; act, speak, or think charitably of others; or turn the other cheek and return kindness when hit with meanness. But somehow the self-identity of church goes involves demonstrating to self and others that one can "be nice." It is not only fellow believers and one's own self that needs to witness this way of approaching the world, but also in the eyes of people of other religions or of no religious affiliation that "being nice" must be demonstrated. But in one's mind, words, and actions is "being Christian" and "being nice" largely the same thing?

Curiously, "nice" is a word that has traveled from one extreme to the other in linguistic history. Four or five hundred years ago to be "nice" meant to be ordinary, common, not refined or elevated in any way. The connotation was bad, something like the archaic usage, "he is so common in his tastes for music" (meaning low-brow, mean or low). Gradually the word "nice" shifted from pejorative to neutral and now to its positive connotation as something desirable and approved of. So when people alive today use the expression, they fully intend a sort of halo effect or positive glow for the person or thing being judged as "nice." And yet there is the legacy of that earlier, low-down and negative meaning (fighting words). Like anybody else, Christians can exhibit both senses of this "nice" trajectory: mean or well-favored.

Returning to the question - is "being nice" an accurate way to characterize what Christians are/do/speak - is seems like "being nice" is a throw-away term. On the surface it seems benign and normal and positive. It is like the response, "I'm fine," to the automatic and often unthinking greeting, "how're you doing"? The banter of "all ok?" and "fine, sure" operates at the surface, not probing the depths and the roots. So, too, the description of what Christians are: "oh, they are nice people" or " who we are is nice people." Here, again, the meaning is simple and on the surface, not digging down to learn more. In some situations to dig around feels invasive or unwarranted; in other cases, such unrelenting engagement is what is valued most. So it is less about being nosy and more a matter of one's attitude (caring enough to inquire) and (self-) awareness (that skimming the surface is a danger to watch out for).

On the outside, from the spectator's seats, what the Christians do, say, and what is internal may superficially be no different that any old person "being nice," the similarity may well diverge, since the Christian will be reminded of Jesus' example; of the idea of grace undeserved; and of mercy to others and for oneself. The non-Christian may or may not touch on some of these other things, in a fragmented way, or by chance as a bundle of meanings that connect closely. At the receiving end of "being nice" perhaps all this discussion is "distinction without difference" and the end result is about the same. But at the giving end of the "being nice," certainly, the experience of engaging with another Child of God will have particular meaning different to a non-Christian. In the end, doing right things in a right way and with a right heart is not exclusive to Christians. But for the Christian who is taking part there will be specific and resonant meaning the hearkens to Bible, to Jesus' example, and to a foretaste of what may be expected of heaven as on Earth.

Red-letter Bible versus a blue and green-letter edition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_letter_edition

Many people who have opened a Bible will have discovered that some editions contain red-lettered passages to show words spoken (quoted) by Jesus of Nazareth. Leaving aside the path of transmission from fly-on-the-wall taking down the Aramaic words into written Greek (New Testament or 2nd Testament), this visual display does enhance the reading experience by raising a flag and calling for the person's careful attention. Thomas Jefferson did something similar by using a razor blade to remove the passages not attributed to Jesus, thus leaving him with ribbons of print to assemble into what is entitled for download or purchase the Jefferson Bible.

But what would it look like if there were a blue letter edition with instances in both Testaments in which lessons, illustrations, or examples about Christian and Christ-like relationships appear. That way the followers of Christ who browse the passages could see instantly the points concerned with desired relationships. Some thinkers and doers of Christianity have foregrounded relationships as the coin of the realm serving as currency for making "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven."

Others have pointed to one's own heart and that of the people one is in relationship with as the foundation for Christian society, community, spiritual development of maturity, and so on. Turning again to the printing press, let us suppose there were a green letter edition in which all fragments, passages, parables, and admonitions regarding one's heart or that of others is spotlighted. That way the followers of Christ who browse the passages could see instantly the important description, explanation, and exercises affecting one's (sacred) heart.

Merely producing aids like this will not affect Christians, though, unless they actually read and talk about it. By studying the red letter edition the person can learn a lot about Jesus. From the blue letter edition the same person can focus on practical and philosophical aspects of relationships with others as they begin, blossom, and bear fruit. By reading the green letter edition this person can emphasize the joys and sorrows of one's heart all across the range of human maturity - from the ego-centered stage to the other-centered stage until at last reaching a balance of self and other so that "love your neighbor as yourself" really does come to be.

There are so many paths and circumstances that lead a person to follow Emmanuel, Lamb of God. Some arrive by accident, others by upbringing, and still others through deliberate decisions and searching. Taking for a moment an analytical approach to the arc of Christian life that begins with "the milk and later is ready for the meat," all three colors - red letter, blue letter, and green letter editions - would play a part in the stages of the person's spiritual growth. This does not discount the rest of the chapters and verses of bibles as filler to be overlooked. It is still important to know the context connected to a particular string of colored letters, whether red, blue, or green. How then might a "new" Christian proceed? 

Taking the "faith without works" idea, being and doing Christianity involves individual relationship to God as well as communal, congregate worship and works, too. One must work out in their own time and circumstances the connections to others and to God in conversations, caring, sacrificing, praising, seeking, and so on. It is an embodied,  tangible experience to grow into and grow beyond, too. So the red-letter edition helps the person to know Jesus as a person and as God's Living Word. In that edition, Jesus is the main character. Much of what Jesus' teachings and examples dwell on is right-relationship with God and with one another (Love God. Love your neighbor as you love yourself). So the blue letter edition would help a person to embrace those instances. And then the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray, The LORD's Prayer, makes the plea for [may it be that] "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven," or in the title of Leo Tolstoy's book, "The Kingdom of God is within You." In other words, when the LORD's Prayer says "Thy kingdom come," that kingdom is of your heart: achieving peace, abundance, righteous attitude and word and deed all starts there, inside the person.

Now suppose that a person went through the day and year, indeed a whole lifetime, after taking to heart what is revealed in the red, blue, and green letter editions of the Bible. As life's experiences, both joys and sorrows, glee and irritation, come and go this person gains an appreciation for self, other, and indeed the wider arena of God's creation from nano-size to galactic dimensions. Compared to the uniform black and white of  printed and spoken Bibles, these colorful editions filter and simplify the lens so that the essential strands of Jesus' life, relationship dynamics, and the heart ecosystem stand out from the rest of the text. That way a person can chart the progress of their own growth and the conditions of the people who touch one's own life.

=-=-= ADDENDUM image & words from reader, Henry F. "Jack" Brown in Michigan

page from J. Brown's marked Bible (key to colors, below)

[quoted with permission] I do something like this in my Bibles.  Red for prayer, green for salvation, Brown for Christian living, yellow for sin and warnings, blue for God's promises, black for judgement/consequences, mauve for trials, challenges, blue-green for God's help, purple for the work of the Holy Spirit and healing, orange, when God speaks directly, light green for the work and example of Christ.

Playing with analogies - God's relationship to his many people

 

Analogies sometimes fit closely, other times they fit loosely

Translation is an issue that people who scrutinize the Bible spend time on. Important changes happen when ancient words from one language are put into the terms of another language many generations later. Some words have important shape, texture, and reverberation (connotation) that may be lost in the new language; or rather, the new language may unintentionally add its own characteristics that were not present in the original language. But before the text is fitted into a new "set of clothes" there is the imperfect way that a raw experience is captured in words. Just as God is infinite and cannot really be contained by just one name (at least 99 names are spoken of the Creator), so it is with some meanings and experiences that come to us in verbal form. The very act of articulating something in song, poetry, narrative, parable, or historical recounting runs the risk of adding unwanted overtones or the opposite, incompletely conveying the full depth of meaning. And even when the original text and the translated one are tailor-fitted, there is no accounting for the readership. Each person brings their own collection of images, meanings, associations to the words they hear or read, partly from personal history; partly from historical moment; partly from culture of the community they belong to. There will be some readers who take a literal interpretation of all words given on the page, but others will favor a looser reading to allow wider application and poetic value. This same imperfect grasp of a subject takes place at the level of analogies, too: sometimes shining a spotlight on a quality of likeness but incidentally leaving other important qualities unlit.

"God is Love" presents a foundation for people to relate to the Creator, and for the Creator's basis of  relationship with his/her creatures. In one way of thinking, "God is love" is the sum total of the Christian message; all else is just added detail. The language of English has just this one word, 'love', to fit into all kinds of settings (parent-child, friend-friend, husband-wife, patriotic feelings, favorite foods and experiences, etc). Ancient Greek has at least six different terms that fit the differing kinds of love: Eros, Storge, Ludus, Pragma, Mania, and Agape. People eager to "know" God (English with just one word; other languages with one that means 'know facts' and another that means 'know a person or place') often start by remembering that "God is love." But can a mortal creature even embrace an immortal one of infinite dimension? Does "knowing God" mean just making contact with the Great I Am, rather than to encompass the vastness within the best of one's ability and the size of one's heart? And during the course of spiritual development and maturity does one's "knowing God" get deeper? wider? more integral or intimate in connectedness? Analogies might shed light; but then again, analogies might misrepresent by putting emphasis in one place at the expense of another.

"Knowing God is like wading or even swimming in the ocean" could be one way to express the vastness that one can be immersed in: size, saltiness, tidal action, undertow, changing weather and season, shifting light in a 24 hour cycle, and the diverse creatures from animal and plant kingdoms at mega and nano scales. A person can know the ocean (i.e. God) in some important ways, and feel connected, too. But so much about the relationship and the nature of the ocean is left out: mid-ocean phenomena, long-distance currents, migratory patterns, deepest ocean life and geological processes, and so on. The more years one spends on the ocean shore, the more that one has the opportunity to observe patterns and behaviors, reflect, meditate, and interact with it. This corresponds to the expanding knowledge of God that may be possible; never getting to the entirety, but nevertheless gaining incrementally more experience and closer embrace.

"Like a child you can enter the kingdom of God" or as the King James Version (Matthew 18) says, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Thinking about children's way of being in the world more closely, the first condition is sense of security to create conditions of trust. Then there is relatively low self-consciousness and relatively high curiosity. From this lesson about being like a child, it seems that the precondition to know God is trust and safety/security; that the relationship is unassailable and will not be broken. On that basis love (of God; from God) can grow. No matter how much Bible study, self-mortification, spiritual exercising, and uninterrupted worshiping that one does, this very first step to know God is the single-most important: you must "show up" and "be present" for a relationship with God to form and then thrive.

"Gravity is a weak force but it pervades everything, just like God's presence." Short-term forces, distractions, cravings can overcome this inexorable but weak force of nature. But that power is always present, working its force if only one pays attention: sun or rain, night or day, in times of joy or sorrow, that force is ever-present.

"Seeking a righteous life to minimize sinful straying is like sailing a boat: the wind may shift directions and you must respond in order to stay the course." To enter "the narrow gate" that Jesus points to, a person must take care to minimize sins that lead off the main road into dead ends. The sailboat image works because of the dynamic interplay of wind conditions and the vigilant steering on the rudder. But whereas the sailor strives to arrive at a destination, for Christians there really is no final knowing of God; no final destination. Merely to be in motion, on the lake, and steering with vigilance is the goal.

In the end the scriptures are one of the main sources to get to know God's ways, God's creation, and God's love. Mystical or direct experience of God is another (chancing upon a burning bush is well documented, too). At the same time the very same texts can be an obstacle since some will cling to the letter of the page and not hear the larger voice and what is communicated between the lines. Owing to the way that society changes along with the meanings associated with certain keywords and figures of speech, as well as the habits (and abilities) of reading, some harm can come from insisting on one's own interpretation of a passage. But "like looking in a rear-view mirror" it sometimes is possible for a section of the Bible to point toward a larger meaning that goes beyond the mere surface description that lies right in front of you on the page. For example, God's steadfastness can be seen in a story, nevermind the particulars of names and events that happen to be recorded.

Thomas Jefferson tried to discard all except direction quotations of Jesus (like today's "red-letter Bible") to bring himself closer to knowing God. But depending on what translation that he worked from (very likely the King James Version) the same properties inherent in moving from one language (and century) to another language and century remain in the strips of pages that he assembled. Therefore, there is greater merit in discerning what the text shows about God's being than there is in splitting hairs when it comes to one word compared to another, for instance. Playing with analogies can be revelatory and even a purposeful intellectual or emotional exercise, but this powerful tool can be used well or can be misused. So "handle with care" should be printed as a warning on the side of the package.