To my first mom who died before I got to know her, to my adopted mom who raised me in the nest of love, to the men who have mothered me in mentoring, to the queer community who have mothered me in friendships, to the men raising their children by themselves, to the women raising children by themselves, to mother earth, to God who is Mother of all and fiercely fights for Her children with love.
Love has been on my mind a lot lately. It's kind of the thing that theologically progressive Christian pastors hang their hat on when interpreting the Scripture. It also happens to be the thing that Augustine hung his hat on when interpreting the Scripture. In his book On Christian Doctrine he said, “The fulfillment and end of Scripture is the love of God and our neighbor.” This two-fold love is the window in which I choose to read the Bible through when preparing for a sermon, Bible Study or personal meditation
If you have been following the lectionary we are currently reading 1 John which is packed full of the topic of love. These texts have left me perplexed, challenged, and wondering what exactly does it mean to incarnate love? Then I think of John 3:16 when the author writes, “For God so loved the world….” The world in Greek here is cosmos, which doesn’t mean only an elect group of people but cosmos is an all-encompassing word, which means everything in this universe. One definition of cosmos I found that I particularly like says that cosmos means “the ungodly multitude”. Ah yes, for God so loved the ungodly multitude as well as those pretending to be godlier than they are. God loves all and God is love, period.
But again, what exactly does it mean to incarnate love in our daily lives. Here I look to 1 Corinthians 13 to give me an idea of some descriptors of love. I am reminded when I read this chapter that love is expansive, detailed, and quite aware of the community and not just the individual. Which leads me to believe that I probably fit more under “the ungodly multitude” definition of cosmos because the way I love doesn’t always match up with the way 1 Corinthians 13 suggests what love is.
Paul Tillich says that the first duty of love is to listen. This is powerful. Especially as a New Yorker where people rarely give you their full attention (and truth be told I rarely offer my full attention) - it is counter-cultural to listen to someone. When I listen to someone and their story I am choosing to say I am for you and I am making the movement of solidarity with you. No wonder it’s hard for us to love people because we are often so concerned with drawing lines of who is in and who is out - but that’s not incarnating love. Love is the movement of solidarity. Jesus made the movement of solidarity with us; Jesus incarnates love. That’s whom I want to follow.
I often say how much I love New York City – I do, I really do love it here. This video reminds me of John 3:16 and all the types of people God loves and thus all the types of people I should love. Granted, I fail royally at loving the way God loves. And yet I rest assured that God, who is love, never does fail. God sustains it all. I think if Paul Tillich is right, then God is listening to all these stories that are represented in this video. If God is listening to these stories then maybe God is making the movement of solidarity with each of them. Maybe that is what it means to enflesh the hermeneutic of love -- to make the movement of solidarity with those around us.
I love my WECC peeps b/c they bring me quotes like this delicious, soul-speaking quote. Anytime I can be part of a conversation on Christian mysticism I soar. Chesterton's quote reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Walt Whitman - ::Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.::
GK Chesteron in Orthodoxy -- ::Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health; when you destroy mystery you create morbidity. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. He has permitted the twilight. He has always had one foot in earth and the other in fairyland. He has always left himself free to doubt his gods; but (unlike the agnostic of to-day) free also to believe in them. He has always cared more for truth than for consistency. If he saw two truths that seemed to contradict each other, he would take the two truths and the contradiction along with them. His spiritual sight is stereoscopic, like his physical sight: he sees two different pictures at once and yet sees all the better for that::
I will write more later on why these ring as truth in my experience....
Yesterday I posted about being a Theopoet. Today I am sharing some of the tunes that are keeping me grounded, help me tangibly feel the Holy One, and assist in the creative life. Thanks to Brian McLaren for introducing me to some of these songs. And let's be honest -- this is just a sampling because my musical appetite is ravenous. What are the tunes that are keeping you all going?
Leonard Cohen - Come Healing
Laila Biali - Show Me The Place
Musical Roots
Along with playing pastor as a little girl I would also play rock star -- singing around the house like I was killin' it at a concert (and truth-be-told I may still do this on my days off...I'm just sayin'...). Music was in my household growing up.Though Dad didn't sing, and still doesn't, I remember him playing all these old school vinyls in his work area. Which made me wanna get a record player in my early 20's to be cool like him and all my hipster friends. But I soon realized I was a product of Steve Jobs and found the convenience of the iPod too alluring. Mom was the church choir director, soloist extraordinaire, and had loads of sheet music lying around the house that was as easy for me to read as the Greek New Testament (note: hardest class in seminary, Greek). While I wish I could perform dynamic solos like my mother did, I can't. Something about my aural perception that makes me unable to sing the notes in tune by myself. It's a sad reality. But this reality hasn't stopped me from devouring and learning about music.
Where is God in the Dark Moments of Our Lives?
Matthew 26, Matthew 27
The love between friends can sometimes be risky. Choosing to be vulnerable with friends and lovers can sometimes be a very scary feeling – at least it is for me, maybe some of you identify. For when we choose to become close with people in our life we are making the choice to trust them. And in trusting them we believe that they will have our best interest and we will also have their best interest. And we hope that the good-feelings that come from sharing life together will last forever.
But I imagine all of us have been alive long enough to know that the people we love, the people who we have offered our stories to, the people we have shared our life with and our experiences with – these friends and lovers let us down and betray us. And as much as we know that we are taking a risk when we choose to become closer to certain people in our life – the pain of a broken relationship sinks into our body and we feel that betrayal for a long, long time.
What do we do when the people we love betray us? And maybe an even more probing question, what do we do when we are the betrayers?
As I have been sitting with Matthew 26 and 27 this week I keep coming back to the feelings of incredible vulnerability and trust that have been built up between Jesus and his disciples. They knew each other. Yes the disciples didn’t always get these strange parables and stories that Jesus taught – kinda like us today. But these first disciples did life - together. They walked miles on end - together. They looked for food - together. They worked - together. They laughed - together. They told stories - together. Shared experiences bind people - together. And I imagine these first disciples, though very different from each other, also being pretty close because of all the shared experiences.
So it strikes me, with quite a bit of pain, when I imagine the feelings of hurt – betrayal – anger and shock when Judas betrays Jesus. This story quickly brings up memories in my life when people have betrayed me - which surfaces the feelings of anger and hurt as if it happened just yesterday. Maybe some of you can understand these feelings because you too could tell stories of lovers who have betrayed your trust; business partners who have sold you out; friends who have turned their backs on you; family who has disowned you. The stories could go on because the reality is we are messy people and despite all our good intentions we are hurt by the ones we love and we hurt those that love us.
What do we do when the people we love betray us? And maybe an even more probing question, what do we do when we are the betrayers?
It is in these moments of life we recognize the fragility of humanity and the delicacy of relationships we are in. When we are betrayed, and when we betray others, these can be very dark moments in our life. When we have risked love and love was not offered back to us sometimes it feels like a shroud of confusion descends upon us.
Where is God in these dark moments of betrayal in our life?
I think faith here means that we can be comforted by the truth that Jesus, God, also experienced the feelings of betrayal. Faith teaches us that while we feel forsaken in this moment – we are not alone – God feels with us. Faith teaches us that we do not seek revenge but like Jesus, knowing he was going to be betrayed, still breaks bread with his betrayer. God gives us the courage to hold on, take a deep breath, and not avoid the dark moments in our life. God offers us hope when relationships break.
In Jesus we are shown how to break bread with our betrayers. Because in the same night in which he was betrayed he took bread; and when had given thanks, he broke it. And gave it to them saying "Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me." After the same manner also he took the cup when they had supped, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood; this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
(Jes Note: Let the congregation know to come forward, receive a wafer and intinct it into the Common Cup. If people prefer not to receive the elements invite them forward with their hands crossed on their chest and they will receive a blessing).
This table of the Lord is open to all, and although none should receive these elements impenitent or without faith in Christ, we cordially invite all who are sincerely seeking him and desire to be his true disciples to come to this table, in the assurance that the one who came to be the savior of all will surely receive us. Come to this sacred table not because you must, but because you may; not only because you are weak but because you are also strong and need direction for your strength; not because you have any claim on heaven's rewards but because in your frailty and sin you stand in constant need of heaven's mercy and help. Come not to express an opinion but to seek a presence and to pray for the Spirit. Come now, because all things are ready.
(Jes Note: They will come to the table singing Ubi) Caritas: )
"You should tell more stories. Tell stories of what it means for you to be a Pastor in New York City. Tell stories of what life in your skin feels/looks like. Yes, keep writing your theological musings (because they're good) but tell us stories of what it means for you to do life." - Jim Kast-Keat. Life-Partner and all around brilliant man.
