by Carol Dixon
The season of Eastertide (Easter Sunday to Pentecost) seems to be slipping by quickly this year. I have felt an inner compulsion to re-read the accounts of some of the characters who met with the resurrected Jesus and walk with them for a while. I love the way the Easter season continues further into Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and there are so many wonderful Easter accounts in the Gospels for us to contemplate over the weeks between Easter and Ascension Day/Pentecost we are sometimes spoilt for choice.
Last year on Godspacelight I posted some of my imaginative Easter Meditations from the point of view of different characters in the story (Easter Reflections – Godspacelight).
This year I’d like to share some pithy pointers to the stories written by Revd. David Jenkins, Moderator of Northern Synod of the United Reformed Church 1987-2001 and my former boss – I was Moderator’s secretary for 20 years and spent 14 interesting years typing up some of David’s books as well as the more mundane secretarial tasks of typing letters and preparing reports. He has given me permission to reproduce his ponderings and is very happy for his reflections to be used for personal devotions and in worship.
David invites his readers to ponder on each word or phrase and think about the points in the stories that speak particularly to us personally and what they might be saying to us today in the church.
Mary and the gardener John 20.11-16
Harry Clarke, Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene Chapel of the Sacred Heart,
Dingle Co. Kerry, Ireland Wiki media Commons
Dawn. Garden tomb open. Jesus gone.
Mary of Magdala in tears. Love tested.
Spirit destroyed. Horrific weekend.
Who to talk to? Suddenly. A stranger.
Or is the gardener? Short conversation.
Mary: “I’ve lost my dearest friend!
Where have you put him?”
Stranger: “Mary!” Mary: “Rabboni”
Life returns. Spirit renewed.
Easter miracle.
Prayer: Jesus, when grief is raw,
reach out to us;
when endings crowd our days,
create a new dawn for us.
Only you can turn the world’s fears
and tears into opportunities
for love and hope.
Image from teachingthem.com
Goin’ fishin’ John 21.1-6
Disciples all at sea. Shock. Trauma. Guilt-filled. Jesus gone. Three years down the drain. What next? Peter, James, John, Galilean used-to-be-fishermen. So what now?
“At least we were good at that!” Peter: “Goin’ fishin” Back to the big lake. But no luck. No fish. Stranger on the shore. “Try the other side!” (The cheek of it!) But he is spot on. Huge catch. “Good grief! It’s him!”.
Prayer: God of every lost disciple and pilgrim soul,
keep surprising us when we are all at sea.
Reach out and let your presence resurrect us.
In calm or storm, at dawn or dusk,
let us hear your “Shalom” on the breeze.
image public domain
Breakfast time John 21.9-12
Fresh fish. Breakfast by the lake. Talk about unexpected. Jesus present after all. No getting away. No good clinging to the past. Easter surprises point to the future. Every meal, communion. Fish. Bread. Guilt wiped away in a simple meal. Still fishing to do. A whole world out there. Eager for good news.
Prayer: Welcoming God, please keep calling us to eat and drink with you,
so that every meal becomes sacrament
and every human being a precious guest.
Call us into fellowship and friendship
until we find Easter strength for each new day.
Hiking Luke 24. 13-19
Hikers on the road. Two very sad figures. Not famous disciples.
Cleopas and A.N Other.
Minds, spirits crushed
by the tragedy of recent days.
Jesus crucified. Horrible.
Then another walker joins them, going their pace. Now there are three.
Silence. The stranger says little.
He soaks up their grief,
anger and despair.
It seems he has not read the papers.
They walk. Their unburdening
seems to give them peace. He helps them reflect and, as they walk,
the mist lifts, things become clearer. Amazingly, the stranger helps them
to understand Easter.
Prayer: Mysterious God,
you come to us as one unknown.
You come not with judgment
but with compassion,
not hurrying us but gently
leading us to clarity.
Come alongside us, we pray,
as earth-pilgrims-in-need,
to lift, carry, transform.
image from Emmaus Road Ministries
B & B at Emmaus Luke 24. 28-32
Time to find accommodation. Two pilgrims plus one. The stranger will now go his own way. Or will he? No, they persuade him to join them. Five star hospitality. Must put it on Trip advisor. They share their evening meal. Then, Wow! The stranger, breaks open the loaf, and it dawns on them who he is. It’s him! In all their journeying, unburdening, and shared blisters, they had been in the presence of the Jesus man! Easter joy is incognito. Deep. Hidden. Amazing.
Prayer: Hidden God, heal broken hearts by broken bread.
Help us to draw Easter strength for our own time.
When endings are all we can think of,
let your loving hospitality open our lives
To receive your Easter gifts of peace, joy and love.
* * * * * * * * * *
I took up David’s challenge to think of key points in one of the Easter stories myself and came up with the following:
Thomas John 24-29
Declaration – die with him. Disaster – death, of his Master. Doubt and Disbelief, – unless I see for myself. Depression turned to delight – Display of Wounds. Deeply moved. Devotion DECLARATION MY LORD AND MY GOD! Blessed are those who believe without seeing.
Prayer: Loving Lord, often like Thomas we doubt your power
to rise above the death-like situations in our lives and in our world.
When we recall the ecological and human-made disasters, sudden deaths,
murders, painful experiences, and serious illness of people around us;
When we think of the wars, bombings, famines, and other disasters
which wreak havoc around us, we want to run away and hide.
Help us to have the courage to reach out and touch your scars,
borne for the world, and for us, so that we may be healed,
renewed, and see your risen life in the broken people and places
of our world and acclaim you again as our Lord and our God. Amen.
Now it’s your turn to ponder on your favourite Gospel passage for Easter. Over to you…
Kruiskerk, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
by Bill Borror
You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer….
John 15:14-15
For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.
Teresa of Avila
Fear not the coming of your God; fear not his friendship. He will not (reduce) you when he comes; rather he will enlarge you. So that you might know that he will enlarge you he not only promised to come, saying, ‘I will dwell with them,’ but he also promised to enlarge you, adding, ‘and I will walk with them.’ You see then, if you love, how much room he gives you. Fear is a suffering that oppresses us. But look at the immensity of love. ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts’ (Romans 5.5).
Augustine of Hippo Sermons, 23.
I must admit that it has taken me the better part of three decades to reembrace the language of “friendship with Jesus.” It is not that I have minimized God’s love for us or ignored what it means for us to grow in love with Christ, but I was reacting to the popular and shallow theology of my evangelical upbringing. The “personal Jesus” that was often promoted was a particular emotive experience that seemed to be not only divorced from historical Christianity, but quite accommodating to whatever cultural and political milieu in which it was situated. As J. B. Philips once observed, that God is too small.
But the answer is not in making God too circuitous or so watered-down that the presented deity literally is not worth getting up on Sunday morning to go and worship. Having spent my entire adult career in mainline protestant churches, I have observed a different kind of flight from historical Christianity, that in many ways is a form of functional atheism. Karl Barth observed, “One cannot speak of God simply by speaking of man in a loud voice.” This God is too thin.
The God revealed in Jesus Christ is both the creator of the cosmos and the lover of the created. Jesus is both the truth incarnate and the maker of breakfast for his disciples. He is both the Resurrection and the Crucified. He is God and Lord and a friend that will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus was the friend of Augustine of Hippo, the shaper of Western Christianity and Jesus was the friend of my grandmother Hattie of Shirley’s Lane WV, the person who first told me about and reflected the God that is Love.
Genuine friendships are built on trust, mutual affection, shared perspectives, and conversations. Friendship with God is not only rooted in a relationship with Jesus, but it is having our “hearts expanded” so that we may love as Jesus loved. This love means caring for the people of God whether we agree with them or not. And it entails embracing the scars of the world, regardless of what that may ultimately cost us.
Neither reform nor deconstruction is going to transform the current state of the church.
William Temple observed, “True worship is when a person, through their person, attains intimacy and friendship with God.” And friendship with God will make our connections with one another look a little more like what Jesus promised when he said the world we know we belong to him by the way we love one other (John 13:35).
photo by Cornelia Steinwender on Unsplash
A Journey Into God’s Resurrection-created World
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Celebrate the Easter Season with this free download! Though originally published in 2009, the hope that comes from Resurrection Sunday and continues into Pentecost is always needed! We have made some small additions for a COVID-19 reality, but feel that many of the suggestions can be adapted. Christine invites us to Journey Into God’s Resurrection-created World as a way to celebrate this season. The joy that comes when we recognize what Jesus has done for us is infectious and this book outlines creative ways to invest in the lives of those around us, including those we normally disregard.
I am looking out on a very grey and cold morning here in Seattle. There is fresh snow on the Olympic mountains, a surprising contrast to the lilac bush now in full bloom outside my window. Spring is always an uncertain season with winter reluctant to give up its hold on us, while the first glimmers of summer struggle to emerge. It is a season that is always filled with growth and promise, with joy and expectation however, which I am very aware of as I look ahead to the next few weeks.
I am getting ready for The Spirituality of Gardening webinar and am excited to share some of my insights with you. This is not just for gardeners but for anyone who draws close to God in nature whether it be while sitting beside a waterfall, on a beach or wandering through a forest. This is for anyone who wants draw closer to the God who comes to us in the creation story as the planter of gardens and the nurturer of all that is good and beautiful. This webinar is for anyone who wants to discover the enriching awe and wonder of interacting with God’s good creation. I am very much looking forward to the fun interactions and the mutual learning this will provide for us. I hope you will join us on May 11th for this valuable seminar.
My head is still ringing with the sound of wonderful music, poetry and wisdom from the Inhabit conference Tom and I attended over the weekend. Between sessions I raced outside to enjoy the beauty of the Dumas Bay Retreat Centre where the conference was held this year. Watching the sun set over the water was an added delight. I appreciated the cries for lament and justice, for equity, reparation and restitution, and have returned home with renewed zeal for the daunting task that still faces us to bring justice, mercy and God’s love to our world. My one disappointment was that virtually no sessions talked about the climate crisis and our need to face together our destruction of this good earth and the extinction of many of the creatures we share it with.
It is my belief that our concerns for our sisters and brothers who face inequity, poverty, violence and abuse around the world should be grounded in our concern for the planet on which we live. As I commented in yesterday’s Meditation Monday: God’s Dream Unfolding “For me, God’s dream is expansive and whole. It’s a dream for all of creation – plants, animals, people – living in shalom together with God.” This post, like future Meditation Mondays, is available in audio form too for paid subscribers to my Substack. Several people told me how much they enjoy listening to the posts rather than reading them, especially as my emotions and feels come through more clearly. Please consider joining those who support my ministry in this way.
As you can see I am really getting into this podcast business. A year ago it never occurred to me that I would launch not just one but two podcasts. On Wednesday we launched the 6th episode of Liturgical Rebels, a fun interview with my good friend, frequent partner in crime and creative worship leader Lilly Lewin. Our next episode will be a very passionate interview with author and activist Shane Claiborne. This week, together with Forrest Inslee, I will interview Brian McLaren about his new book Life After Doom, and next week will chat to Tony Jones about his book The God of Wild Places. I am also getting ready to interview my yarn bombing friend Naomi Lawrence, and iconographer Kelly Latimore, and have several others in the pipeline. I feel the podcast is gathering steam. We just had the 1000th download and wherever I share about it I find people are very excited about my emphasis on helping people to think outside the box about what it means to worship God, what is a spiritual practice and how do we draw close to the Creator of our universe.
Godspacelight is thriving too. On Saturday, Emily Huff, in her post for International Dance Day shared that wonderful song, Lord of the Dance. She comments: “This song is a beautiful invitation to us as we listen to God saying, “Come dance with me” to us through this day that God has given to us. What might it be like to stand on God’s feet just like a little girl might stand on her father’s feet in learning how to dance? What might it look like to let God take the lead as we twirl and swing together around the dance floor and as everything else fades away as we dance?”
Lilly Lewin’s Freerange Friday Discovering the Garden of Love talks about the boxes we all tend to live in – failure, fear and not enough then reflects on love – not as a box but as a garden. Such a beautiful concept.
On Thursday we reposted an inspiring post Shift #5 An Ecological Mission, by James Amadon from the Circlewood blog, The Ecological Disciple. I love his assertion that “The current ecclesial crisis is an opportunity to reassess, among other things, the Church’s understanding and practice of mission. And this work is well underway”. Lots to reflect on here.
Are we too busy for beauty,
Too distracted to practice wonder?
Do we have the courage,
To live in the freedom of awe
Absorbing the rhythm
Of our God soaked world.
Our bodies carry the essence of God
Within and without,
Alone and in community,.
Eternity pulses within us, around us
All through all creation.
Many blessings
Spirituality of Gardening – A virtual retreat
On May 11 from 9:30-12:30 pm PT (check my timezone) We will discuss connections between community, spirituality and gardening. Explore the wonderful ways that God and God’s story are revealed through the rhythms of planting, growing and harvesting as well as the beauty of nature. This webinar is for anyone who admires the beauty of God’s good creation, likes to walk in nature, sit by the ocean or just relax and listen to the birds in the trees. It is based on Christine Sine’s popular book, To Garden with God and each participant will receive a digital copy of this book.
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by Christine Sine
Tom and I just returned from the Inhabit Conference. This is a yearly event for us that draws together a diverse group of people from across North America. I love the rich interplay that our black, hispanic, indigenous and white heritages bring to the mix of music, poetry, liturgy and wisdom we share.
I had the privilege of helping to craft and share, together with a group from many cultures and generations, our introductory liturgy which focused on God’s good dream of renewal, restoration and shalom for all of creation. I want to share some of this with you. In our broken and fragmented world it is hard sometimes to believe in this dream “which extends far beyond our own; for God’s dream imagines and sets into being more beauty, more joy, more just, more peace, and more connection than we can imagine.”
Scripture is full of the promise of God’s unfolding dream, of shalom, of the Beloved Community which Jesus teaches us to become part of as we seek to love each other and enter into the glory and beauty of God’s eternal world. My ears still ring with the beauty of the music, the liturgies and the impassioned presentations that called us to love each other, and seek for reconciliation and reparation with each other and with our Creator. I felt we really came together in a posture of love, learning and wonderful fellowship. We pray our thoughts, prayers, tears, hearts and energy rise like incense as a pleasing aroma before God.
Brenda Salter McNeil
I loved the various images of God’s dream that each person spoke out and that later we saw lived out in the neighbourhood stories that were shared.
Our teenage presenters Greta and Kinsey spoke of God’s dream tasting like raspberries from a next door neighbour and the sharing of teddy bears with those who are having a bad day. For them it also sounds like neighbours singing and dancing on the street together, like in a musical, and it feels like teachers helping kids that are hurting, physically and mentally. It looks like welcome and kindness for our neighbours who fled Ukraine and Gaza.
For me, God’s dream is expansive and whole. It’s a dream for all of creation – plants, animals, people – living in shalom together with God.
I see a shalom community as a place where everyone is happy, full of laughter and song and delight. There. Will be no pollution of air or soil. Everyone will have a place to live that is comfortable and well looked after. There will be jobs for everyone that provide a living wage. The neighbourhood will be alive with gardens of flowers and vegetables, trees and birds and wildlife. Kids will be able to play in the streets without fear and there will be plenty of playgrounds and parks for them as well. There will be no street gangs, or gun shootings or discrimination that keep people in fear for their lives. Everyone will treat everyone else justly, with respect no mater their creed, culture or sexual orientation There will be health care and education for all and everyone will live to a ripe old age without disease or infirmity.
As we open our eyes to this dream and allow its hope and promise to fill our hearts, we must also open our eyes and ears to the pain, suffering oppression and injustice that fills our world and disrupts the fulfillment of this dream. We think particularly of the people in Ukraine, Gaza, the Sudan and so many other places were violence still reigns. We remember the forgotten ones like the Uyghurs, predominantly Muslim people in China who face genocide and relocation to internment camps
Creator God, whose name is love, bring equity where poverty and greed now reign. Bring nourishment where hunger and thirst abound, bring friendship where loneliness pulls at our hearts, bring liberation and peace where war destroys…. And let it begin with us.
We catch glimpses of your dream unfolding in our neighborhoods when we hear of those who seek to transform a park and playground that was closed because of violence, shootings and equipment unsafe for children to use. We rejoiced when we heard that it will reopen as a restored, rebuilt and safe environment for adults and children alike.
We rejoice too when we hear of the church parking lot, once concrete, now a thriving and much appreciated community garden in the midst of one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in America. We rejoice with those who help keep local family businesses alive and plan neighbourhood parties and festivities. Our hearts swell when we hear of advocates for indigenous people whose land was confiscated and of those who make strawberry jam and share in the strawberry festival held on land taken from Japanese farmers interred during World War II to help keep alive this rich heritage bring reparation. We are touched by those who work to provide housing for the homeless and low income families.
As people shared I was reminded of other glimpses I have caught of God’s dream over the years. I was in Germany just after the Berlin Wall fell and watched people dance on the now crumbling and broken wall. I acquired a small piece of the wall as a reminder of that victory, contributed to by the many who prayed throughout its life that it would be destroyed. I walked the streets of Poland too as the statues of Stalin were pulled down and talked to people hungry for the hope of freedom it symbolized. I remembered the refugee camps I worked in in the mid 80s with Khymer refugees on the Thai/Cambodian border and the tears that flowed as I read the email sent 12 years later telling me the camps were now closed and the last refugee had returned to their homeland.
Thank you God for your dream and for the glimpses we catch of its fulfillment.
As we end let me share my favourite Biblical image of God’s new world bursting into our. It has sustained and encouraged me through refugee camps, stories of atrocity, hatred and devastation. One day God’s dream will come in its fullness.
“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!
And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness.
Her people will be a source of joy.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and delight in my people.
And the sound of weeping and crying
will be heard in it no more.
“No longer will babies die when only a few days old.
No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life.
No longer will people be considered old at one hundred!
Only the cursed will die that young!
In those days people will live in the houses they build
and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.
Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses
and confiscate their vineyards.
For my people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains.
They will not work in vain,
and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
For they are people blessed by the Lord,
and their children, too, will be blessed.
I will answer them before they even call to me.
While they are still talking about their needs,
I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
But the snakes will eat dust.
In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
(Isaiah 65: 17-25)
Amen Creator God – may your dream come in all its fullness.
by Emily Huff
For International Dance Day, I offer this song “Lord of the Dance” that I remember from my high school youth group days. It was written in 1963 by Sydney Carter painting a picture of Jesus’ life and mission as a dance.
I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth:
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame:
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a cross to die:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone;
But I am the dance, and I still go on:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that’ll never, never die.
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me:
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
This song is a beautiful invitation to us as we listen to God saying, “Come dance with me” to us through this day that God has given to us. What might it be like to stand on God’s feet just like a little girl might stand on her father’s feet in learning how to dance?
What might it look like to let God take the lead as we twirl and swing together around the dance floor and as everything else fades away as we dance?
What would it look like to dance through life holding people’s stories tenderly knowing that sometimes we all step on each other’s toes? How might we dance more freely if we could only anchor ourselves in the present moment and delight in the person in front of us? (1)
As you turn towards this day and turn towards those who will be in your path, may this prayer put a spring in your step in your dance with God.
Fill us up with edge-of-seat anticipation
to listen to Your Spirit and
to take your hand as you lead us.
Focus our attention
so that we won’t miss out on ways to participate
in bringing the kingdom here on earth.
May our words, choices, and actions
be offered as true expressions of worship. (2)
Give us courage to laugh at the days to come.
Give us hope to imagine and a heart to listen
to one another’s stories and to You.
Help us to see others as You see them
with deep delight
and help us to remember that
we belong to each other.
Take our eyes and allow others
to see Your tender gaze through us.
Through all circumstances, remind us that
we are always held in Your love, (3)
and let that love spill over into the people before us.
Wake us up to the ways we wound our lives,
the lives of others, and the life of this world,
and recalibrate our hearts that we would be well and whole
in our relationships
with one another and with You.
Through our learning and unlearning
and growing and changing
and becoming,
let us run to You again and again and again
with everything in our lives.
Help us to love you from deep within,
with the strength of our arms,
the thoughts of our minds,
and the courage of our hearts. (4)
Take us by the hand and lead us in the dance…
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1 Credit to Father Gregory Boyle for this beautiful mantra.
2 From Morning Prayer from Every Moment Holy
3 Inspired by readings from Julian of Norwich’s Divine Revelations.
4 Matthew 22:36, First Nations Bible Translation
return to our senses book and study guide
Return To Our Senses + Study Guide – Download
“What makes you feel closer to God?” When Christine Sine asked people this question, the answers she received surprised her. It wasn’t pipe organs and pulpits that most often opened people to God’s presence, but simple things in daily life. In Return to Our Senses, Christine Sine shows you how simple experiences – breathing, drinking a glass of water, walking amongst trees, shooting a photo, picking up a stone – can become “thin places” and pregnant moments in your daily life – helping you awaken to God’s presence, savor God’s nearness, and translate your experience of God into prayerful, compassionate action. It was written for those who hunger for a deeper, more life encompassing relationship with God.
Growing up I wasn’t allowed to express my emotions…at least not the negative ones. Especially not anger. We weren’t allowed to be angry…at least not in the middle of other people. When one isn’t allowed to feel things overtly, they go inside or have to come out in some other way. For me it wasn’t in rebellion or negative behavior, but it came out in performance and perfection. I did all the right things…made straight A’s, was student body president, and starred in the school musicals two years running. I truly thought I had to perform to be good enough for someone to love. One of my worst childhood memories was getting a report card that was all A’s but back then they were using number grades rather than letters. So one of my grades was a 99! My dad looked at my report card and doesn’t comment on the over all grades, but rather says “It’s a 99 was isn’t a 100?”! Well shoot! That ends us being how I lived most of my adolescence and young adulthood. Trying to make that 100! I was well over 30 when my boss, who happened to be an Episcopal priest, told me that it was ok to get a B or even a C!!! And that my C game was probably better than most people’s A game! Father Foote was also the one who introduced me to the practice of silence and the Abbey of Gethsemani! When I came to him frazzled and burned out, he said, “you need the Abbey.” And he taught this extreme extrovert how to enter silence and not get distracted by all the people!
This week at the Abbey, Jesus invited me to look at an idea I’ve shared about before…The Failure Box
I’ve discovered as I’ve gotten older that way too often, I put things in the failure box. If I lose my keys..failure box, If my house is too messy, failure box, if I said something I thought was right but got misunderstood, failure box. It seemed for a very long time like I lived in the failure box not realizing there were even other boxes to choose from! My husband Rob and my therapist both called me on this a few years ago and you can read more here. How about the “I just Human” Box ? You mean I can have that box? Wow!
journal at the Abbey
This week I looked into a couple of other boxes that I tend to live in…
The BOX of FEAR and the Box of NOT ENOUGH
I think Fear and Failure might actually fit inside the NOT ENOUGH BOX because when I feel fearful or like a failure, or like I’m failing at life, I feel not enough..
A lot of our culture is designed to make us feel not enough…especially social media. We scroll through instagram or Facebook and we see what other people are up to and we see the number of likes or followers people have and we start to put ourselves in the NOT ENOUGH BOX! Not enough time, not thin enough, not productive enough, not wealthy enough, not successful enough..not enough enough enough!
And to add to the NOT ENOUGH, we have social media feeds filled with all the news of the entire world, all at once! 24/7! So the FEAR BOX gets filled! Fear of all the political unrest, fear of people’s hatred of one another, fear of failing to do anything about the injustices of our world, fear of economic downturn or losing our rights. Fear of getting sick or having an incurable disease. Fear of losing someone we love. Fear of being unable to control much of anything in this crazy mixed up world of ours. ( which is actually true, only God can control and fix things so we need to Let Go and Let God!)
So what do we do with these boxes? What do I do with my failure box, my fear box and the huge box of NOT ENOUGH?
As I spent time in silence, Jesus showed me just how much I am loved. He wrapped me up in joy and peace and this big blanket of love and acceptance that I so need to be reminded of as my true nature. Our reality is that we are desperately loved by Jesus! We are intimately loved by the Creator of the entire universe! You and I are BELOVED! And that is way too big for any kind of BOX!
I had thought about what a box of love might look like… and JESUS showed me that LOVE is not a BOX to be put in or filled up…it doesn’t have sides or a top.
love and boxes
Love is much more like a large flower pot filled with rich earth…love grows beautiful flowers and healing plants and sustenance for the journey of life! It’s not a box at all!
And it’s more like a garden than even a flower pot!
garden on iona
Think about walking into a garden filled with Love! What would that look like? What would that feel like to you? What would be growing in that garden just for you?
How can I plant myself in the flower pot of love?
How can you and I let ourselves grow in the garden of love rather than in the boxes of fear, failure or not enough?
How can we plant more seeds of love in our lives so we can love ourselves like Jesus loves us and then love one another?
JESUS SAID :
John 13: 34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”John 15:
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Matthew 22: The Greatest Commandment
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 5:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,plant something!
ACTION:
If you have a garden, go take a walk through it and imagine it as a garden of love! A garden of love created by Jesus just for you! What do you notice? Take some time, sit still and ask Jesus to show you!
If you don’t have a garden, plan a field trip to some local gardens and receive the gift of this garden. Imagine Jesus walking with you in the garden surrounding you with his great love.
Plant something this week that reminds you of God’s love. It might be a fresh scented herb, a favorite vegetable, or a blooming flower. As it grows be reminded of how much you are loved by God.
You might even choose to bury a box of your fears, failures, and not enough’s in the garden and let Jesus grow love in you instead!
TRINITY Scott Erickson
REMEMBER that you are greatly loved and you are not alone! We are actually loved by and IN the community of the trinity! Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
1John 4:
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
1 Corinthians 13 says
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.
Previously published in The Ecological Disciple, this article is part of a series about the seven shifts Christians need to make to develop a more ecologically conscious discipleship.
The current ecclesial crisis is an opportunity to reassess, among other things, the Church’s understanding and practice of mission. And this work is well underway ~ by James Amadon
A recent Gallup poll confirmed the continued erosion of Christianity’s privileged place in American society: the drastic decline in church affiliation and participation that began at the turn of the millennium has not slowed down. The Church is no longer a center of social and civic life, and local congregations cannot simply open their doors and expect people to show up. This moment of ecclesial (church) crisis is an opportunity to reassess, among other things, the Church’s understanding and practice of mission. And this work is well underway.
The word “missional” has become popular in Christian thought and imagination, showing up in book titles, sermons, conferences, and even entire movements. Growing numbers of theologians and pastors are encouraging people of faith to change their understanding of mission from the specialized work of missionaries in distant lands to the work of local churches right where they are; every believer is a missionary, every place a mission field.
I think this rise of “missional consciousness” is a helpful development, as long as we are clear about what we mean by mission. Earlier in this series, in Shift #2, we noted that followers of Jesus, and the communities to which they belong, tend to focus on parts of the biblical story, to the detriment of understanding the whole. The same is true of mission.
As we consider what it might mean to be part of God’s mission in an age of ecological and ecclesial crisis, it will help to see where some current missional models fall short.
Save the Individual, Damn the Rest
Dwight Moody, the famous 20th century evangelist, is representative of Christians who emphasize the personal dimension of mission, what Protestants often call evangelism, or “saving souls.” Moody once summarized his calling this way:
“I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said, ‘Moody, save all you can.’”
This understanding of mission sees our primary task – in some churches it is the only task – as inviting people into a personal relationship with God. This invitation tends to focus on helping people receive forgiveness, follow Jesus, and go to heaven when they die. This is an oversimplification, but not by much.
There is much about this aspect of mission to admire and embrace. Millions have come to know the grace and love of God because of the evangelistic impulse of Christians through the ages. One of my childhood friends has become a Christian as an adult. The transformation in his life is remarkable; hearing him speak of the forgiveness he has received, the peace he feels, and the wonder at how God is working in his life has been energizing to my own faith. He is a living example of 1 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.”
But this approach often ends up privatizing faith and spirituality in ways that reduce religion to personal faith and empowerment. Churches that emphasize this form of mission often look at non-Christian individuals, communities, and cultures as completely depraved, and see the non-human world as valueless raw material created for human use and consumption. The world is seen like Moody’s vision, as a “wrecked vessel” from which to rescue “the lost.”
My friend’s church, for example, has no missional vision beyond bringing individuals to faith and giving them tools to grow their personal relationship with God and to invite more people into the faith. There is little awareness that God is concerned with alleviating social suffering or reconciling broken communities. There is no sense that the world God made is fundamentally good and part of God’s reconciling work. My friend’s faith is, at the moment, limited to practices that help him feel close to God and to strategies that encourage his friends and family come to believe as he has. There is more to mission than this.
LEEANN CLINE / UNSPLASH
End Injustice, Save Society
Despite those churches narrowly focused on personal evangelism, most followers of Jesus have understood that works of compassion and mercy are essential aspects of biblical mission. Throughout the last two millennia, Christians have cared for the sick, clothed the naked, visited those in prison, and fed the hungry. And there have been many people along the way who have called us to see that this social dimension of mission must include the pursuit of justice, which addresses the fundamental conditions and systems that create and perpetuate suffering and inequality. In the United States, we have figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., who called the nation (and Christians) to pursue racial and economic justice, and often rooted his vision in the language of salvation and new creation.
“The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends…It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.”
King lived and died for this vision of beloved community, one in which social injustice is overcome by the reconciling love of God to change both individual hearts and the complex systems of society. Those who have embraced this vision understand that Jesus died not just to reconcile us to God, but to one another as well (see Ephesians 2:14-18). It is a mission that is rooted in an expansive understanding of forgiveness and reconciliation that calls followers of Jesus to actively work for justice.
In the last 60 years, however, we have come to see that this mission is not expansive enough, both in terms of what our faith and our planet require. I have often thought that if King had not been killed, he would have broadened his definition of the beloved community to include our non-human neighbors. I believe he would have realized that the “salvation of our civilization” is dependent on including environmental justice and care for the earth within our sense of mission. This is the vision we need today: an “ecological mission” that integrates the personal, social, and more-than-human aspects of God’s reconciling work.
Ecological Mission: Cultivating Life in the New Creation
Mission is oriented toward a vision of the future as it could and should be. For the personal evangelist, it is a world of people who live in the love and grace of God. For the social reformer, it is a beloved community reconciled with one another. For the ecological disciple, it is these things and more: a healed creation in which all things are reconciled and made new. Note how the following passage from Colossians 1 encourages us to see the personal, social, and ecological dimensions of God’s work in a vision of comprehensive reconciliation.
“For in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross (See also Isaiah 65; Romans 8:21; Ephesians 1:9-10).”
This is what ecological disciples long for, pray for, and work for. We are to be agents of reconciliation within the interconnected and interdependent world we live in, partnering with God to cultivate peace among people, communities, and creation.
It is an exciting, and potentially overwhelming, mission. Where do we begin? Here are three ways to begin.
#1 – Learn From Traditions that Practice Ecological Mission
A great way to further our understanding of ecological mission work is to learn from those who already practice it. For instance, I have learned a lot from Celtic, Anabaptist, Orthodox, and Franciscan Christian traditions, as well as from Native American followers of Jesus. All of these traditions invite us to consider a more expansive vision of Christian life and mission. The gifted and accessible Orthodox theologian Elizabeth Theokritoff puts the invitation this way:
“If the large-scale destruction of God’s creation came only with a narrowing of the Christian vision and the growing fragmentation of the Christian world, this suggests that the fullness of the Christian vision might well be able to point us to a better path.”
I have also learned from other religions, movements, and organizations that practice aspects of ecological mission. In fact, working together on shared concerns is an opportunity to discover common ground and foster much needed reconciliation (more to come on this in Shift #6).
There are many books, websites, and resources that can help you connect with these traditions. If you want help finding something in particular, feel free to email me (james.amadon@circlewood.online) for recommendations.
#2 – Follow Others’ Examples
It is hard to integrate the personal, social, and ecological dimensions of mission in a world that prefers fragmentation, but there are great examples out there that can inspire and instruct us. One such example is Paradise Parking Plots Community Garden, an oasis of reconciliation in the heart of Kent, WA.
Formed as a partnership between refugees, immigrants, World Relief, Hillside Church of the Nazarene, and various public companies and agencies, the garden brings together people from 20+ countries to improve access to nutritious food, build community, foster economic independence, and practice environmental stewardship. The garden also brings people into the church and introduces them to the story of Jesus.
#3 – Start Small
You do not have to start a big project to practice ecological mission. Start with where you are and what you are passionate about, and then see how you can add other dimensions. If you enjoy telling people about Jesus, make sure to include the social and ecological aspects of his life and work. If you are committed to social reform, try to see and address the ecological dimension to your issue. If you care about local environmental issues, make sure to include the human element.
Try not to do it alone – we are created for community, and that includes whatever mission work we are drawn to. Celebrate any signs of renewal and reconciliation that you see, no matter how small.
I would love to hear your thoughts and questions. Feel free to leave a comment, or email me directly at james.amadon@circlewood.online.
With you on the Way,
James
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