Last weekend I participated in a surprise birthday roast for a pastor friend in Omaha. We had a great time. It was the culmination of a stressful week. They had officiated at a funeral for a teacher. Apparently the Phelps crowd from Westboro Baptist in Topeka announced they planned to picket the funeral. I guess there are not enough soldier funerals so they are focusing on teachers as lackeys of government propaganda or something.
There were only 4 picketers but there were many counter-protesters. My friend says the goal is to provoke reactions that could lead to litigation. It is a business strategy.
I find myself turning to Galatians 6: Don't be misled. No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants,he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others -- ignoring God! -- harvests a crop of weeds. But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life. So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Thrill is Gone
Thanks to the gracious generosity of folks from my former congregation, Christ UMC, Peggy and I went to Minneapolis last Friday for a BB King concert. He introduced his great-grandchildren to the audience who seemed to have gathered to celebrate his aura as much as listen to his music.
The blues are merciful to both instrumentalists and vocalists. The old guys in the band were having a good time and making fine music. BB talked more than he sang but when he cut loose with Lucille the power of the songs and singer emerged.
He spoke or sang several times about dying. The atmosphere was tinged with a bit of sadness. Near the end when he sang "The Thrill is Gone" I was tempted to extend the metaphor but I remembered years ago buying a vinyl album that included three cuts that I used to illustrate a Sunday message.
I used the Thrill is Gone to talk about the human condition; I'm a Born-Again Human to talk about the transformative power of love; and There Must Be a Better World Somewhere to lift up the promise of the Gospel. Still some of my better work and his.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
The blues are merciful to both instrumentalists and vocalists. The old guys in the band were having a good time and making fine music. BB talked more than he sang but when he cut loose with Lucille the power of the songs and singer emerged.
He spoke or sang several times about dying. The atmosphere was tinged with a bit of sadness. Near the end when he sang "The Thrill is Gone" I was tempted to extend the metaphor but I remembered years ago buying a vinyl album that included three cuts that I used to illustrate a Sunday message.
I used the Thrill is Gone to talk about the human condition; I'm a Born-Again Human to talk about the transformative power of love; and There Must Be a Better World Somewhere to lift up the promise of the Gospel. Still some of my better work and his.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Al Mohler is Mistaken
My last posting mentioned the teaching of my tai chi instructor to "lean into the pain". I'm fairly sure that he is not Christian (probably informed by some "eastern" philosphy or religious practice). Remembering his gentle teaching got me thinking about recent media attention of a blog by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and intellectual leader within evangelical groups and a proponent of five point Calvinism (TULIP doctrine). I keep reading about Mohler ( a big article in Christianity Today) and a piece in Christian Century, Oct. 19, 2010, which quotes his Sept. 20 blog: yoga begins and ends with an understanding of the body that is, to say the very least, at odds with the Christian understanding. ... Believers are called to meditate upon the Word of God. ... not to meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables."
Be still and know that I am God. Ps. 46:10. But the Lord is in his holy Temple; let all the earth keep silence before him! Hab. 2:20 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. Ps. 23: 2,3a Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. John 15: 4
Jesus and the scriptures teach spiritual discplines and practices of keeping watch and waiting; being ready and prepared; listening and staying open to the way and will of the Lord. The classic way of praying with scripture (lectio divina/divine reading) leads one from the head to the heart and soul into a time of abiding with God. Surely Dr. Mohler is not denying the long centuries of contemplative prayer practices of the church.
Not to mention that Christians have long borrowed and adapted symbols, concepts and practices from other cultures and made them Christian. In my limited practice of tai chi I found myself praying. I found myself wanting to develop a form of body prayer that would be rooted in the Word and become a healthy expression of adoration. Catholics use prayer beads. The entire Centering Prayer movement is not an attempt to follow eastern practices but to reclaim ancient Christian traditions.
It is my understanding that the Hebrew word for the name of the Lord (YHWH) is so sacred as to not be pronounced. I would encourage Al Mohler to devote his advent prayer time to the story of Zechariah in Luke 1. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78, 79
Be still and know that I am God. Ps. 46:10. But the Lord is in his holy Temple; let all the earth keep silence before him! Hab. 2:20 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. Ps. 23: 2,3a Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. John 15: 4
Jesus and the scriptures teach spiritual discplines and practices of keeping watch and waiting; being ready and prepared; listening and staying open to the way and will of the Lord. The classic way of praying with scripture (lectio divina/divine reading) leads one from the head to the heart and soul into a time of abiding with God. Surely Dr. Mohler is not denying the long centuries of contemplative prayer practices of the church.
Not to mention that Christians have long borrowed and adapted symbols, concepts and practices from other cultures and made them Christian. In my limited practice of tai chi I found myself praying. I found myself wanting to develop a form of body prayer that would be rooted in the Word and become a healthy expression of adoration. Catholics use prayer beads. The entire Centering Prayer movement is not an attempt to follow eastern practices but to reclaim ancient Christian traditions.
It is my understanding that the Hebrew word for the name of the Lord (YHWH) is so sacred as to not be pronounced. I would encourage Al Mohler to devote his advent prayer time to the story of Zechariah in Luke 1. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78, 79
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